SnakeBite Custom Fishing Tackile

Soft Plastic Trailers for Jigs

It's astounding how fast the fishing industry has grown in the last decade. I'd like to talk with you specifically about some of the innovations the soft-plastics companies have placed on the tackle shops' shelves. A plethora of new shapes and colors that could be somewhat confusing, mostly for the novices. But, for the old dogs, with the exception of a few new colors and some new interesting shapes, there's nothing to drive the seasoned angler wild.

Everybody has noticed the impact the new soft-plastic "creatures" have had on the bass fishermen after Davey Hite's Classic win in Louisiana in August of 1999. Brush Hogs, Bacon Rinds, plus several other imitations made by almost every plastic manufacturer have hit the market like a storm. I honestly don't know if this is a trend destined to last in the years to come or if it's like a lighting strike similar to Jack Chancellor's Do-Nothing worm. Time will be the judge…

In my opinion, the soft-plastic trend, which has grown to huge proportions in the last five years, is mainly about pork chunk imitators. These soft-plastic trailers come in an incredible array of shapes, sizes, and colors than the real thing - pork - surely can't match. They're the rage among jig fishermen since they have plenty of action, can match every jig skirt color and, most important, don't dry out like the ole pork chunks when left out of the water for a prolonged amount of time.

The purpose of a jig has always been that of imitating a couple of bass' favorite prey: crawfish and small fish. After looking at how these new trailers perform in the water, if I were a bass I'd probably think about some genetic mutations in my food sources! Anyway, these trailers catch fish and that is all that really matters! I impale soft-chunks on my "Oldham Ultimate Jig's" Gamakatsu hook. Being myself an old-fashioned bass angler, I like to have my jigs matching the hatch, so-to-speak. I also keep my jig system quite basic when it comes to weights and colors. The same goes for my trailers assortment. I still use the old pork chunk 50% of the time and always keep a few jars in my tackle box. The remaining 50% of the time I fish jigs - never fish one without a trailer - I use a soft-plastic trailer. The screwlock system my Oldhams sport is a great feature because it keeps my trailers always in place and it's not rare to fish all day with the same soft-plastic! Not a bad feature, huh?

Trailer Characteristics

What I look for while choosing my soft-plastic trailers is the plastic texture and consistency first. I like that "Meaty" Texture only a few manufacturers have matched in their products. Snakebite, Zoom and Yamamoto surely make the best "meaty" baits you can find. When a big bass munches my jig after having vacuumed it into her cavernous mouth, I want this fish to believe she's eating the real thing!

That's why, besides the meaty texture, a Good Scent plays an important role. I believe that the scent Terry and Brian (Snakebite Custom Fishing Tackle) put into their lures is unbelievable! If my trailers aren't scented I soak them in Kick'N Bass, the best fish attractant that money can buy! Bass do not have the exceptional sense of taste carp or catfish have but I do believe that once a prey is in the bass' mouth, her sense of taste comes into play too!

Toughness

When I'm fishing a jig I'm concentrating at 200% and don't leave a lot of room to distractions. I check my jig's Gamakatsu hook and re-tie my knot after every fish I catch or after an occasional hang-up but I don't want to change one trailer every one bass! That's why I appreciate the consistency the Snakebite frogs and Flipping Craws have. To me it's the right balance of softness, texture and toughness a soft-plastic
trailer must have!

Shape

Like I've mentioned above, I'm quite an old-fashioned bassman when it comes to my jig fishing. I like some innovative trailer shapes like the Zoom Super Chunks though and use them on my jigs. But most of the time I fish a jig with a soft-plastic trailer like the old chunk shaped ones or a good crawfish imitator on the hook! The Snakebite Flipping Craw is a terrific lure when it comes to imitating a crawdad and its compact shape allows me to fish my jig into the thickest cover of the lake without fear of getting hung-up. It is also a tough bait to rip off the hook and can be T-rigged and flipped by itself with great results. If I swim a white jig around cover and want to imitate a preyfish, the Yamamoto double-tail grub in pearl/large silver flakes or clear/large silver flakes are hard to beat.

