As summer transitions to fall, some game-fish species tend to become more active. This includes lake-dwelling walleyes. Bucktail jigs,— hair jigs if you like – can be one of the best tools for plucking fall walleyes from the various habitats they occupy during autumn.

Depending upon the physical characteristics of a lake or reservoir, and the food sources found there, walleyes can occupy a variety of niches. This could be fish relating to remaining healthy submergent vegetation, or deeper ledges and drop offs into creek and river channels. The fish could be shallow or deep. Hair jigs are appropriate in many scenarios.

Consider stands of green vegetation – pondweed, coontail, milfoil – cover that holds baitfish and hence predators like walleyes. Healthy weed growth tends to stand tall, and since it’s had a season to mature, it is readily identifiable on sonar. When found on points and humps, weeds are even more likely to hold ‘eyes, places that can be picked apart with a bucktail.

When working a stand of late fall weeds, I like to position the boat a cast length off the deep edge of the cover. Initial casts are made right up into the vegetation. This serves two purposes. One, the cast often comes back with a strand of weeds, providing clues as to the type of health of the vegetation. Secondly, you get a baseline of how far to cast to reach the sparse outer weed edges where feeding walleyes tend to hold.

Jig weight is an important and often overlooked aspect of bucktails. I like to keep things relatively light. For weed edges in the 15-foot range, I prefer a 3/16-ounce jig; if weeds end around 10 feet or less, 1/8 ounce is often better.

Relatively short casts in the 30-foot range allow you to pick the weed edge apart. If walleyes are especially active, they may hit the jig on the initial fall. If not, work it back along the weed fringe with light upward hops that jump the bait a foot or so off bottom. Don’t be afraid to slather the hair with an attractant like Smelly Jelly, or to tip the jig with a live minnow or a Berkely Gulp Alive 3-inch minnow. The latter allows you to be a bit more aggressive with your hops/snaps without fear of tearing off the bait.

Walleye bites on bucktails are often felt as a sharp tick. It’s my theory that since natural fiber compresses when underwater, unlike soft plastic bodies, there is less material to buffer the feel of the take.

Bucktails also excel when fishing along ledges and drop offs, known late fall walleye haunts, especially on reservoirs. Commonly, these spots can be anywhere from 15 to 30 feet deep, and as such a vertical approach is often best. Key areas include channel swings close to shore, submerged junctions of secondary/primary creek channels, even deep, submerged wood.

Basically, any place where you might fish a metal blade bait or jigging spoon is a good situation for a hair jig as well. The bait can be yo-yoed like a spoon or snapped like a blade. But another option not to overlook is simply allowing it to hover in place with little to no additional input. This semi motionless look – currently referred to as “moping” in the bass world – also triggers walleyes. Remember, the hair is breathing without any additional movement.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle