Remembering my start of Jig Fishing

I was on the lake the other day and I was throwing a jig, got 3 bites by the way. Lol I lost the trailer on my jig and as I reached down to get another one, I started thinking about when I first started fishing a jig. It had to be better than 30 years ago and the best my memory could do was come up with the Stanley jig as my first jig that I used. I started to think about the trailers that I always used and it was 100% Uncle Josh's pork skins, my favorite was the pork chunk, wide bodied without much action but it sure made the jig slow fall. I used several other, spring lizard, spring lizard pup and I think it was called twin tail eel. It was amazing how many fish I caught on those combos in just about every lake that I fished, Fork, Rayburn, Sandlin, Monti, Chambers, Cedar Creek, Palestine and I even used my mini boat and caught a good number on White Rock. The market has really come a long way now with literally hundreds of different types of jigs and the trailer selection is unlimited but it seems that I get fewer and fewer bites on a jig with each year that goes by. I still fish it a lot because I like to catch fish on it and I continue to throw it even when I should probably switch to something else but I will say that with the invention of floro line, bites are much more detectable now than they used to be to a degree, but then again, there were many times in days gone by that a fish would just crush a jig like crazy. When they are on them they eat it. Just thinking out load and was wondering if anyone else has ever done the same ?

This will be my first time this year fishing a jig!! I am excited

I will say that the bite on a jig has changed from the past, probably 90% of the bites I get now are very subtle and you have to be on your toes when you get one. Good luck and when the bite is on, there will be some exciting times for you. My largest bass on a jig so far is 12 lbs 13 oz and I caught it in about 4' of water in late February one year.

Crazy you posted this because it’s something I’ve put a LOT of thought into. First let me start by saying that when I first started jig fishing I went to a seminar at Barber boats in Dallas in 1997 where Denny Brauer, Guido Hibdon, and David Fritz were. Only about 10 people showed up. When Denny was talking he got up there and said that 90% of the tournaments he won money and came off a jig, and 90% of those jig fish were caught on a black and blue 3/8 ounce pro model jig, With a striking bo hog frog Junior trailer. So in my mind just starting out and bass fishing and wanting to learn how to dig fish I thought well Danny Browers one of the best in the world and if that’s the only jig he throws in the only color he throws and it works for him everywhere he goes 90% of the time what else do I need!???
So I went out and bought that jig with that Pork trailer and never looked back. And boy did I catch fish!!! I was 19 years old at the time. Had 26 lbs in my first media on Palestine the next Feb of 98 and been wacking them ever since. No matter where I went or what like I finished I stuck with the same color jig the same way in the same trailer. I never even questioned other colors or trailers and knew that if I just kept that jig wet long enough I would get bit and it made me a good gig fisherman. Now having said that back story, I truly believe using a port trailer helped me get a lot more jig bites. I would never ever see anybody else using pork, whether it was someone who I drew out with in a tournament in my boat or a fishing partner or anybody else on the lake all I ever saw was people throwing plastic. I also believe the feel of the pork and the taste and texture was like real food in the bass his mouth and they did not let go as easy. It always baffled me why nobody threw pork. But then again nobody ever had Denny Broward tell them in person but that’s all he used! lol anyway now I cannot find pork anymore it used to be sold at bass pro and then Walmart, and I think they stopped making it a few years ago. Luckily I still have a few bottles of pork that haven’t even been opened yet that still look good. I do switch to a plastic trailer once it warms up but have not found anything that will even come close to pork in January February and March. So as to what the original poster said I suspect once I do run out a port then I will see my jig bites dwindle during that time of year as well. But for now it’s $$$!! The bass just never see it or taste it. Sorry for typos. Text talk lol

I also still have a few bottles of Uncle Josh left

This got me to remembering back when also . Googled pork trailers and this is what I came up with https://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/2015/04/fishing-tips-make-your-own-pork-rind-trailers/

I just read that. I’m going to try it. Might even add a little crawdad juice into the storage solution! Almost be like using live bait. Lol

