Looking for monster fall walleye? Try this surprisingly huge bait

In both lakes and rivers, early-fall walleye love to stage in moderately swift current where there’s cover to ambush prey. Many anglers lower their odds of catching the bigger fish, however, by tipping their jigs with minnows that are too small.

But what if you only have two- to four-inch dace, chubs or shiners? The solution is to turn your snack-sized minnow into a banquet-sized feast. To do that, thread a three- to five-inch soft-plastic straight-tail minnow onto your jig so the hook exits the back of the bait. Then attach a minnow by running the point of the hook under its jaw and out the top of its nose. Bigger walleye will go out of their way to target bigger prey, so bulking up your jig gives them what they crave.