How to catch walleye anywhere, any time, with the most versatile lure of all

You can cast it, troll it or let it drift. You can fish it from an anchored boat or from shore. You can retrieve it horizontally or fish it straight up and down. It works wonders in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, pits and ponds. You can hop, pop, shake, swim or lay it motionless on the bottom. Tip it with live bait, feathers, fur or plastic and it’s usually the best lure you can use to catch numbers of walleye. Increase the size of your offering and it’s lights out for the biggest ‘eyes you can find.

No wonder the simple jig is the most versatile lure in your walleye tacklebox.

Jigs excel in the spring, they’re unbeatable in the summer and they may well be at their best in the fall. They’re even lethal under the ice. Jigs attract and trigger walleye at dawn’s early light, high noon and twilight’s last gleaming—-not to mention when it’s raining, snowing, hailing or windy. Indeed, if faced with the prospect of fishing for walleye for the rest of your life with just one type of lure, you had better pick jigs.

So what’s the downside to fishing with jigs? Ironically, it’s the name. For many anglers, the word “jig” conjures up the image of a boring, repetitive up-and-down motion, with no variations. But nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to fishing for walleye with jigs, as these five outstanding patterns reveal.