Is TPE or traditional plastisol better for walleye fishing? Both can be excellent. But walleye may be one of the best species for understanding why choosing a soft plastic is only one piece of the presentation.
Quick Answer
Walleye anglers may be vertical jigging, pitching jigs, swimming paddletails, targeting suspended fish, dragging bottom, fishing cold water, fishing strong river current, fishing spawning migrations, tipping artificials with live bait or adding scent.
That means the complete rig involves material + buoyancy + density + scent + jighead weight + fall rate + hook size + hook strength + current.
And sometimes those variables conflict.
One of the best examples happens during spring river fishing.
You may need a 3/4-, 1-, or even 1 1/2-ounce jighead simply to stay vertical or get the bait down fast enough.
But the hooks traditionally paired with those heavy jigheads can become much larger than we’d ideally want for a walleye presentation.
That’s an important distinction: sometimes you need a heavy jighead without needing a huge hook.
We’ve experienced both sides of that equation ourselves.
This spring on Lake Erie, my dad and I caught dozens of walleye from roughly 12 to 28 inches on 1/2- and 3/4-ounce Upgrade jigheads—including a 5/0 2X hook everyone told us was too big.
The fish disagreed.
But if we were designing a heavy jig specifically around river walleye? We’d probably approach it differently.
More on that below.
Because the real question isn’t TPE or plastisol? It’s what does this bait need to do in the conditions I’m fishing?
A Simple Walleye Decision Guide
| Situation | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Relatively clean water, moderate depth and current | Multi-Purpose Jighead + TPE or plastisol |
| Strong spawning-river current | Don’t be afraid of 3/4, 1 or even 1 1/2 ounces when that’s what it takes to maintain control |
| Suspended walleye | Hover Hook + minnow profile |
| Vegetation or cover | A.T.V. Weedless |
| Bite getting tough | This is one species where we’d experiment with scent |
| Want the bait standing off bottom | Try a more buoyant TPE |
| Want a more natural sinking presentation | Try denser plastisol or sinking TPE |
Why Walleye Are Different From Bass in the TPE vs. Plastisol Conversation
In our bass fishing, we haven’t seen enough correlation between added scent and more fish to make scent a major priority.
Walleye are different.
Based on our fishing experience, scent is a variable we’re much more willing to pay attention to with walleye.
Walleye also force anglers to think more about bottom contact, fall rate, current, vertical presentation, subtle movement and live-bait integration.
So material is only one part of the equation.
What Is TPE?
TPE stands for thermoplastic elastomer.
It’s a broad family of elastic materials increasingly used in fishing soft plastics.
Depending on the formulation, a TPE-style bait may offer extreme stretch, excellent durability, tear resistance, different buoyancy, different density, unique action and long bait life.
But don’t assume every TPE bait behaves the same.
Some are extremely buoyant. Some are less buoyant.
And now some are specifically designed to sink.
Breaking Development: TPE Doesn’t Automatically Mean Floating
This matters for walleye.
Z-Man introduced Sinking ElaZtech in 2026, expanding the material category beyond the highly buoyant behavior anglers traditionally associate with ElaZtech.
That’s important.
Because walleye anglers care tremendously about fall, bottom contact, depth and vertical positioning.
So instead of assuming TPE floats and plastisol sinks, we need to ask: what does this particular bait actually do in the water?
Why Sinking TPE Could Be Especially Interesting for Walleye
Think about how often walleye anglers care about controlled descent, bottom contact, vertical jigging, suspended fish and subtle movement.
A buoyant elastic bait may be perfect when you want a soft plastic standing above bottom.
A naturally sinking elastic bait may be better when you want the plastic following the jighead downward.
Different tool. Different presentation.
What Is Plastisol?
Traditional plastisol has caught an enormous number of walleye.
And there’s a reason.
Manufacturers can manipulate softness, density, flexibility, tail action, salt, scent and sink rate.
That makes plastisol incredibly versatile.
Common walleye profiles include minnows, paddletails, grubs, worms, leeches and finesse plastics.
TPE isn’t replacing those baits.
It’s giving anglers another material platform.
Which Material Has Better Action for Walleye?
Neither wins universally.
A very soft plastisol minnow can move with almost no input.
A soft paddletail may kick at extremely slow retrieve speeds.