Anybody tried these? https://www.fatcowfishing.com/product-page/jig-strips-3-craw-trailer-5-ct

All i used to fish was a black/red/orange stanley jig with a pork trailer back in the day. Then i got different colors, black and blue, black and chartruse etc. Man did they whack fish left and right. A jig was by far my favorite bait and if they didn't bite it I didn't wanna catch them. I remember coming from kansas down to Ray Roberts, you either flipped a jig or a lizard, that was the only two baits available it seemed. There wasn't any beavers, or brush hogs or senkos, we just flipped jigs and they hammered fish and big ones. Now when we go down there none of us hardly ever flip a jig any longer. Why they hell did we go away from them? I miss it badly, I might try and flip it some this year but I've lost some confidence in it thru the years and i have zero idea why? Seems like alot of guys don't use them like we used too. And i NEVER flipped a jig without 2 rattles on it. Doesn't seem like hardly anyone uses a rattle on them anymore either?

90% of the jigs I use have a double rattle

There's a guy selling unopened bottles of Uncle Josh Pork frogs on Ebay but they're $18.99 a bottle...sorry...too rich for my blood.

Or these? https://leatherbaits.fish/

I was there that evening, one of the best seminars I have been to.

I still throw a jig a lot. One of my favorite ways to fish. Started making my own several years back to get it exactly like I wanted. Not all jigs are created equal. Never noticed much difference with rattle or using pork trailers. They will still crush them. Especially at Fork. Get away from the crowds, fish ugly water and have fun.

I grew up in New Hampshire and fished a lot of clear lakes. Every time I saw a jig at the store, I couldn't believe anything would mistaken it for food. One day in October on Stumpfield Marsh I met a man named Tom. I watched him catch the snot out of 3 and 4 pound bass while I paddled around struggling for a bite. A three pound largemouth is a solid northern strain bass in New Hampshire.

He saw me at the ramp while I loaded my kayak and we struck up a conversation. He offered his advice and told me he caught them on a jig. He encouraged me to get a couple jigs, pork trailers, and to keep it in my hand all say adding that I should, "endeavor to try."

I bought a couple 3/8 oz. Strike King football jigs and a bottle of black pork trailers that night. The next morning I went back out to Stumpfield Marsh and I saw Tom fishing across the lake paralleling grass lines with a spinnerbait. I started picking apart a ditch with milfoil on either side. The ditch was four to six foot deep and bare but it fed two milfoil flats adjacent to either side. After 30 yards the ditch terminated at 6 foot and dumped into 20 foot. I sat over the ledge dragging the the jig back and stopping it. At some point that jig started swimming off and I set the hook. First fish on a jig was about three pounds. I snapped a few photos, reposition my kayak and made the same cast with the same result. I managed to catch three out of that ditch before the wind drifted me over it, killing the bite.

I'm not sure I've ever or will ever match that feeling. I've never picked up a bait for the first time and had a result like that since. It wasn't until a few years later when I got a bass boat with electronics that I actually understood that spot. At the time I had no clue why they were stacked there or how much water I was in. I'm a believer in the Uncle Josh pork trailers and was sad to see them go. I still have a few bottles but seeing some of the links above, I think I need to bring them back. I do think there are scenarios where they could be more effective than plastics (especially in convincing a fish to hold the bait long enough to detect the bite).

i'll never forget my VERY first cast with a jig. I was in high school and a friend wanted me to learn how to use it. I made a cast out, pumped it one time and it was going sideways, i said dude how does this lure swim side ways, he told me to set the hook and i caught a 4 pounder on it that very first cast. I can remember it like yesterday. black/red/orange stanley jig with a pork trailer, an original all star rod and 20 pound big game line.

Blk/Blu/Purple Stanley jig, with a Uncle Josh pork trailer = Hammertime! I still have five or six "cardboard sleeves" that had 10 or 15 jigs on each of Triple rattleback jigs I bought from Smitty's in Oak Cliff back in the late 80's or early 90's. Smoked a smug guide of Fork one day when he insisted I'd never get bit on a blk/blu/purple jig with an orange with black dot pork rind. Late November. (looked a LOT like Rayburn red trap color!) Generally have at least 2 tied on. 3 if there's grass to punch.

