5 Lures for Big Water Summer Walleyes

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The dog days of summer can be an appropriate term when it comes to a tougher midyear bite for walleyes. Walleyes are often deep in the water column, particularly and seemingly most interested in smaller presentations. The last part is a key I have found to be true even on Lake Erie, arguably the best walleye water on the planet.

SAFETY WEEK TIP

ALWAYS USE YOUR ENGINE CUT-OFF LANYARD

Make sure your Engine Cut-Off Switch lanyard is attached to your person whenever you’re underway. They’re now required on all open boats under 26 feet.

Here are five lures to have ready on big lakes when the heat of summer kicks in.

Jr Thunderstick

While this oldie but goodie catches them during spring and fall, it excels in the summer. The compact and thin nature of the bait works when walleyes are targeting small shiners or smelt. A shallow version is also offered if you wish to use them on diving devices like a dipsy or jet diver, but the deep version is the work horse for most. This can be run on monofilament unassisted, thin braid to get deeper, or even on delivery systems such as wire or leadcore lines. The classic series offers a dozen plus popular chrome and fluorescent finishes and the mad flash series offers transparent versions that are great in gin clear waters.

Shop Storm ThunderSticks

Rapala J7

Easily the sleeper on the list, the tiny Rapala J7 is a jointed floating balsa bait that just catches fish. I first was introduced to this by an old timer on a Canadian fly-in trip over 30 years ago. He flat-lined trolled it with just a couple split shot to get slightly deeper on a large shield lake. This bait only gets a few feet of depth by itself, so it is most commonly run with delivery systems such as dipsy’s, jets, wire line, leadcore or even on a three-way rig.

Shop Rapala Original Jointed Lures

Silver Streak Jr Spoon

Spoons are widely popular on the Great Lakes, but they also work very well on large lakes and reservoirs. The key to summer spoons is size and speed. In most occasions you want a very small spoon such as the Jr size by Silver Streak. Larger sizes can play a roll when junk fish are plentiful or baitfish are larger in size. In most cases if you aren’t catching fish on spoons, you aren’t going fast enough. Each spoon brand and size will have a different effective speed range, but most require 1.8 mph to flop just right and attract bites. A delivery system is required to get to depth and those that work for the Rapala J7 also work well with the Jr. spoon.

Shop Silver Streak Jr. Spoons

Z-Man Jerk Shadz

Those that prefer to cast, are fishing isolated structure or have been smitten with the forward-facing sonar craze must have a minnow rig in their arsenal. The Z-Man Jerk Shadz is a finesse minnow with a few key differences. The body is constructed from elaztech which stretches for added durability, but as important, it floats for a unique presentation. The 3.5- and 4-inch sizes see the most water time.

Shop Z-Man Jerk Shadz

Pairing this with a jighead such as the VMC tungsten swimbait head also offers some features for better productivity. The VMC Redline hook is insanely sharp and features a collar system that holds the plastic on extremely well while not tearing up the plastic or making it difficult to rig. The tungsten construction makes the head more visible on sonar and the dense nature of it makes it more compact for a smaller overall presentation.

Shop VMC Redline Jigheads

Silver Streak Double Willow Rig

Spinner rigs are no stranger to walleye anglers, but most feature Colorado or even Indiana blades. In the summer, speed is the key to cover water and willow blades just work better at higher speeds. A tandem rig of #4 willow blades remarkably resembles a small school of baitfish and can be fished fast enough to be used in conjunction with the aforementioned lures like the Thunder Stick or Jr Spoon.

Shop Silver Streak Double Willow Rigs

There are probably more than five lures you want to have in your summer big lake arsenal, but if you have these five, chances are you will be just fine when the heat of summer kicks in.

Capt. Ross Robertson

Bigwater Fishing

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