A TPE bait may produce a different action because of elasticity, stiffness, buoyancy and density.
The fish get to decide which one is better that day.
Walleye Make Fall Rate Extremely Important
This is where the conversation gets interesting.
Take two similar baits on the same jighead.
If one is more buoyant? They may have different fall rates, orientations, bottom posture and response to current.
Now change the jighead weight.
Everything changes again.
For walleye, fall rate is part of the presentation.
And in river current, it can become one of the most important parts.
Spring River Walleye Can Create a Fall-Rate Problem
Anyone who has fished spawning or migrating walleye in meaningful river current understands the problem.
You want the bait near the fish.
But the river is moving.
Sometimes a 1/4-ounce or 3/8-ounce jig simply isn’t enough.
Even 1/2 ounce may not give you the control you need.
Depending on depth, current speed, boat speed, line diameter, bait profile and presentation, you may need 3/4 ounce, 1 ounce or even 1 1/2 ounces to stay sufficiently vertical or get the bait down fast enough to effectively connect with fish.
Staying Vertical Can Matter More Than Fishing Light
There’s a tendency in fishing to assume lighter = more finesse = better.
Not always.
If your jig is drifting so far behind the boat that you can’t control it? You’re not fishing finesse.
You’re losing control.
For vertical river jigging, sometimes the correct weight is simply whatever allows you to maintain the presentation.
That may be considerably heavier than you’d use in a lake.
Fast Fall Can Matter Too
Weight isn’t only about staying vertical.
Sometimes you need the bait to get through the water column quickly.
Especially when you’re trying to repeatedly place a jig into a relatively small strike zone in current.
A faster fall can help return the bait to the fish, maintain control, reduce excessive downstream drift and improve contact with the jig.
So there are situations where 3/4–1 1/2 ounces isn’t excessive.
It’s simply what the conditions require.
But Heavy Walleye Jigheads Create Another Problem
Here’s where we think the traditional jighead market sometimes creates an awkward compromise.
As jighead weight increases, hook size frequently increases with it.
Need a 3/4-ounce head? Now you may be looking at a large hook.
Need 1 ounce? Bigger again.
Need 1 1/2 ounces? You may end up with a hook designed around a much larger soft plastic or saltwater presentation.
But the walleye doesn’t necessarily require a giant hook.
You need the weight.
You don’t necessarily need the hook size traditionally attached to that weight.
Those are separate variables.
Heavy Head + Smaller Hook Is a Combination We’d Like to See More Of
For a purpose-built heavy river walleye jig, we’d personally be interested in something closer to 3/4 ounce + 2/0 or 3/0, and 1 ounce + 2/0 or 3/0, depending on bait and exact geometry.
In other words: heavy head + shorter-shank, appropriately sized hook.
Enough weight to manage river current.
Enough hook to properly rig the bait.
Without unnecessarily filling a relatively small walleye plastic with steel.
Does That Mean a 5/0 Hook Is Too Big for Walleye?
No.
And we have a pretty good story proving why we wouldn’t make that claim.
My dad and I went to Lake Erie this spring and absolutely hammered walleye.
We started with spinner rigs and nightcrawlers.
Then we started jigging.
And that’s where things got interesting.
Our Lake Erie Experiment
I had custom-tied some heavier Upgrade Multi-Purpose Jigheads with purple bucktail.
We fished 1/2-ounce and 3/4-ounce Upgrade jigheads with 5/0 2X hooks, plus custom DIY purple bucktail, a stinger hook and a chunk of nightcrawler.
We’d already heard plenty of opinions.
The 5/0 is too big. The 2X hook is too heavy. It’s too bulky. Walleye won’t eat it.
Apparently nobody informed the walleye.
We Caught Dozens From Roughly 12 to 28 Inches
Not just big fish.
Not just a couple accidental fish.
Dozens of walleye.
From roughly 12 inches to 28 inches.
And here’s the part we found especially interesting: hardly any were hooked on the stinger hook.
The fish were getting the primary 5/0 2X hook.
Small walleye ate it. Large walleye ate it.
So Why Would We Still Want a Smaller Hook on a Heavy Walleye Jig?
Because “can it work?” and “what would we design specifically for the application?” are two different questions.