My fishing partner caught a big bass one day back in 1995. We took it to lake fork marina to weigh it cause it bottomed out my ten lb scales. He went to get a bag to put it in and i stayed at the boat Was a guy next to us getting into his boat with two others I looked in the livewell at the fish and the guy says do you have a goodun ,i said yes sir. He wanted to see it then he said you got a sharelunker there buddy He ask the couple if they wanted to go see what it weighed ,they said yea. We go up to weigh it and it weighed 13.52. Didnt know who the guy was so i ask them in the marina Think it was Mr Blair that said Dean Stroman. He stayed with us for a while to make sure the fish was ok. They came and picked her up to take to Tyler then called my buddy tw weeks later and said she didnt have any eggs in her Brought her back to us and we took her back to where he caught her and released her. Had heard how good Dean was so called and booked a nite trip I had caught an eleven pounder two days before my buddy caught the 13 Dean couldnt understand why was calling him to book a trip. He said hell i want to go with yall. We went nite fishing and caught all our fish on jigs I been hooked on jig fishing ever since Became best friends with Dean now everytime i catch a fish on a jig i look up and say this ones for you Mr Dean.

RIP

I was there too.
Denny Brauer, Guido and Dion Hibdon were the three pro's. This was just before the Megabucks on Richland Chambers.
Denny said he often put real crawfish juice in his pork bottles before a tournament to give them a little more. He said they would go bad so they only lasted for that tournament.

They were sitting side by side up front on folding chairs. They were all asked if they used rattles in their jigs and if they thought they helped. Dion spoke up and said that he never caught a fish on a jig without rattles. Both Denny and Guido looked at each other and moved one chair over.


I started fishing jigs before rubber in the 60's. Bucktail jigs and Uncle Josh pork frogs and spring lizards.

David Fritts was there as well.

R & R Marine in Pittsburg has a ton of Uncle Josh pork in the original glass bottles.

I forgot about him. He talked about how he tested and marked his crankbaits.
If I remember it correctly he said he took a bunch of new crankbaits out to the lake and threw then across a deep point. If they didn't run right of didn't go deep he would mark them with an X. If they ran good but not real deep he would mark them with XX. If they were the few in the bunch that were exceptional and ran real deep he would mark them with a XXX.
Thats when he told us, if we found a crankbait on Richland Chambers with an XXX on the bill it was his.

We went out and fished yesterday, fished a jig most of the time and I managed to get 5 bites. I got 3 of the fish and missed 2, one of which really thumped the jig and knocked slack in the line. Guessing the fish spit it before I could take up the slack and set the hook. We caught 8 total with the jig, one being a 5 plus and two 4's. This is the reason that I throw a jig !!!!!

My first introduction to jigs was thanks to Bill Dance. I was watching an older show of his and he was throwing a black / blue jig into lilly pads. We had a smaller lake near the house that had pads and I was excited to try it.

First cast with the jig, I get a gnarly wind knot and my jig plummets into the pads. As I'm digging out the knot I notice my line isn't anywhere near the pads where it landed. I unpick the last of the knot, set the hook, and fight my largest to date LM bass of 7.10 lbs.

To this day, I have a dedicated jig rod with a jig ready to rumble.

A jig used to be my favorite bait to throw back when Fork had grass in it. When you got on a good jig bite you were in for an awesome day of fishing.

I’ve been using a jig for over 30 years. I read every article I could find about it back then. Denny wrote one in BassMaster if I remember right, said to really learn how to fish one leave all other baits at home and just throw it. I did that, it was tough at first but when I figured it out, I was a happy man! I love fishing it! Every fish over 10 lbs I’ve caught except one was on a jig. I’ll be throwing one till I can’t fish anymore !

Got some jig water I need to take you to out there.

Im ready, just let me know when.