Soft Minnows & Jerkbaits | Walleye Fishing

Soft Plastic Minnows on a jighead work very well for walleye and there are plenty of these baits on the market to choose from. The soft plastic jerkbaits will still catch walleye, but they don’t usually work as well as the standard soft plastic minnow that is meant for jigging. A regular jighead and a drop shot rig will both work.

Popular Techniques

Vertical Jigging

Vertical jig these baits just like you would with a live minnow. You may need to give it a little more action though with the soft plastics to make it look more realistic.

Hop Them Along the Bottom

Cast them out and hop them along the bottom to cover more water. This is an effective technique, especially when you are searching for active walleye that may be moving up into the shallows.

Swim Them

You can also swim these baits on a scrounger jighead or underspin. These baits come to life on a scrounger, so if you haven’t tried this technique yet, you might want to give it a shot.

See Them Under Water

Carolina Rig

Drop Shot Rig

The drop shot rig is probably the best rig for smaller minnow-style baits. You can rig the bigger jerkbait minnows too on a drop shot rig, but there are better rigs for those baits. With the smaller minnows, you will see some incredible action with these on a drop shot rig.

Jighead

A simple jighead will get the job done too. Rig your favorite minnow bait on a jighead and you are all set as long as you’re not fishing around too heavy of cover.

Scrounger Jighead

A scrounger jighead and smaller soft plastic minnow bait is an amazing combination for making a swimbait. These scroungers work great in shallow water and you can fish them deeper too.

Standup Jighead

The shaky head jig works with jerkbaits. Fish it slowly with a hop and pause technique to mimic an injured minnow dying on the bottom and you will get plenty of bites.