Our Lake Erie trip proved to us that anglers can overthink hook size.
A 5/0 2X didn’t stop those fish from eating.
But if we were designing a purpose-built heavy-current walleye jig, we’d still probably choose a shorter-shank 2/0–3/0 hook for many common walleye plastics.
Why?
Because that would give us heavy weight for current, less hook inside the bait, better compatibility with smaller walleye profiles, potentially more natural action and a purpose-built geometry.
That’s optimization.
Not an admission that the 5/0 doesn’t work.
It obviously does.
A Future Upgrade Walleye Jig?
This is one area we’re very aware of.
If The Upgrade family continues to grow, a heavier, walleye-specific jighead with a shorter-shank hook is something we’d be interested in developing.
Think 3/4 ounce, 1 ounce and potentially heavier options paired with something around a 2/0–3/0 hook depending on final design and application.
It would solve a very specific problem: give anglers enough lead to control the bait in heavy current without automatically forcing them into an oversized hook.
Why Haven’t We Built It Yet?
Money.
Tooling costs money. Molds cost money. Inventory costs money. Packaging costs money.
Every new weight, hook size, color, mold and SKU requires capital.
And we’re still a growing company.
We can identify a good product opportunity without immediately spending money to manufacture it.
That’s one of them.
We know the problem exists.
We know what we’d like to change.
It simply isn’t where we’re putting additional tooling dollars today.
The Same Heavy-Head/Short-Hook Idea Has Saltwater Applications Too
This isn’t only a walleye concept.
That’s another reason it’s on our radar.
A compact, heavy jighead with an appropriately sized shorter-shank hook can also make sense for species such as calico bass, black bass and sheephead in saltwater situations where anglers need weight + compact presentation + strong hook without necessarily needing an extremely long or oversized hook.
So we’re well aware of the pairing.
We see the crossover potential.
We’re just not ready to spend the additional money on it yet.
That’s How We Think About Expanding The Upgrade
We don’t want to add products simply to make the catalog bigger.
The question is: does this solve a real fishing problem that the current family doesn’t solve as well as we’d like?
A 3/4- to 1-ounce compact jig with a shorter 2/0–3/0 hook probably does.
That’s much more interesting to us than adding another weight simply because competitors offer it.
Hair + Soft Plastic + Live Bait
Our Lake Erie trip also demonstrated another reason the Multi-Purpose design works for walleye.
Remember why we moved the keeper farther down the hook?
One reason was to leave open shank behind the jighead for bucktail, feathers, flash, living rubber and synthetics.
That’s exactly what we used.
Purple bucktail + crawler.
The jig didn’t have to be a hair jig or a live-bait jig.
It could do both.
Now Add TPE or Plastisol
The same concept can become bucktail + TPE minnow, bucktail + plastisol paddletail, feather + elastic bait, or hair + soft plastic.
That’s why we call it Multi-Purpose.
We want anglers experimenting.
Scent Matters More to Us With Walleye
This is another area where walleye differ from bass.
In our fishing, we haven’t seen enough correlation between added scent and bass catches to prioritize it.
With walleye? We’re more interested.
Especially during tougher bites.
That doesn’t mean scent is mandatory.
It means we’ve seen enough to keep experimenting.
Live Crawlers Are Also a Pretty Strong Reminder
Our Erie experience is relevant here too.
We started with spinner rigs and crawlers.
Then we jigged bucktail with chunks of crawler.
Those fish were clearly willing to respond to natural bait.
That doesn’t scientifically prove an artificial scent product will produce the same response.
But it certainly doesn’t make us want to ignore scent and taste when targeting walleye.
Does Scent Work on TPE?
Yes.
Compatible externally applied scent can be used with TPE and plastisol.
Fishing elastic plastic doesn’t mean you have to abandon scent.
Externally Applied Scent Doesn’t Last Forever
Current matters here too.
River water constantly moves across the bait.
Add casting, jigging, bottom contact and fish, and externally applied scent disperses.
If scent matters to your presentation: reapply it.
TPE vs. Plastisol for Vertical Jigging
Vertical jigging brings everything in this article together.
You’re balancing weight, fall, current, material, hook size, bait profile and scent.
A buoyant TPE may slow or alter the fall.
A dense plastisol may track differently.
