With panfish I just usually jig really lightly and will pound it occasionally, but very subtly. Usually I will do little lift falls and a lot of pauses and jiggles. Panfish tend to be pretty easy.
Rainbows, browns, and cutthroats are usually almost as easy. If using spoons I will do a 18" lift fall every 25 seconds or so. After the lift fall I will let it stay perfectly still for about 5 seconds, then jiggles will be added. When tipped with bait, usually it's a pretty sure bet. Sometimes though a plain hook with bait fished as a deadstick outfishes a jigging presentation in my book though.
Lake trout around here require tons of finesse. Like IFB said, a small, slow lift and fall with lots of pauses and some jiggles will get the job done usually. But mackinaw tend to be quite fickle and in Colorado and most other high elevation western states, 90% of the time an aggressive jigging presentation will send them running like scalded pigs. But in other areas they can be quite aggressive.
The only fish in Colorado that tend to hit the lures anytime other than the pause or jiggles are rainbows, browns, or cutthroats. They are the most aggressive.
Walleyes tend to like a simple lift fall, with a 5 - 10 second pause and jiggles, followed by another lift fall. They also tend to be fairly easy in Colorado, at least in the lake I used to fish.
Tyler