I’ve been using The Mayor as a swim jig trailer with great success this year. Specifically the 4” version.

 

I know many swim a jig with a craw type trailer but I’m mostly mimicking panfish.

 

The only problem is they don’t seem super durable. It’s not terrible, I'm just wondering if there’s something better.

 

I think one of the reasons is that there are slots in the top and bottom of the bait.

 

So, I’m wondering if there is a better replacement.

 

Basically looking for a 4” paddle tail trailer for swim jigs. I’ve had such good luck with it I’d like to keep it similar, maybe just a solid body hoping it stays together longer.

 

Thanks!

This is my favorite swim jig trailer, tons of roll and head wag and it lasts dozens of fish.

 

river2sea D-walker 

 

 

 

scott

Storm Largo shad, Reactions innovations Skinny Dipper

6 minutes ago, softwateronly said:

This is my favorite swim jig trailer, tons of roll and head wag and it lasts dozens of fish.

 

river2sea D-walker 

 

 

 

scott

 

This just looks good too. I'm gonna have to write that down and pick some up next time I'm shopping for soft swimbaits. (Which will probably next year because I'm loaded with soft plastics.)

Well, last night I found a soft bait that I will NEVER use again as a trailer.

 

And that is the Megabass Spark Shad.

 

Nope, never again.

 

It caught fish, but the durability. Well, there's NO durability.

 

At least I paid "Japan price" for them.

On 6/29/2025 at 9:11 PM, IcatchDinks said:

 

This just looks good too. I'm gonna have to write that down and pick some up next time I'm shopping for soft swimbaits. (Which will probably next year because I'm loaded with soft plastics.)

 

One more order couldn't hurt....right?

@HawkeyeSmallieGambler Little EZ, 3.75"

6th Sense Whale, 3.5"

Both very durable & great action.

 

My favorite swim jig trailer is a swammer.  They have more roll than a D walker and more colors.  The only drawback is they are made of a soft plastic.  You can get a handful of fish until you need to patch it up with mend it.  Dont over look the swimming super fluke, they have a ton of roll as well.

As far as durability goes, the D walker is one of the best and it has a good amount of roll as well.

The Mayor is probably the most durable that I have used. The Spark Shad is my favorite. Another to try though is from Cast Fishing called the Prodigy. It's just as durable as anything else but a nice bait with a built in rattle. 

I’ve been using the mayor, xzone swammer (not durable at all). And largo shad. But they are all 3 inch. Maybe I need to step up to a 4 inch?!?

I feel like the mayor is hard to beat for durability!

 

I agree the largo shad rules.

 

Need to try the d walker - as a swim jig lover, seems important.

 

I love the yum scottsboro, Xzone Swammer and the Gambler EZ but they're all glue required baits for me.

Another thought on this..... A lot of the durability in these baits is based on the hook keeper on the jig you are using.  A super tough double prong wire will tare a bait apart if a fish pulls on the tail.  It's better to find a one with a light keeper and glue it on. 

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

The Spark Shad is my favorite. 

Yeah it looks like the real deal in the water.

Just isn’t very durable.

 

I went through almost a whole pack one evening.

I use the Yamamoto Zakos. Durability is extremely bad, but I love them so much I just gather all the ripped ones and use Mend-It to glue it back and re-use them again until I can't. lol 

The Mayor is one of the most durable soft plastics I have ever used. I put on a VMC hybrid jig and I'll lose it to a snag long before it wears out. 

 

I would think using it as a trailer negates some of it's effectiveness since it has that "wobble" that a Magdraft has.

 

If you find something more durable than The Mayor let me know.

11 hours ago, Joedodge said:

I’ve been using the mayor, xzone swammer (not durable at all). And largo shad. But they are all 3 inch. Maybe I need to step up to a 4 inch?!?

 

Yes. I do at least. The four inch is small enough to catch every fish but big enough to attract the bigs.

34 minutes ago, Pumpkin Lizard said:

The Mayor is one of the most durable soft plastics I have ever used. I put on a VMC hybrid jig and I'll lose it to a snag long before it wears out. 

 

I would think using it as a trailer negates some of it's effectiveness since it has that "wobble" that a Magdraft has.

 

If you find something more durable than The Mayor let me know.

 

Yes. I do at least. The four inch is small enough to catch every fish but big enough to attract the bigs.

I gotta go snag some 4 inch mayors today lol

13 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Yeah it looks like the real deal in the water.

Just isn’t very durable.

 

I went through almost a whole pack one evening.

I used the 4in on a Raid swim jig today. I caught 7 and lost 2 before it gave up and tore completely.  This girl finally destroyed it.

 

 

 

I have given up using all these new baits since these are what I always have luck with:

 

Zako

Keitech

 

4 hours ago, FishTank said:

I used the 4in on a Raid swim jig today. I caught 7 and lost 2 before it gave up and tore completely.  This girl finally destroyed it.

 

 

What color do you use?

I’ve only had the Albino.

 

Looked sooooo good with the jig I had with it.  

 

I use Mayors, Zakos, and Keitechs and love them all.

30 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

What color do you use?

I’ve only had the Albino.

 

Looked sooooo good with the jig I had with it.  

 

 

I was using Hiuo but I also have had success with Real and Royal Gill in the 4in this year.  I have yet to find a color that doesn't catch fish but I do agree that they are delicate compared to the other baits. The amount I caught today was more than normal but I would say I can get about 3 or 4 fish before they start to get mangled.  One color in the 4in I want to try is Baby Bass. I was lucky to get a pack of the 3.6in Tournament Edition in that color and it's just cool looking. The fish hit it about the same. 

 

On the other side of the things, the 3in was my go to in spring. Neon Pepper and Albino seemed to be the colors then.  I also need to try Albino in the 4in. Too many baits and not enough time. 

On 7/5/2025 at 8:51 PM, FishTank said:

The Mayor is probably the most durable that I have used. The Spark Shad is my favorite. Another to try though is from Cast Fishing called the Prodigy. It's just as durable as anything else but a nice bait with a built in rattle. 

 

On 7/6/2025 at 9:25 AM, Joedodge said:

I gotta go snag some 4 inch mayors today lol

 

Was bass fishing last Sunday on a lake with Wipers. The Wipers went on a frenzy in the evening. The only two lures I used was a 4 inch Mayor and 6th Sense Trace.  The Mayor outperformed the Trace by miles.  Honestly the fishing was so hot for a couple hours that the only thing stopping me was getting them off the hook quickly enough. I completely lost count of how many 10-15 inch wipers (easily 40 not more than 60) I caught but on the VMC Hybrid Jig I only used one Mayor. Which is kind of amazing because Wipers have a tendency to really wreck a bait in my limited experience with them. It was pretty ragged at the end of the night but it was still swimming like it should. The corkscrew on the jighead really locks it in and I think it increases the lifespan a great deal.

Biospawn is my go-to for swim jigs - decently durable, and stiffer plastic than a keitech; wag is much more tight too.  For an even tighter wag the 6th sense divine, but they aren't very durable as the plastic splits at some point.