We’re going to break down the best walleye spoons for ice fishing.
Instead of listing a bunch of lures and adding some weak information, we’re going to go ultra in-depth on five of the very best spoons you NEED in your tackle box this winter.
We’re going to talk about why I like these specific lures, how you need to use them to have success, and we’re also going to share some underwater footage of each of these lures in action, breaking down the idiosyncrasies that you need to understand to catch fish with these spoons.
You can continue reading below for the full write-up, or you can watch the video version of the same content – regardless, any product links will be available just below the video:
- Buck-Shot Spoon ▹ Amazon ▹ FishUSA
- Leech Flutter Spoon ▹ Amazon ▹ FishUSA
- Swedish Pimple ▹ Amazon ▹ FishUSA
- Glo-Shot Spoon (Fire Belly) ▹ Amazon ▹ FishUSA
- Glo-Shot Spoon (Flutter) ▹ Amazon ▹ FishUSA
- Freedom Minnow Spoon ▹ Amazon ▹ FishUSA
First and foremost, you need to understand that there are two distinct categories of spoons – vertical spoons and fluttering spoons. There will to be some hybrids spoons have characteristics of both, and there will also be some oddball spoons that are just completely different.
Here’s more info on the two categories:
VERTICAL SPOONS
Vertical spoons, as you would expect, are fished vertically. They might flop around a little bit, but overall, they are going to stay up-and-down directly underneath your hole. Many variations of vertical spoons have rattles or some sort of glowing mechanism to draw fish in from a distance, but you will find some that are more finesse and don’t have the extra attractants.
FLUTTER SPOONS
Flutter spoons – conversely – have a lot more action and flutter away from the hole as they fall through the water column. This unique action will call fish in from a distance and can also cover water as it travels outside of the cone angle of your flasher.
With either category of spoon, you’re going to seal the deal in a similar fashion. Once a walleye comes to take a look, you will slow down your presentation and shimmy/shake the lure to entice a bite. Sometimes, it’s a minnow head on the bottom treble, other times, it’s a feathered treble or some other trick that elicits the strike.
Okay, now that you understand the two primary categories of walleye spoon, let’s jump into our first pick:
NORTHLAND BUCK-SHOT RATTLE SPOON
Let’s start out with a vertical spoon. One of my absolute favorites is of course the classic buck-shot spoon.
This thing has been around forever, and it’s a tried-and-true fish catcher.
You can fish this bait efficiently because it gets down in a hurry with its slim profile. Once it is down there, you want to shake it hard!
One mistake I see a lot of people make is that they do not give the spoon enough action. It has brass rattles on the inside and the more you shake them, the more the fish are going to be attracted to your hole.
You want to get your wrist really moving – that’s going to create the most noise, which will call fish in from a distance.
Of course, once the fish is underneath your hole and looking at your bait, you want to slowly shake it and work it upwards.
You have the aggressive approach pull the fish in, then you are sealing the deal with something that is less aggressive. As you raise the fish up-and-up, the fish will follow the bait. If you think about the vantage the walleye is looking at your lure (from underneath), the profile is going to look quite small compared to the sideways view. That’s one of the reasons this spoon gets bit when the bite is tough.
This is one of my most productive spoons, no matter what species I’m chasing – but especially for walleyes.
LEECH FLUTTER SPOON
Next on the list is a walleye spoon that falls into the “flutter” category – the leech flutter spoon.
You’ll want to drop this bait down on a slick line (free-fall), which will allow it to flutter several feet away from the hole. You are covering as much distance as you can right away.
Chances are, it’s going to flutter so far away from your hole that you will not see it on your traditional 2D sonar cone angle.
Once it reaches bottom, you’re going to lift it up, then let it fall again. Rinse-and-repeat, letting the spoon flutter all over the place. This allows you to cover more water when you’re jigging in one isolated location. You’re covering a larger surface area vs. just the small little patch of bottom just below the hole.
The flashing and fluttering action is going to call fish in, but it’s the profile of the lure, the color and the “finishing” on the treble hook that’s going to seal the deal for you.
I’m a big fan of the feathered treble that comes stock on this spoon. It has excellent action as it undulates in the water. In a lot of cases, you can fish this spoon without a minnow head thanks to the feather.
I would love to see more bait manufacturers use the feathered trebles on their spoons, but you can always add them yourself.
The Leech Flutter Spoon also comes with a little snap, which comes in handy.
I’m a big fan of using snaps with my walleye spoons spoon during the ice fishing season. I feel like it gives the lure some extra action. It’s also nice to not have to re-tie every time you want to change spoons – especially when it’s extra-cold outside.
Those are a couple nice premium add-ons that make this bait fishable right out of the box.
They come in some cool, unique colors, including some wild “glow” options. They have metallic spoons, too, if you are fishing in clear water.
BAY DE NOC SWEDISH PIMPLE
Next up, we’re going with an oldie but goodie.
There have been many spoon introduced over the past several decades that catch a lot of fish. Some were extremely popular back in the day, but you don’t hear much about them anymore… and it’s not because they do not catch fish anymore. 😉
Anything that caught fish 40 years ago, 60 years ago, 70 years ago, will probably catch fish today.
The reason you don’t hear about them anymore is because there aren’t big companies spending thousands of dollars to market them on social media or on television. They still catch fish though!
One of those lures is the Swedish pimple.
Many of you have probably used this spoon before, but if you are new to walleye fishing and you haven’t given it shake, I would highly recommend picking up a few and trying them out.
