The perch pattern that I've caught even more walleyes on the last few years is the Natural Perch (#07) Nils Master Jigging Shad. This is an almost perfect perch replica, shape and colorwise, the color a subtle orange with a slash of red on the chin, along with a darker back and the band markings. The nice thing about the Nils Master lineup is the option to toy with two other perch patterns, Green Perch (#84) and another pattern called Black Minnow (#165).

It is at this point that we begin to travel into areas that need further exploration. For those of us who fish waters where the basic perch pattern plays a key role, we might further play the three Nils Master patterns against other lures and patterns from other companies -- Jigging Rapala, Nils Master Jigger, Salmo Chubby Darter, Northland Mini Airplane Jig, and Storm Vertical Jigging Soft Minnow. You might get a feel for the comparative productivity of the perch patterns from these companies by sitting in a group over the course of several nights, just as I suggested with the silver-minnow versus gold-minnow patterns.

Glow patterns also enter the picture. Many anglers do well with them in some situations. I get a lot of good reports from anglers fishing on the Great Lakes and connecting waters. As one might imagine, they often do a job where walleyes spend a lot of time roaming vast distances in loose schools as they search for prey. Get over these fish and they go for the most obvious and aggressive presentations you drop below.

In other instances, it's best to tone it down a little, going with subtle glow. Most of the waters I fish most of the time are heavily fished much of the year. Glow isn't a vital factor on these waters; indeed, intense glow seems to repel walleyes. Then again, on a trip to a portion of Lake of the Woods two years ago, glow lures (subtle greens and reds) worked as well as more subtle offerings, but no better. So, you'll have to experiment. I particularly like the idea of just a bit of glow on a small jig coupled with a lively minnow set below a deadstick.