For me, I almost always fish open water walleyes with 3/8ths jig heads. Was out the other day and caught walleye in 4 to 32 foot of water all with 3/8ths. I don't even have any 1/8th oz heads in the box. As far as the fall goes, I'm more interested in using a heavy enough jig head to not waste time getting it down into the fish zone. After all, the drop rate can almost always be controlled on a tight line no matter the weight of the jig. If I was worried about how the fish react to a 1/8th oz jig falling as compared to a 3/8ths..I'd always use 1/8ths no matter how long it took to drop. I'm not. After all, I'm fishing four to six foot deep water whether sitting in four foot of water or thirty foot while jigging for walleyes. The bottom and on up four to six feet. I'm fairly certain the fall rate from 26 to 30 foot is the same as from 1 to 4 foot. So, if a 3/8ths works in thirty foot...it will work the same in four foot.
The biggest factor for increasing weight is the wind. You have to have contact with the jig in order to feel the tic. Can't be having slack line or a bow in the line unless you want to miss a lot of fish you never even knew hit. Heavy wind, might have to move to a half oz jig. If you're catching most of your eyes while lifting the tip..I guarantee you're missing many more that you never felt hit on the drop.
Ice fishing Blue Mesa...I guess it depends upon what you're fishing for. Looking for trout in shallow water...You might be using eighth oz lazer jigs. Looking for perch...might be using !/16ths. Want lakers...What size fish are you after and how deep are you fishing? A lot of factors come into play.
As far as tubes catching walleye. Absolutely! Walleye love them. I'd also add some bright colors to the mix that Sean mentioned. Yellow, Pink, Fire Tiger. The darker the water...the brighter the colors or use very dark colors. Deeper water equals brighter colors..At night use darker colors.. Early Spring, brighter. colors. Summer..more natural colors. Sunny day clear water natural colors. Overcast Day stained water..Bright or very dark colors.
But overall...I feel color is secondary to the action you place on the jig. You can use your colored jig heads in your tubes. I don't buy colored heads anymore. Just a waste of money and a pain cleaning the eyelet. Totally unnecessary.