Size

Size is another important aspect of a jig trailer. To me, a jig has to be "compact" and short bait. I rarely use slender trailers like a plastic worm or lizard. I think these trailers preclude a correct jig presentation in cover like thick woods, sunken trees, and bushes since they get caught with their curly tails with ease. I impale a lizard on my Oldham jig's only during pre-spawn but only if the cover is reeds, bulrushes and weeds. I normally carry with me trailer sizes that go from 2.5" to 5". I use the shorter ones, those up to 3", with lures like the 1/16 to 1/8 M&N Ultralight Bass jigs or the 1/4 oz. Oldham Ultimate jig. A great trailer for the Ultralight jigs, that I use for skipping under overhanging cover, is the 3" Snakebite Mega Craw. Try them and let me know if the bass don't like this combo! 4 and 5-inch sizes are perfect with jigs weighing from 3/8 to 3/4 oz. Although I'm a believer of the formula big baits = big bass, I normally let the fish tell me what lure size she wants at a given time.

Color

When it comes to trailer colors, I've heard and read a lot of different opinions that can be summed-up in two main thoughts. There are the people who want their trailer color to be in contrast with the color of the skirts and those who like to have a one-color jig & trailer. I'm with the latter thought. If I'm fishing a black jig I use a black trailer. If my jig is black/blue I can match to it either with a black/blue Flipping Craw or with a plain black trailer. I believe that matching the jig and trailer colors make my lure look bigger and more appealing to the larger bass. My favorite colors are plain black, black/red glitter, black/blue, black/chartreuse, witches tit, clear/silver flakes and pearl/silver flakes. Quite a simple assortment isn't it? Yeah, simple but deadly!

Well folks, that's enough for now. Hope you've found this article interesting. Until next time, take care and be careful with those jigs! You may have your arm broken by a HAWG!

Massimo
massimoz@yahoo.com

Massimo with proof that jig fishing means quality fish!




