What color/size jig heads do you guys like to use for walleye or Lakers in early June?

We use 1/8 oz and 1/4 oz barbed collar jig heads like this one. It would be rare for us to use 3/8 or larger.

If you're fishing with live bait, I typically will try to go as light as I can, but I still seem to default to the 1/4 oz most of the time. We go into Quetico every year where live bait is not allowed so we use 3" or maybe 4" twister tails on these jigs.

Some guys get real technical with this...depth/rate of fall/swimming/hopping etc.
I'm like Jackfish but use more 1/8. I stick to natural colors. Probably caught as many with unpainted heads as I have with anything else and I paint my own if that tells you my feelings on color. 3/16 is as high as I will go on ML rods. 1/4 seems to over power them. If I need to get below 20 feet then I go up in rod power to handle 1/4 to 3/8 stuff.

For walleyes, I use the smallest ones I can get away with. In heavy current, they are up to one ounce. Casting in shallow water they are tiny, like 1/64 or just a plain hook with no weight. So it depends. Quarter ounce is pretty standard, up and sown from there.

Pink, orange, green, chartreuse, yellow, black, white, blue, glow.

I haven’t seen much evidence that color matters, pick your favorite basically.

I like 1/16 oz casting shallow water in calm conditions, 1/4 oz in deep water and/or wind. I use 1/8 oz more than any other size.

Good luck!

PS - This is for walleyes only, have no input on the lakers

Color effectiveness may depend on the clarity of the water, use brighter colors in stained water or on dark overcast days. Most of the time I don't think it makes a big difference. You may pick up more pike on the fluorescents, so if you are trying to avoid them, I would go with something more natural.

I am fond of gold jigs for walleye or a color that contrasts with the soft plastics that I am using. I like white for LT. I used to use twister tails, but have been using 3.5-4" swimbaits with great success in Quetico for the last several years.

Like Jackfish, I use mostly 1/4 oz weight jigs, but I also have some 1/8 oz that I use on occasion. I prefer the stand-up/tip-up style jigs for walleye, but a standard round head jig will also be effective. I like an oversized (3/0 or 4/0 for 1/4oz) light wire Aberdeen hook for Quetico walleye, as the fish are often over 18", so I feel I get better hookups than I would with a smaller hook. The light wire penetrates better and also it is sometimes able to be pulled/bent out of snags.

Hammertime: "Pink, orange, green, chartreuse, yellow, black, white, blue, glow.

I haven’t seen much evidence that color matters, pick your favorite basically.

I like 1/16 oz casting shallow water in calm conditions, 1/4 oz in deep water and/or wind. I use 1/8 oz more than any other size.

Good luck!

PS - This is for walleyes only, have no input on the lakers"

Same. This is solid guidance. I will pair the jig with a white twister tail as well.

For lakers, 3/4 - 1oz, white bucktail or white paddle tail, used for vertical jigging 30-60’ water

For walleyes my fav size is 3/16 Oz. With a strong fine wire hook. Hard to find actually. So 1/4oz is used most, then 3/8…

There is a big difference in fall rate with 3/16 over 1/4… even though it might not seem like much difference in weight.

Moonman.

For walleye and bass, I've had amazing success in June with a pink 1/4 oz jig tipped with white soft body (2-3 in twister or paddle tail), leech, minnow or crawler. Fish mornings and evenings around grassy islands with deep water nearby. Drift jig across gravel flats.

For Lakers, any 1/2 - 1 oz soft body 3-5 inch. Tube jigs work well. No need to tip with bait. Lakers feed largely on ciscos. Mimic their food and you'll catch fish. Blues, whites, and grey colors. Jig aggressively.

Good luck!

Same as others for lakers, at least 1/2 oz.

Some good suggestions. Here a some quotes I agree with:
"I haven’t seen much evidence that color matters"
Me too. I may file the sides of a ball head to give it some silvery flash, but usually unpainted.

"There is a big difference in fall rate" and "I like 1/16 oz casting shallow water in calm conditions"
"For walleyes, I use the smallest ones I can get away with. In heavy current, they are up to one ounce. Casting in shallow water they are tiny, like 1/64 or just a plain hook" and
"Some guys get real technical with this...depth/rate of fall/swimming/hopping etc."

Soft plastic weight + jig weight are crucial considerations in my book along with the shape /action of the lure. A swimbait will fall at a different rate than a stick worm or no-action tail lure. The rate-of-retrieve and type of retrieve is affected by all of that. I used to troll a lot in rivers and 1/8 oz. with a Mr Twister at a slow troll caught lots of smallies.
But fish may not want to chase a lure and therefore lighter is better for a slower retrieve or jigging off bottom in shallow water. I've used a 1/24 oz jig with a 5" Kut Tail worm at mid-depth for the best lure action and caught many species. 1/4 oz would not accomplish the same thing.

Keep in mind one thing: various plastics and types of plastic affect total weight and lure action.

Hammertime: "Pink, orange, green, chartreuse, yellow, black, white, blue, glow.


I haven’t seen much evidence that color matters, pick your favorite basically.


I like 1/16 oz casting shallow water in calm conditions, 1/4 oz in deep water and/or wind. I use 1/8 oz more than any other size.


Good luck!


PS - This is for walleyes only, have no input on the lakers"

Thanks for the advice!

White tube jigs for Lake Trout are known to be very successful.