HomeFeaturesJig Trailer Roundup–What to Use When story by Dan O’Sullivan In many areas of the country, summertime is the time for deep structure jigs. The most commonly used type of jig for deep structure is a football jig. We recommend the River2Sea Touch Down Jigs, the Talon Lures Football Jig and the Jewel Bait Company Heavy Cover football jig. There are other types of jigs that can be used depending on the type of structure an angler is fishing. But, we didn’t set out today to discuss the types of jigs or the sizes of them either. What we wanted to discuss are the types of trailers that can be used this time of the year to draw strikes. The most commonly used trailer type used today is one that is made out of soft plastic. The combination of unique shapes and vibrant colors make any one of a variety of soft plastic trailers the most popular trailers for use on the back of a jig. With so many types of soft plastics creatures, craws, bugs and worms available, how do we know what to use to get the response out of bass. In the spirit of elevating fishing to the next level, Advanced Angler wanted to take a look at the different types of jig trailers that are popular on the market. We wanted to sort out what trailers to use for different situations and look at some of the more popular products that anglers use every day they are on the water. We’ll start with the most commonly used and graduate to the latest trends. Double-Tailed Grubs There may be no more widely used trailer than a double-tailed grub. The twin curly tails offer anglers the ability to have the swimming action tails that will mimic shad, bream or crayfish at any depth range. Choosing the five-inch size gives the angler a little larger profile to capitalize on bass chasing bream, and a four-inch size is excellent for targeting bass chasing smaller baitfish. This type of tail is excellent for all types of deep jig fishing at any time of year. The double tail grub works in cool water and warm water and is especially good when the lure is continually moving; either while the angler is swimming or dragging the jig along the bottom or using in a steady hop and go retrieve. Lures to use in this particular trailer type are the Berkley Havoc The Deuce, Missile Baits Twin Turbo, Jewel Baits J Tail Grub, Yamamoto Double-tail Grub, Zoom Fat Albert Twin Tail Single-Tailed Grubs These are similar to a double tailed grub in that they can be used effectively at many times of the year. However, the single-tailed versions typically have a larger curl tail than that of their double-tailed versions. These particular baits are very effective at times of the year when bass are eating bream. The larger single tail creates a wider vibration and more disturbance in the water; much like the larger tail of a bream. Lures to use in this particular trailer type are the Berkley Power Grub, Kalin’s Salty Lunker Grub, Yamamoto Single Tail Grub, Zoom Fat Albert Grub. Creatures Creature Baits became popular with the advent of the Zoom Brush Hog, and graduated into the beaver tailed style of baits beginning with the Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. The difference between the two styles of baits is that the original creature style baits had curly tails while the newer generation has flat, spade-type tails that have little action other than a slight flapping. The advantage of the Brush Hog styled baits is that they present a larger profile than that of a twin-tailed grub. These can be used to present the kind of profile that appeals to larger bass. Meanwhile, the flat-tailed creature baits are excellent for presenting a bulky profile, but allow the angler to create a slightly more finesse trailer in the water when fishing pressure is high. Lures to use in this particular trailer type are the Zoom Brush Hog, Strike King Game Hawg or Rage Hawg, Berkley Havoc Hawk Hawg, Netbait Mad Paca, Big Bite Baits Kriet’s Creature, Gene Larew Hoodaddy. Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, Berkley Havoc Pit Boss or Craw Fatty, Gene Larew Biffle Bug, Missile Baits D Bomb, Strike King Rodent, Net Bait B-Bug, Big Bite Baits Dean Rojas Fighting Frog, Yo Momma Craws The soft plastic crawdad is an excellent jig trailer, especially when a bait is that mimics the appearance of a natural crawdad is necessary. However, you have to break the category into two separate subcategories; craws, and flapping craws. The very realistic craw typically has realistically molded pinchers that have little to no action in the water unles the lure responds to an up and down hopping of the rod tip. The flapping style action craws have a wild flapping action when the lure is retrieved on a straight swim or when it is lifted up or falling down. Use the straight craws when a finesse approach is needed and the flapping craws when the bass are more aggressive. Lures to use in this particular trailer type are the Berkley PowerBait Craw, Gene Larew Salt Craw, Yamamoto Craw, Missile Baits Missile Craw, Jewel Baits Eakins Craw. NetBait Paca Craw and Hardy Tack Craw, Berkley Chigger Craw and Crazy Legs Chigger Craw, Big Bite Baits Yo Daddy, Strike King Rage Craw. Of course there are chunks and pork trailers, but these are some of the more popular trailers available on the market now. We hope this helps you figure out what types of trailers you can use to be more effective on the water. Many of these baits can be found atMonster Fishing Tackle