	*Soft Plastic Trailers for Jigs* It's astounding how fast the fishing industry has grown in the last decade. I'd like to talk with you specifically about some of the innovations the soft-plastics companies have placed on the tackle shops' shelves. A plethora of new shapes and colors that could be somewhat confusing, mostly for the novices. But, for the old dogs, with the exception of a few new colors and some new interesting shapes, there's nothing to drive the seasoned angler wild. Everybody has noticed the impact the new soft-plastic "creatures" have had on the bass fishermen after Davey Hite's Classic win in Louisiana in August of 1999. Brush Hogs, Bacon Rinds, plus several other imitations made by almost every plastic manufacturer have hit the market like a storm. I honestly don't know if this is a trend destined to last in the years to come or if it's like a lighting strike similar to Jack Chancellor's Do-Nothing worm. Time will be the judge… In my opinion, the soft-plastic trend, which has grown to huge proportions in the last five years, is mainly about pork chunk imitators. These soft-plastic trailers come in an incredible array of shapes, sizes, and colors than the real thing - pork - surely can't match. They're the rage among jig fishermen since they have plenty of action, can match every jig skirt color and, most important, don't dry out like the ole pork chunks when left out of the water for a prolonged amount of time. The purpose of a jig has always been that of imitating a couple of bass' favorite prey: crawfish and small fish. After looking at how these new trailers perform in the water, if I were a bass I'd probably think about some genetic mutations in my food sources! Anyway, these trailers catch fish and that is all that really matters! I impale soft-chunks on my "Oldham Ultimate Jig's" Gamakatsu hook. Being myself an old-fashioned bass angler, I like to have my jigs matching the hatch, so-to-speak. I also keep my jig system quite basic when it comes to weights and colors. The same goes for my trailers assortment. I still use the old pork chunk 50% of the time and always keep a few jars in my tackle box. The remaining 50% of the time I fish jigs - never fish one without a trailer - I use a soft-plastic trailer. The screwlock system my Oldhams sport is a great feature because it keeps my trailers always in place and it's not rare to fish all day with the same soft-plastic! Not a bad feature, huh? Trailer Characteristics What I look for while choosing my soft-plastic trailers is the plastic texture and consistency first. I like that "Meaty" Texture only a few manufacturers have matched in their products. Snakebite, Zoom and Yamamoto surely make the best "meaty" baits you can find. When a big bass munches my jig after having vacuumed it into her cavernous mouth, I want this fish to believe she's eating the real thing! That's why, besides the meaty texture, a Good Scent plays an important role. I believe that the scent Terry and Brian (Snakebite Custom Fishing Tackle) put into their lures is unbelievable! If my trailers aren't scented I soak them in Kick'N Bass, the best fish attractant that money can buy! Bass do not have the exceptional sense of taste carp or catfish have but I do believe that once a prey is in the bass' mouth, her sense of taste comes into play too! Toughness When I'm fishing a jig I'm concentrating at 200% and don't leave a lot of room to distractions. I check my jig's Gamakatsu hook and re-tie my knot after every fish I catch or after an occasional hang-up but I don't want to change one trailer every one bass! That's why I appreciate the consistency the Snakebite frogs and Flipping Craws have. To me it's the right balance of softness, texture and toughness a soft-plastic trailer must have! Shape Like I've mentioned above, I'm quite an old-fashioned bassman when it comes to my jig fishing. I like some innovative trailer shapes like the Zoom Super Chunks though and use them on my jigs. But most of the time I fish a jig with a soft-plastic trailer like the old chunk shaped ones or a good crawfish imitator on the hook! The Snakebite Flipping Craw is a terrific lure when it comes to imitating a crawdad and its compact shape allows me to fish my jig into the thickest cover of the lake without fear of getting hung-up. It is also a tough bait to rip off the hook and can be T-rigged and flipped by itself with great results. If I swim a white jig around cover and want to imitate a preyfish, the Yamamoto double-tail grub in pearl/large silver flakes or clear/large silver flakes are hard to beat. Size Size is another important aspect of a jig trailer. To me, a jig has to be "compact" and short bait. I rarely use slender trailers like a plastic worm or lizard. I think these trailers preclude a correct jig presentation in cover like thick woods, sunken trees, and bushes since they get caught with their curly tails with ease. I impale a lizard on my Oldham jig's only during pre-spawn but only if the cover is reeds, bulrushes and weeds. I normally carry with me trailer sizes that go from 2.5" to 5". I use the shorter ones, those up to 3", with lures like the 1/16 to 1/8 M&N Ultralight Bass jigs or the 1/4 oz. Oldham Ultimate jig. A great trailer for the Ultralight jigs, that I use for skipping under overhanging cover, is the 3" Snakebite Mega Craw. Try them and let me know if the bass don't like this combo! 4 and 5-inch sizes are perfect with jigs weighing from 3/8 to 3/4 oz. Although I'm a believer of the formula big baits = big bass, I normally let the fish tell me what lure size she wants at a given time. Color When it comes to trailer colors, I've heard and read a lot of different opinions that can be summed-up in two main thoughts. There are the people who want their trailer color to be in contrast with the color of the skirts and those who like to have a one-color jig & trailer. I'm with the latter thought. If I'm fishing a black jig I use a black trailer. If my jig is black/blue I can match to it either with a black/blue Flipping Craw or with a plain black trailer. I believe that matching the jig and trailer colors make my lure look bigger and more appealing to the larger bass. My favorite colors are plain black, black/red glitter, black/blue, black/chartreuse, witches tit, clear/silver flakes and pearl/silver flakes. Quite a simple assortment isn't it? Yeah, simple but deadly! Well folks, that's enough for now. Hope you've found this article interesting. Until next time, take care and be careful with those jigs! You may have your arm broken by a HAWG! Massimo massimoz@yahoo.com Massimo with proof that jig fishing means quality fish! 2001 Property of SnakeBite Custom Fishing Tackle. All rights reserved.