Jig and trailer fishing

[Slyster]

I have fished now for 2 seasons. I now have decent experience with spinnerbiats.. tubes... senko types... rapalas...

But one thing I haven't tried yet is jigs with plastic trailers.

Perhaps some can offer some tips on things such as colors for different waters.. different trailers... line to use... ways to fish?

(I just saw a bass show where Kevin V was using these in weed cover- and I'd like to try them)

[SluggoMaster]

Black/Blue works for almost every situation, then black/brown if that does not work.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Sly, yet another great question. Its awesome to have a memeber such as yourself to ask the questions that many others are thinking just not asked yet. I forsee you in a few years answering the questions others ask inyears to come.

On to the Jig-n-pig or jig and plastic trailer... This lure can be fished so many ways, and to be honest there are a lot of different styles out there as well. Different head types, hook types, line ties.. all affect the lures action.

As for how to fish it, as I stated it can be done in a ton of ways. Most fish it like you would a texas rig worm. Cast let it sit on the bottom, pump your rod tip a few times let it sit on the bottom.. Repeat! If I see a flaw in many, its that they move the jig too far with each pump of the rod..Small hops are best it seems. You can also just cast and retrieve like a spinnerbiat.. This is how the last state championship was won. Or you can cast and reel in like a spinnerbait while pumping the rod. OR, you can cast and just shake it on the bottom...

You can fish it deep, shallow, weeds, wood, rock.. open water... endless, by far the most versitle lure. If I was told I could only use one lure for the rest of my life... Hands down, it would be the jig.

Entire books have been written on jig fishing. Try and get your hands on any book written by Denny Brauer, I would suggest checking them out at the library!

as for colors.. black/blue is probably the most popoular.. I like pumpkin pepper as well.. I use a lot of blue/purple and natural craw too...

Line?.. I like 14-17 lb mono or 50-65 lb braid...for the thick stuff...

[Crank It Up Pro]

slyster,

Sounds like a great idea to start gaining confidence in a very important lure type the "JIG", the first thing I recommend doing is getting a few different styles like bulletheads,football,round ect.Bulletheads for around grass lite 1/4 or 3/8oz. for shallow water or finicky fish,heavier 1/2 or 5/16oz. for mid-depths and 3/4 or 1oz. for deep bass.The football heads I would consentrate on 3/4oz.to 1oz. they are a great openwater jig and you must stay in contact with the bottem at all times and a heavier jig does this, drag it along until you feel anything differant then stop for awhile this is when your going to get bit.I use 40 to 65lb PowerPro for all of my jig fishing the sensitivity and strength is unbelievable.Oh-Yeah the best thing for you to do is go out to were you know there are some fish and throw a jig allday so you can start learning the differant bites and weeds and such,if you cant find some fish give me a call and I will give you a allday jig clinic.

[Ray Esboldt]

Like Deitz said, a jig with a plastic or pork trailer can be so many things in so many different places, it's almost hard to know where to start. So, I'm going to try to explain an easy way to gain confidence in the bait. There's so many different feelings associated with a jig, weeds - rocks - timber - the way a fish hits it, that you should become familar with the sensations associated with fishing it before worrying about the size, color, or variations of retrieval.

Now here's what I would do to simplify the early stages of your jig self-education. Tie a 3/4oz. bullet head jig on 14 lb. mono and thread either a large grub or plastic crayfish on the hook. Bring enough jigs and plastics to get you through the day, and that's it (just like Crankitup said). Find a weed edge (preferably on a point) and either anchor or hover with your electric right on the edge. Make short 50 foot casts, let the bait sink to the bottom, and get the feel for the bait on a slow retrieve. A bite by a little northern or bass helps the learning process. But, your main goal is to get the feeling of the bait as it works along the bottom and through the weeds. Don't worry about boat control (if you anchor) or other things that will distract you from getting the feel of the bait. Repeat this process on several spots throughout the day and you should have a general knack for jig fishing.

From there, you can gradually graduate to smaller jigs, different trailers, and different retrieves. If you keep things simple and add little changes here and there, you'll get "there" faster than dumping $200 into a bunch of jigs and trailers and trying to figure out what to do with them.

[CrappieJohn]

You have gotten a bunch of ideas here and what Ray has offered is what I think to be the most prudent approach to fishing any new bait. I might go one further and suggest you do this preliminary fishing while you are alone and leave the sauce to home. You need to concentrate on knowing what this bait feels like in a variety of circumstances and will demand your complete attention....not only in what the rod/lure is telling you, but you will need to watch that line as well.

I had a terrible time with the heavier jigs until I forced myself to really look at the little things they were doing. When I finally realized what I needed to watch for, I was able to see/feel the differences when I had a hit.

I love fishing pannies with plastics. When I first got started in that style of fishing the only thing I took with me on any given day was a few floats, a few jigs and a few plastics. I took nothing as a fall-back bait and forced myself to learn to fish with this new ( at the time it was fairly new) kind of bait.

Good stuff here and you can apply it to many fish down the road.

[delmuts]

just to add to CT post on line watching; there will be times that you just see a little switch to the line with a bite, or the line may just take off! also , don't be afraid the feather the line over a finger. this will telegraph what the jig is doing better than just feeling it thru the rod.BUT!! remember to move your finger off the line when you set the hook, if using braids!! ( otherwise bring band-aids ) and be PATIENT!!

[Deitz Dittrich]

my fave is when you make a cast and the line is sinking, and sinking, and sinking.. and you think.. dang that jig should have hit the bottom by now!!!! FISH ON!!!

[Bushwacker]

Jigs are one of the most fun ways to catch bass in my opinion. My home lake has heavy milfoil and it is the best feeling in fishing when you are slowly working a jig through the heavy cover and it feels like you hit a stump. Bang--fish on

[TurnUpTheFishing]

When starting out it may help to fish a white jig shallow so you can watch the lure and get an idea to how the lure reacts to different movements. Also it really helps when you do get a fish because you will see it and be able to concentrate of the feeling of the bite.

When starting out dont hesitate to set the hook if you think a fish has hit. When I first started I was setting the hook on every little tick but after a few trips and a few fish I could decipher between fish and weeds, rock, etc.