Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2017 - 36
Jigs and Trailers
by Vic Attardo
photos by the author
Did you ever get hit in the back of the head with a
weaponized rubber band? That flash feeling, minus the
ouch, is what a bass transmits when striking a jig and
trailer. You need to attune yourself to this snap sensation
and react to it with a swift hookset to catch Largemouth
Bass with a jig and trailer.
Until a year ago, bass anglers called the jigs with flaring
filament skirts and a caboose of various components a
jig and pig. Recently, the only company making the pork
trailers stopped manufacturing the lure. As a result, the era
of the jig and pig is over and has been replaced by the jig
and soft plastic, the latter previously well established in the
fishing game.
Soft plastics can be made into many enticing shapes and
poured in a myriad of colors.
Use a fishing rod with a stiff backbone. You cannot set
a jig and trailer hook with a limp noodle. The rod should
be at least 7-feet long. The rod is teamed with a 6:1 casting
reel, and the reel is adorned with braided line to reduce
stretch. Select a 3- to 7-feet fluorocarbon leader.
The jig and trailer is presented by either pitching or
flipping the bait into heavy cover. Presenting a jig and
trailer is more of a lift and drop than a straight retrieve.
36
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * July/August 2017
After inserting the bait into cover, and reengaging the
reel, slowly and somewhat tentatively, lift the rod tip to the
11 o'clock position. This will vibrate the line and cause the
jig and trailer to dance. When the high position is reached,
slowly, and again somewhat tentatively, lower the rod
introducing, at most, a small amount of slack in the line.
Somewhere in the repeated rise-and-wiggle, you may
feel that rubber band hit the back of your head. At that
time, you need to set the hook like you're snatching a
nightcrawler out of a wet hole. Often, the line will race to
the side.
There are three basic jig head designs. They are roundish,
conicalish and footballish in shape. The latter is essential
around rocks and heavy wood. Its shape makes the jig rock
a bit, so it gets through hard cover. The conical head with a
hook eye at the top of the "nose" is great when used through
heavy weeds. A round head is universal, so it's not perfect
for everything.
There are multiple purposes for soft plastic trailers
including combating gravity, adding enticing movement
and providing flash, color and feel.
The fall of the bait slows by adding the weight of a large
plastic trailer. This is a highly desirable attribute. The best
www.gonefishingpa.com
http://www.gonefishingpa.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2017
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