3 Best Fishing Lures to Catch Walleye, Bass, and Pike
The best fishing lures for catching walleye, bass, pike and perch are spoons, spinners, and soft plastic tails with jigs.
This post contains product links. Cottage Tips may receive a commission on purchases made through the links.
1. Spoons
Spoons are good lures for catching all types of fish. They flash in the water to attract the target fish from a distance and the wobble movement imitates an injured or weak baitfish. In the eyes of predators like walleyes, pike, or bass this is a great opportunity to get an easy meal. Spoons are also top picks for catching trout or salmon.
Large spoons are often used to fish for big pike or muskies, although huge fish are often caught on small lures. At the same time, it isn’t uncommon for a small pike or bass to bite a lure that appears way too big for its size.
Spoons tend to be heavier lures. This makes them good baits to use in deeper water when fishing off the shore, the dock, or from the boat. Trolling with spoons is another popular technique that can produce monster fish.
My favourite all-purpose spoon to catch walleyes, bass, and pike is a Little Cleo.
Check them out at: Little Cleo Fishing Lures
2. Spinners
Spinners come in a variety of shapes and sizes. As the lure is retrieved the spinner turns in the water at a fast pace to attract fish. Smaller fish will often chase the lure. This catches the attention of the larger fish you want to target. Live-bait rigs with spinners are also common and can be very effective for catching all types of fish.
Spinners are great for casting near a dock, over submerged structure, or along the edge of weeds. Walleyes, bass, pike, and jumbo perch will all hit a spinner. It is common to catch all four of these fish in the same day using this lure.
A good spinner to buy for most situations would be a classic #2 or #3 Mepps.
Check them out at: Top Mepps Spinners
3. Plastic tails and jigs
A plastic tail fitted on a jig head might be the best overall lure for catching walleyes (pickerel) in a variety of conditions. Pike, bass, and perch will also hit a plastic tail regularly.
The lure has a single hook and works well along weed beds or in areas with a rocky bottom. It can still get snagged, but this lure is more forgiving than the spoons or spinner baits that normally have treble hooks. The simple nature of the jig head and plastic tail setup makes it a good choice for beginner anglers and kids.
The retrieve motion forces the plastic tail to dance in the water. An effective technique involves twitching the end of the rod to make the lure rise and fall a few feet as you reel. Fish that are following the lure will often hit it as it drops on the pause.
For some reason walleyes and pike can’t resist biting this lure when they are in a feeding mood. As a result, the plastic tail can put a lot of fish in the boat in a short period of time.
Yellow and white plastic tails are classic colours that tend to catch fish consistently. That said, there are a wide variety of choices available and it is worth having a good selection. Sometimes the fish will only bite black plastic tails. Other days they prefer chartreuse, which is a green-yellow colour. Several companies make plastic tails. I use a Mister Twister. It has been around for decades and has always produced fish.
Check out all the options at: Top Mister Twister Tails
The bottom line on the best lures to catch walleyes, bass, pike or perch
New anglers or those who have a tight budget should be able to catch fish in most situations using spoons, spinners, and plastic tails with jigs. These are all good lures to start your tackle box collection and they are relatively inexpensive.
By Andrew Walker