A sinking TPE may create something different again.
And if the river is ripping? You may need 3/4 ounce or more simply to control any of them.
Don’t Let Bait Material Determine Weight by Itself
A buoyant TPE may require additional weight in some situations.
But don’t automatically jump heavier without testing.
Look at current, depth, line, bait profile, boat movement and desired fall.
The correct weight is the one that gives you the presentation you need.
TPE vs. Plastisol for Paddletails
A soft plastisol paddletail can have tremendous movement at slow speeds.
A TPE paddletail may provide greater durability, different buoyancy, different roll and different tail resistance.
If they’re eating both equally? We start leaning toward TPE because of durability.
If they’re clearly preferring the plastisol? Fish the plastisol.
The Upgrade Multi-Purpose Jighead for Walleye
For exposed-hook presentations, the Multi-Purpose gives us a versatile option for swimming, jigging, bottom contact, hair-and-plastic hybrids and live-bait hybrids.
Its farther-back tapered keeper was designed to accommodate both TPE and traditional plastisol.
Why the Keeper Is Farther Down the Hook
Three reasons.
1. Open tying space. Leave room behind the head for bucktail, feathers, flash and living rubber.
2. Move some mass toward the belly. The lead keeper itself shifts some additional mass farther down the hook. That can influence balance, fall and roll.
3. Engage more material. Instead of making the nose do all the retention work, the keeper sits farther into the bait where there’s often more material around it.
TPE vs. Plastisol for Suspended Walleye
Not every walleye is on bottom.
Modern electronics make that painfully obvious.
If fish are six feet down over twenty feet? Fish six feet.
Don’t drag around underneath them simply because the lake is twenty feet deep.
The Upgrade Hover Hook for Suspended Walleye
Our exposed Hover Hook is available in 1/16 oz, 3/32 oz and 1/8 oz, all on a 3/0 2X hook.
This gives anglers different weights while maintaining the same 3/0 hook.
That’s useful when tuning fall, hang time, depth and horizontal movement.
TPE + Hover Hook for Walleye
A buoyant elastic minnow with belly weight may produce flatter posture, slower fall, horizontal presentation and longer hang.
A sinking TPE? Different again.
Plastisol + Hover Hook for Walleye
A very soft plastisol minnow may roll, quiver, dart or glide with tiny rod movements.
That can be extremely effective for fish staring at the bait.
What About Weedless Walleye Fishing?
Walleye aren’t always over clean rock.
You may encounter vegetation, wood and brush.
That’s where a weedless configuration can help.
The Upgrade A.T.V. Weedless Swinghead
Our A.T.V. Weedless Swinghead is available in:
| Weight | Hook size |
|---|---|
| 1/8 oz | 2/0 |
| 1/4 oz | 3/0 |
| 3/8 oz | 4/0 |
That gives anglers different combinations of weight and hook size for cover-oriented presentations.
Hook Size and Weight Shouldn’t Be Married Forever
This is probably the biggest product-design lesson in this article.
The fishing industry often pairs lighter weight = smaller hook and heavier weight = larger hook.
Sometimes that’s exactly right.
Sometimes it isn’t.
Walleye in strong current are a perfect example.
You may need 1 ounce of lead while still wanting a compact 2/0 or 3/0 hook.
Weight solves the current problem.
Hook size solves the bait problem.
They don’t always need to increase together.
Hook Strength Is a Third Decision
Now add another variable. Strength.
Weight. Hook size. Hook strength.
Three separate decisions.
You might want 1 ounce + 2/0 + strong wire.
Or 1/8 ounce + 2/0 + fine wire.
Those are completely different tools.
That’s why simply saying “I need a walleye jig” doesn’t tell us enough.
Why Much of The Upgrade Family Uses 2X
We fish freshwater, saltwater, tidal rivers and places where the fish eating your bait isn’t always the fish you expected.
That’s why 2X black nickel became our premium baseline across much of The Upgrade family.
And our Erie experience reinforced it.
Fish from roughly 12 to 28 inches had no apparent problem eating a 5/0 2X presentation.
Does Every Walleye Need 2X?
No.
Fine-wire hooks can be excellent for finesse, easier penetration, subtle presentations and small baits.
We’re not arguing otherwise.
