Walleye and northern pike have a lot in common. Each of these predator fish feeds on forage fish such as perch, shiners, smelt and alewife or shad. The Swedish Pimple, Flute Spoon and Vingla imitate forage fish very effectively. Use a medium action spinning rod with a balanced reel spooled with 8 lb. Test line. Attach the lure to the line via a snap. Cast the spoon and allow the lure to fall. During the fall, count to yourself “one thousand-one – two” until the line settles showing you the line has hit bottom. With a lift hesitation fall retrieve, slowly reel in line. Do this fast enough to keep the lure from snagging up. If you feel a tap, added weight on the line, or see a hesitation or movement in the line, set the hook immediately.

Adjust the fall of the lure by retrieving earlier during the count down method. Vary your method of retrieve by side rod twitching lifting the rod sharply or slowly and by varying the time of pause before reeling. Also use these lures while drift fishing, spring or summer. Let the line run out to bottom and jig the rod tip about 8 inches with a sharp twitch. This will make the lure shoot around about three feet in various directions with each twitch. If the lure doubles back and fouls the line, cut back on the lift and twitch as currents and speed of the drift may combine for too much action.

The size and color of the spoon you use should imitate the forage fish that are present and should be governed by water depth and rate of current or wind drift. Use the right weight to keep your lure working just off bottom. The Swedish Pimple. Flute Spoon and Vingla can be fished with or without live bait. Many will use our special single hook baited with a minnow, leach, night crawler or perch eye when vertical jigging or slow drifting. Often a stinger hook works to protect the bait and hooks short strikers. Our Flute Spoon series is ideal when used this way.