Spring walleye anglers have an assortment of lures to present to early spring walleyes.

River anglers tend to be jiggers, relying on a leadhead jig teamed with a minnow to dupe flowing water ‘eyes.

Jigs get their use on lakes too.

Many a shallow-holding walleye, recuperating from the recent spawn, has fallen to a jig.

Minnow-shaped crankbaits have their place in the early season, as do ‘crawler harnesses pulled behind heavy sinkers and bait rigs fished in concert with a slip sinker.

But as good as these early season options are, many anglers fail to recognize when walleyes are in the mood for some heavy meal.

Jigging spoons include a host of options, from the venerable Hopkins Jigging Spoon and Bay De Noc Swedish Pimple to more “walleye-specific” versions like Northland Tackle’s Fire Minnow and Forage Minnow, and Lindy’s Viking Spoon.

Vibrating metal blade baits function in a somewhat similar manner and can be used in the same situations as spoons. Blade bait examples include Reef Runner’s Cicada, Heddon’s Sonar, and Worden’s Showdown.

Both spoons and blade baits shine in situations where walleyes are sulking in medium to deeper water, such as is often the case following a cold front, or during periods of intense fishing pressure. Conditions like these, which reduce the chance a fish will hit a lure or bait that appeals to its feeding mechanism, call for something that elicits a reactionary strike.

And that is what spoons a

nd blades bring to the party.

I recall an instance a few years back when my partner Dave and I trailered an hour to Glendale Lake for the walleye opener.

It was noontime when we arrived at the launch, just in time to see another friend, Frank, coming in from an early morning outing.

Now Frank was a hot stick on that lake, a guy that had shared a lot of information with me about its walleye fishing.

So I was surprised to learn that Frank had a skunk to show for his opening morning efforts.

All his finesse jigging and rigging were for naught.

So when Dave and I hit the water, rather than ply the shallows, we began working the 15 to 20 foot depths with spoons and blade baits, where a secondary creek channel curved its way along the bottom of a one of the lake’s largest bays.

One walleye led to another, and within a few hours we had double limits, topped off with a 28 incher. Frank was a bit surprised when I shared the news the following Monday.

Looking back, Dave and I fell into a perfect scenario for blade baits.

The walleye opener had put an extra influx of boats on the lake that day.

By the time we arrived the fish had been pressured, and responded by sliding into deeper water. And though they might not have been in the mood for the liveliest of leeches or ‘crawlers, they reacted to a metal bait suspended in front of them.

Though both jigging spoons and blades can be fished horizontally, as in casted and retrieved, like many folks I mostly fish them vertically, right under the boat.

That way they can be presented with the in-their-face method that triggers strikes from turned-off fish.

Allow the metal bait to free-fall to the bottom. When it hits the bottom, the line will go slack. Engage the reel, wind the lure a few inches off the bottom, and begin working the lure.

With a spoon, I use a somewhat subtle upward twitch to jig the bait, and then allow it to fall on a semi-tight line.

Do this by following the lure’s descent with the rod tip.

Then hold the spoon still for several seconds before imparting the next jigging motion.

Most hits on spoons occur as the jig hangs motionless.

I often tip one tine of the spoon’s treble hook with a small fathead minnow, which seems to help seal the deal.

Blades need to be worked in a more aggressive manner.

They vibrate on the upswing, and require a more decided motion.

Fishing a blade bait is often referred to as “pumping blades,” which describes the methodical style in which it is worked. Like the spoon, control the fall after the pump, not only to maintain contact to detect a strike, but to help keep the lure from fouling on the line.

While walleye will hit a blade as it hovers, most strikes occur on the fall. The lure will feel “funny” on the descent, or you’ll notice that it didn’t fall as far or fast as it should have.

When something doesn’t feel right, respond with a quick hookset.

As legendary angler Al Lindner has noted, “hooksets are free.”

Metal baits work best when fished around defined cover.

On lakes this can be the edges of a channel, deep brushpiles, or the sides of a mid-lake shoal.

On rivers, metal baits do well when worked around the edges of deeper holes.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.