I’ve caught some fish on a 3.5 inch spunk shad with the mini max. But it just isn’t much longer than the skirt. What is your favorite trailer for the mini max? I wana give them a honest shot this year.

I trim the skirt on the mini, spunk shad still my go-to

Just now, Peacedivision said:

I trim the skirt on the mini, spunk shad still my go-to

I trim all my jigs I make. And I have no idea why I didn’t think of doing that lol. Wow what a duh moment

Trim the skirt to expose more of the

Allen

3 inch Yamamoto Zako The fish in my profile is my pb 7 lbs. 9 ounces and I caught her in a grass bed with a mini max in white with a icicle 3 inch zako on the back.

I use a standard size fork tail fluke and and cut it to whatever length I need.

The first chatterbaits used single layer EZ skirts. They dont look as nice as a handtied skrt, but theres a reason they were used. Thinning out the inside layers of the skirt allows for better action and less lift. Simply trimming the skirt can cut the size a bladed jig in half.

The spunk shads are good trailers, but the density of the plastic and buoyancy of the plastic causes the bladed jig to run shallower than it would with other trailers. IMO the spunk shad works best on a burn and stop retrieve with a hunting bladed jig.

If you want the bait to run deeper, try Net Baits 4.5 flat sided shad. The tail and body to tail length ratio is very similar to a spunk shad. The flat sided shad just has a much thinner profile, so it stays deeper and casts a little better.

Bee a long time since I had an original. I didn’t realize that about the skirt.

See the spunk shad is perfect for my soft bottom ponds. Thank you for the great reply!

I too like the Spunk Shad for a more erratic offering.

The small Zako should be considered for something less erratic. It pairs and works well. Ditto the small Big Bite Baits SwimOn.

I also really like the Gambler Komodo Jr., a great under the radar trailer.

I literally watched a Miley ballz vid this morning and he was talking about those! Thank you. Funny gambler was huge where I’m from in Florida. Moved to Iowa and everyone’s like who?

1 hour ago, Joedodge said:

I literally watched a Miley ballz vid this morning and he was talking about those! Thank you. Funny gambler was huge where I’m from in Florida. Moved to Iowa and everyone’s like who?

I live in Canada and these are basically unobtanium here! LOL 😆

I have an easier time getting JDM baits.

25 minutes ago, RRocket said:

I live in Canada and these are basically unobtanium here! LOL 😆

I have an easier time getting JDM baits.

No kidding? Man that’s crazy I didn’t think it would be that hard.

I have used a Zako (3in) -- a DEPS Deathadder -- a Nories Switch-On Trailer -- a Valleyhill Devil Shaker (when I use it on a bladed jig I clip the front two appendages off, when I use it with a regular jig I leave them on)

I will have to look into those Gambler Komodo Jr's

4 minutes ago, WaskaCrank12 said:

I have used a Zako (3in) -- a DEPS Deathadder -- a Nories Switch-On Trailer -- a Valleyhill Devil Shaker (when I use it on a bladed jig I clip the front two appendages off, when I use it will a regular jig I leave them on)

I will have to look into those Gambler Komodo Jr's

I’m gonna have to order a pack of 3” zako

I’ll recommend trying a jr z craw rigged flat or a baby rage bug rigged flat! Helps it glide and plane for a slower retrieve with less erratic action which can really be the ticket with a bladed jig sometimes!

5 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I’ll recommend trying a jr z craw rigged flat or a baby rage bug rigged flat! Helps it glide and plane for a slower retrieve with less erratic action which can really be the ticket with a bladed jig sometimes!

I have a pack of bag rage bugs! Great idea Pat! Thank you

3 hours ago, Joedodge said:

No kidding? Man that’s crazy I didn’t think it would be that hard.

No Canadian distributor and shipping costs make it prohibitive.

I am extremely grateful to a fellow member here who sent me some.

This is a really great little bait!

There's already a couple of threads on this very topic. Take a look for EVEN MORE ideas!!

Bottom line: any trailer will work just fine.

Good luck!

4 hours ago, Glenn said:

Bottom line: any trailer will work just fine.

Good luck!

Pretty much this.

8 hours ago, Glenn said:

There's already a couple of threads on this very topic. Take a look for EVEN MORE ideas!!

Bottom line: any trailer will work just fine.

Good luck!

Thank you Glenn!

The komodo and swimon are sneaky free rig baits as well. Spawn to mid-summer when the juvenile panfish/crappie seem to be number one on the menu. Just in case your bait monkey needs some prodding.

scott

3.5 inch zman jerkshad does really well on these & the baby jack

I realize I’m probably in the minority here but I still use paddle tails as bladed jig trailers.

Right now my favorite is the 3” Crush City Mayor on a 3/8oz Mini Max. Might move up to a 3.5” now that those are available so I won’t have to trim the skirt as much.

1 hour ago, bp_fowler said:

I realize I’m probably in the minority here but I still use paddle tails as bladed jig trailers.

Right now my favorite is the 3” Crush City Mayor on a 3/8oz Mini Max. Might move up to a 3.5” now that those are available so I won’t have to trim the skirt as much.

I use paddle tails as well when I want more bulk. Other than that I just use a zoom split tail trailer. Never had much luck with the spunk shad type trailers.

Kalins 3 inch Scrub has been my go to. Basically a double tailed grub with little paddle tails. It is about as erratic as a bait can get, especially on the fall or when ripping.