Favorite Lures for Leech Lake Walleye Fishing

With the boat out of the water for the year, it is time for me to do some reel maintenance, put new line on the reels and do an inventory of any tackle I may need for next year's open-water fishing season.

During my tackle review process I marveled at two lures in particular on which I caught more than 90% of all jumbo perch and walleyes this season.

The first is the simple jig. During this season I must have tied on and lost dozens of jigs. Northern pike and walleye are known for their very sharp teeth, and in Leech Lake we have an abundance of both fish species. Getting your jig and fathead (or leech or crawler) bitten off is just part of the game when fishing on Leech.

I prefer a pill-shaped jig, which differs from the more common round-head jig by way of the indentations on either side of the jig. It's roughly the shape of an aspirin. Round-head jigs can be found by the hundreds in my tackle box and I have caught plenty of fish on them, but my go-to jig is pill-shaped. Many manufacturers make them, and I've probably used them all -- VMC, Northland, Cabela's, etc.

When considering what weight of jig to buy, buy many. On calm days, I favor an 1/8-ounce jig although I occasionally drop down to a 1/16-ounce jig if I'm using a slip bobber. Leech Lake is known for its rough waters and high winds, so also plan on having 1/4-ounce, 1/2-ounce and even bigger jigs in your arsenal if you plan to fish deep water on rough-water days.

As for the color of the jig, more often than not on Leech Lake chartreuse, lime green or green works best. But at the same time, I've hooked plenty of jumbos and walleye on a full rainbow of colors -- red, blue, white, pink, black and even Northland Tackle's "Vegas" jigs in sparkle gold, red and purple. I think as long as you target productive water and entice the fish with the correct live bait, they could care less what color jig you're using to serve up dinner.

Rapala's #9 Minnow Rap in 'bleeding pearl' and a typical chartreuse jig

Most of the fish I catch using a jig and live bait tend to be perch. Some of the perch I catch are jumbos, which I consider to be any perch 11-inches or larger. I've also caught walleye, northern pike, rock bass, largemouth bass and even bullheads and eelpout on jigs. And I once had a large 45-inch plus muskie follow my jig and fathead all the way to the surface before turning tail and swimming out of sight. Jigs are a great lure for fishing Leech Lake.

When I want to target walleye specifically, my tactics change. I catch the vast majority of my walleye on Leech Lake during a time period from just around sunset until the sky has been dark for an hour or so. The method I use to fish for these evening walleye is trolling crankbaits in 10-12 feet of water at a ground speed varying from 2.00 to 2.50 mph. And the bait I use nearly 100% of the time is the Rapala #9 Minnow Rap, that for my money is by far the best walleye lure on the market today.

I was first introduced to the Minnow Rap several years ago by my neighbor Tom Malay, who had received a couple as a Christmas present. He said he had pretty good luck catching walleye on them so I thought I'd give them a try.

At the time, the Minnow Rap was a brand new lure that had been on the market for less than a year making it somewhat hard to find. I did find a couple at Gander Mountain in Bemidji (that for some strange reason have since stopped carrying the lures) and immediately started fishing them.

Prior to the Minnow Rap my primary trolling bait had been the Rapala Husky Jerk. The Minnow Rap had a similar profile to the Husky Jerk, but incorporated the swimming action of the Shad Rap; also a very effective walleye bait. In essence, the Minnow Rap was the offspring from the marriage of the Husky Jerk and the Shad Rap.

Almost immediately upon tying on the Minnow Rap I began catching walleye. And not just one or two, but often 8-10 in just an hour or two. One night my friend Rick and I hooked an astonishing 20+ walleye in just over two hours. We were actually getting tired of catching walleye!

Initially my favorite color of the Minnow Rap was 'purpledescent' but I quickly realized that the 'hot steel' color produced just as many big walleye. Since I first started using the Minnow Rap I've caught hundreds of walleye on them. My favorite 'hot steel' lure caught so many of the toothy critters that the last fish I caught on it literally bit it to pieces.

I've learned over the years that all of the colors of the Minnow Rap catch fish, including the short-lived, limited-edition Tennessee Shad color -- a lure that I unfortunately lost to a big fish when it bit through my line. During the past couple of months, I've been pulling a 'bleeding pearl' colored Minnow Rap with great success. It was the lure I used when I caught 7 beautiful walleye on October 1 of this year. If you look at the photo in detail you will see several holes in the lure made from the sharp teeth of hungry walleye.

Be sure to buy extra split rings and hooks for your Minnow Rap lures. Walleye and northern will often hit the lure with such force that they bend the treble hooks. Plus, in some instances it's necessary to cut the hooks in order to release the fish unharmed. And no matter how much time you spend trying to sharpen an old hook it'll never be as sharp as a new hook. For the relatively low price, getting a box or two of replacement hooks is a must.

Sporting goods stores and online merchants are willing to sell you millions of different fishing lures in hundreds of different colors, shapes and sizes. But if you're planning a trip to Leech Lake to do some walleye fishing, you can get away with just two types -- the classic jig (in varying weights to match the wind conditions) and the Rapala Minnow Rap in whatever color you like. Bring several of each, however, because the fish in this big Minnesota lake will take a few from you no matter how good a fisherman you might be.

Good night from Leech Lake.