Walleye Jig Fishing – Plastics & Minnows with Brian Brosdahl

Brian Brosdahl busts out the jigs and slams the eater walleyes and jumbo perch in northern Minnesota, fishing with both plastics (Mimic Minnows) and shiner minnows.  Bro offers up some great walleye jig fishing tips and tactics you can use to catch more fish this season.

Bro says during this time of year fish line up on deep water edges and bars to feed on midges, minnows, and mayflies. As the water temp rises it’s time to make the transition to plastics from live bait. Around 70 degrees is the temperature you can almost guarantee it’s time to grab the artificials. Impulse Plastics and Mimic Minnows are the top picks of Bro who says he will fish a variety of colors ranging from natural to bright but relies heavily on white and pink as go-to’s for everything from walleye to jumbo perch and more.

Bro likes to sweep and pause the bait on top of the traditional slow reeling bumping the bottom. He treats them just like a crankbait and he has a lot of confidence in this technique in the summer.

When fish won’t eat the plastic, Bro grabs shiners for those dead periods of the day in flat calm water and mid-day times. Shiners are a favorite but they can be hard to find as are redtails but Bro says rainbows and fatheads can suffice in a pinch so take what you can get and keep those bait shops in business. Even jumbo perch will hop in the mix because unlike winter they are always looking for bigger meals in these warm water periods since they are expending more energy and their metabolism is so much higher.

You can’t go wrong with live bait or plastics but it doesn’t hurt to bring both and let the fish decide for you.