Our philosophy is simply: don’t automatically assume strong wire ruins the presentation.
Test it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TPE better than plastisol for walleye?
Neither is universally better. TPE can offer durability and different buoyancy characteristics, while plastisol can offer exceptional softness and action.
Does scent help walleye?
Based on our fishing experience, scent is more worth experimenting with for walleye than it has been for bass, particularly during slower bites.
Can you use scent on TPE?
Yes. Compatible externally applied scents can be used on TPE and plastisol.
Is TPE always buoyant?
No. Different formulations have different densities, and newer sinking elastic formulations demonstrate why anglers should test the individual bait.
What weight jighead should I use for river walleye?
It depends on depth, current, line, bait profile and presentation. In strong spawning-river current, anglers may sometimes need 3/4, 1 or even 1 1/2 ounces to maintain a sufficiently vertical presentation or achieve the necessary fall rate.
Is 1 ounce too heavy for walleye?
Not when current and depth require it. The goal is maintaining the correct presentation, not using the lightest jig possible.
Why are hooks so large on heavy walleye jigheads?
Many jighead designs increase hook size as head weight increases. That can create a mismatch when an angler needs substantial weight for current but still wants a compact walleye bait and shorter hook.
What hook size would you use on a heavy river walleye jig?
For a purpose-built heavy-current design, we’d be interested in testing shorter-shank hooks around 2/0–3/0 with weights such as 3/4 and 1 ounce, depending on the bait and final geometry.
Is a 5/0 hook too big for walleye?
Not automatically. We caught dozens of Lake Erie walleye from roughly 12 to 28 inches while jigging 1/2- and 3/4-ounce Upgrade jigheads with 5/0 2X hooks, purple bucktail and crawler. That doesn’t mean 5/0 is ideal for every presentation. It means the fish may be less concerned about our hook-size rules than we are.
Do you need a stinger hook for walleye?
They can help with short strikes, but during our Lake Erie trip hardly any of our walleye were actually hooked on the stinger.
Will Ebb N Flow make a heavier walleye-specific jighead?
It’s a category we’re interested in if The Upgrade family continues growing. A heavier head paired with a shorter 2/0–3/0-style hook could address a real current-control problem. It’s simply not something we’re prepared to spend additional tooling and inventory money on right now.
Would a compact heavy jig work for other species?
Yes. The same general weight-to-hook-size concept can have crossover applications for species such as calico bass, black bass and sheephead where anglers may want substantial weight with a more compact hook and bait presentation.
The Bottom Line
Walleye expose one of the biggest problems with oversimplifying fishing tackle.
We want everything to fit into easy rules.
TPE floats. Not anymore.
Plastisol is better because it’s softer. Sometimes.
Use the lightest jig possible. Not when you can’t control it.
Heavy jig means big hook. Why?
5/0 is too big for walleye. Tell that to the dozens my dad and I caught this spring.
That’s the point.
A spring river walleye angler may legitimately need 3/4–1 1/2 ounces to stay vertical or achieve the fall rate needed to consistently put the bait in front of fish.
But that same angler may ideally want only a 2/0–3/0 shorter-shank hook.
That’s a real tackle-design problem.
And it’s one we’re well aware of.
If The Upgrade family keeps growing, we’d love to eventually address it with a purpose-built heavier walleye jighead.
Enough lead to control the presentation. A compact hook matched to the bait. Strong enough for the fish. No unnecessary steel.
And the interesting part? That same concept crosses over into saltwater applications for calico bass, black bass and sheephead.
We see it. We know what we’d like to build.
We’re simply not going to spend money on another mold and a pile of inventory until the business justifies it.
For now? Fish what’s in front of you.
If you need 3/4 ounce? Use 3/4.
If you need an ounce? Use an ounce.
If the fish want TPE? Fish TPE.
If they want soft plastisol? Give them plastisol.
If they’re following but not committing? Try scent.
If they’re suspended? Stop fishing underneath them.
And if somebody tells you a 5/0 2X hook is way too damn big for a 12-inch walleye?
They might be right on paper.
The walleye might have a different opinion.
Let the fish get the final vote.
Next up: TPE vs. Plastisol for Pike and Musky.
Tie your own bucktail on it, then slide a paddletail behind. Shop The Upgrade family →