This lure has a subtle fluttering action. It’s not going to get quite as far away from the hole as some of your more traditional flutter spoons, but it gives you a little extra flash and vibration to call fish in from a distance.
Additionally, it has a nice slender profile that does an excellent job of imitating a small minnow, which is perfect for when you are trying to elicit a walleye strike!
The Swedish Pimple also has the small flappers just above the treble hook, which is going to create some additional noise and action, which might get you a few more bites.
I am a huge fan of the Swedish Pimple, and I’ll use it throughout the ice fishing season – from first ice to last ice. It might be old, but it still catches fish!
NORTHLAND GLO-SHOT SPOONS
Fire Belly: ▹ Amazon ▹ FishUSA
One thing that I like to do when I am selecting walleye spoons is pick something that is going to work well in a VERY specific situation.
I have been experimenting with lures that have glow sticks in them
My verdict: They can be extremely effective in low light periods. Whether it’s sunrise, sunset, or night fishing.
By far, my favorite baits have come from Northland’s Glo-Shot series. They have a good profile – which is key. Some of the other glow lures on the market have bulkier builds that don’t look as appetizing in the water.
I am not knocking any other company, but Northland has this program dialed in. For example, the Fire-Belly Spoon looks almost identical to the Buck-Shot spoon, which is a proven fish catching profile.
Instead of rattles, it has a glow stick.
Northlands has a few different color options, too. Their yellow sticks fall into the middle of the spectrum from brightness. Green is very, very bright, and red is a lot more mellow.
Red is going to work better is clear water, whereas you might find more success with green in darker, dirtier water dirty. The yellow sticks are the happy medium that can work in many situations. Choose your glow stick color based on the water that you are fishing.
They also have a fluttering glow spoon option. 🔥
Like I said before, where these glow baits really shine, no pun intended, is when you are fishing the low-light periods or water that’s darker and dingier – places where walleyes have a hard time zeroing in on your spoon.
Depending on which profile you use (flutter spoon vs. vertical spoon), you are going to fish them differently. With the Fire-Belly Spoon I like to fish it similarly to the way I fish the Buck-Shot Spoon.
With the flutter option, I am going to fish it the same way I’d fish the Leech Flutter Spoon. Different strokes for different profiles and actions.
FREEDOM MINNOW SPOON
Last on the list of my top 5 walleye spoons for ice fishing is something straight out of left field.
Chances are, you’ve never tried the Freedom Minnow Spoon – in which case, you’re missing out!
What’s interesting about this spoon is that it looks nothing like any of the other lures we’ve talked about so far on this list.
It’s action is completely different. It does completely different things.
The spoon itself has an s-shaped body and has a shaft going up the middle of the bait. There is a bead above and below where you tie onto the bait. The beads create a little extra noise call fish to your hole.
While most flutter spoons rip straight up and then flutter away from the hole, this bait does the opposite. It almost fishes more like a Jigging Rap, Puppet Minnow or Shiver Minnow style lure.
It jumps away from the hole on the up-rip, then flutters back to center.
It’s a unique look that you won’t find in many baits.
It creates a lot of flash and vibration, calling fish in from a distance.
If you’ve used a Jigging Rap, you might be tempted to put the minnow head on the front treble hook, but that would be a mistake. First of all, you don’t necessarily NEED to use meat with this spoon, but if that’s your preference, then you need to put it on the back hook.
If you add the minnow head to the front treble, it’s going to mess up the action. Also, when you mark a fish and you are working it upwards, back of the spoon is going to be tipping downwards towards the fish, so that’s when you want the chunk of meat to sit.
It has a couple different line-tie locations, whether you want to fish the spoon vertically or horizontally.
The Freedom Minnow Spoon is a cool option you might want to check out if you’re looking for something that almost nobody is using on your favorite lake.
BEST WALLEYE SPOON COLORS
If you’re new to walleye fishing through the ice, you probably have no idea which sizes and colors you need in your tackle box. Here’s a few quick rules of thumb:
More often than not, you won’t go wrong with a 1/8th ounce spoon.
If you are fishing a vertical spoon like the Buck-Shot, you may want to up-size to a 1/4th ounce size. It’s a little bit bigger, a little bit louder, and it will call fish in a little bit better. But the profile isn’t too bulky for when you’re trying to get a walleye to strike.
With any other spoon, it’s going to depend on how big the walleyes are that you’re targeting, and the forage in the system. For example, I love using 1/8th ounce spoons on Red Lake (smaller walleyes), especially when the water is on the clearer side, but on fisheries like Lake Winnipeg (giant walleyes), the best anglers are using massive lures.
Another time I’ll use bigger baits: The fish are a lot more aggressive on early ice and late ice when there’s more oxygen in the water.
But once you get into mid-winter, it’s cold and the fish are lethargic. That’s when an 1/8th ounce spoon is going to be a staple. I’ll even consider downsizing to a 1/16th ounce on some occasions, which is a size most would only consider for catching perch through the ice.
On the topic of color, I like to use metallic silver and metallic gold in clear water, and then brighter colors or glow options in dirtier conditions. But that said, do not rule out bright colors in clear water, especially the gaudy UV colors.
Pink UV is probably my #1 color on Mille Lacs Lake.
Can’t say I know why it works so well, but it’s a walleye killer!
Hopefully this writeup had enough information to help you decide which walleye spoons to buy this winter. Everybody has their own favorites, but I like to experiment with new stuff and see if I can’t find that next “magic” bait before the masses.
When I find the next best walleye spoon, I’ll make sure to let you know here!
Best of luck this winter 👍
