If I were to start fishing the jig and commit to staying on it this spring what size and trailer do I use for this around beds,Pre and post spawn?

The strike king rage twin tail menace grub does a fantastic job of mimicking a small bream tail moving around. they have a 3" and 4" version.

I do like the Zoom speed craw as well as its a very subtle action and dipping the tips in chartreuse makes it stand out.

So many options out there! Good luck!

Hard to beat a SK Rage Craw but these seem to work just as well for less $$

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Zoom_Supe...q0aAs2bEALw_wcB

In shallow water i like 1/4oz jigs, either flippin or swim jigs. I also like the SK Rage Craw to keep the compact profile

I build them the way you want them in many sizes. My trailers are hand poured and scented Crayfish or Craylic.
Each jig comes with the trailer to best match your choice of jig colors and complement the belly of the Crayfish on one side and the darker color combinations on the other.

The Baby Doll Jig for fishing slopes and deeper water is unique with Dome Eyes and BB under the dome for the sound chamber.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/12416231/Mimic_The_Crayfish

I use a 1/2 oz. War Eagle hvy finesse jig in green pumpkin orange with a few diffrent trailers depending on what the fish want. I use a jig about 95% of the time. Its a big fish catcher for me. I also make my own jigs but they are one ounce football jigs. There is no wrong way to fish a jig, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. good luck and look forward to hearing how you do.

+1 on the SK rage craw T- rigged without a weight. I prefer T- rigged over jig and trailer because it makes a softer entry and sinks slower without the weight. Pumpkin green works best for me.

If you are starting out, find out what is your ideal fishing depth first then select the jig weight to match. everyone here has a different opinion as to what will work and most are very good. If you are just starting out I suggest that you start out shallow 12 foot deep or less and use a 1/4 or 3/8 oz jigs ( depends on the wind )to see which one suits your fishing. I personally use the 1/4 oz as much as possible. The best color option to start out with to get you used to the jig is black and blue jig with a black blue trailer. Try different jig brands and trailer styles until you find what you like it also depends on the cover that you are fishing as to the style of jig head to use you-tube has lots of vids on this. (the biggest secret to jigs is confidence in what you are doing). Keep it simple until you learn how to fish it your way. When I went out to learn how to fish the jig I took every lure out of my boat that was not jig related to keep me from putting it down and that was the key factor to keep me focused on how to learn it. It is a very effective tool in my fishing now and it will catch big fish, during the thanksgiving holiday I caught an 8 lb bass on the 1/4 oz jig so it will catch big fish and it will catch fish all year long. Good luck and I hope this will help you learn the jig.

This may be a personal issue, but, for me jigs are best fished in places where you ARE gonna lose a bunch of them. Rocks, heavy brush, stumps, etc....buy em in bulk is all I'm gonna add to this thread.

I typically use 3 types of trailers on a flipping jig, for the spring months its usually either a Zoom speed craw or paca chunk/xcite raptor chunk. Both of these styles of trailers have some serious action when the jig is crawled, hopped, or swimming it back. During the cold weather months I like a trailer similar to an LFT Pig Claw, the pinchers don't flap around making a big commotion. When the water is in the 40's and 50's this presentation, IMO, is more realistic to how the craw fish are acting in that cold water, plus it kind of bulks up the jig. I probably use 1/2 oz more than any other size, but also have 1/4, 3/4, and 1oz ready to go should conditions call for it.

Some type of inline pointed head for vegetation and nasty wood cover, or mixed cover types. Football, ball head or Arkie for rocks. Trailers would be small Speed Craw for more subtle presentations. Paca Rage or Craw Fatty for a bigger more active profile. Beaver or Yo Momma for less active tails. Colder water usually 1/4 or 3/8. Other than that usually 1/2 oz and up depending on how fast and deep I want to go.

One of the best things I have done for my fishing is eliminating all of the junk I don't use. I used to come into threads like this and buy a few of the "recommended" items and I ended up with about 35 jigs in every color and size, head style, body style, it was dumb. I had no idea which one to use and when/where so I ended up never gaining any confidence with any of them.

Last year I removed the Plano 3700 jig box from the boat and reminded myself to Keep It Simple Stupid.



You can do exactly what you want with 1 jig and 1 trailer. Fish that jig and trailer combo until you gain confidence and then branch out from there, or better yet, don't, and you will be pleased with the results. I have stopped on 2 choices (thank you Gerald Swindle) green/brown and blue/black. I fish green/brown 95% of the time.


Buy a couple of these 3/8 Green Pumpkin:

Strike King Structure Jig

Buy a pack or two of these Green Pumpkin Sapphire:

Strike King Rage Craw

For $20 you have everything you need to get comfortable jig fishing. Fish it everywhere you would fish a soft plastic, skip it under docks, fish that 1 jig/trailer deep/shallow, everywhere. You don't need a million different trailer colors and sizes, pick one and stick with it.

The jig pictured has easily caught 100 lbs of bass and still going strong. Always tied on, trailer color never changes, just flat works.

+1; I also use a 3/16 oz. jig with the smaller size Rage Craw. Makes a small profile that's hard for them to resist.

In reference to using jigs, one of the fellows on Bass Resourse.com was saying that jigs will catch
you bigger fish, but less quantity.

Would you all subscribe to that theory�s????

To a certain extent. But, it depends on what you are comparing the jig against.