Hey everyone, I am new to the board. Seems like a great place to pick up some new info and hang out.

I have a question about fishing jigs. I usually fish crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and plastics. I picked up some jigs the other day and don't really know where to start ;D Most of the bass I catch locally are quite small and that jig with a trailer just looks too big for them :'( Can jigs be effective without a trailer? Thanks for the help

I always fish a jig with a trailer. You say you fish plastics so you should have something to use for a trailer. Any craw or the tail end of a creature will work. Jigs fish basically just like most t-rig presentations. Try throwing it near cover and just work it real slow on the bottom. You'll get bit!

When I first started bass fishing, I thought everything was too big for bass. I fished with 4" senkos and thought, jeez 5" senkos wont' catch bass they're too big.

Long story short, I fish with 7" Senkos now. I've 10" bass on 7" Senkos, they're not just long but FAT.

Jigs are much smaller. Including a trailer.

Put a trailer on, they're plenty small for fish of any size to eat them. I've caught a ton of 8inchers on jigs.

This should help:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1189609782

As CJ stated, always use a trailer.

As a rule of thumb, a trailer can be

fished without a jig, but not the other

way around!

To start with, buy some Net Bait Baby

Paca Craws. They are cheap, readily

available and very effective.

8-)

Welcome aboard and have you tried downsizing your jig. You can try trimming the skirt on larger jigs to make the profile smaller. I always use a jig, too.

I think it was on this forum that I heard this saying, the saying was supposably by Gary Yamamoto, and he said that he would rather fish with a trailer by itself then fish with a jig that is trailerless.

So bottom line, always use a trailer. The jig is not too big for bass trust me, I fish in waters where the largest fish are 5lb-6lb, and a 5-6lb is not something you see often around here.. They make smaller size trailers and smaller sized jigs if thats what your worried about. Pick up some Booyah Baby Boo jigs, or Strike King Bitsy Bugs, great jigs and they have a small profile. But don't worry about large jigs being too big I've caught 10inch bass on 3/8oz big flipping jigs such as Booyah Boo Jigs.

Also some good trailers are Paca Chunk, Ragetail Chunk, Yum Chunk, and Zoom Super Chunk. Recommended colors for jigs are shades of green/brown for clear waters, and black or black/blue for slightly stained - muddy water or in any other dark condition. Rattles for when water is real muddy or it is night. Try to match the color of trailer to the color of the jig.

I am in the same boat as you Bayou Bass... I got my first fish yesterday on a jig, needless to say I am happy and a lilttle confident now.  I went with a baby bitsy bug and zoom super chunk jr. In black and blue color.  Just throw it out close to the grass edge and shake it when it hits the botttom.  Make sure to keep the line semi-tight to check for the classic thump thump.  If you see that line veer to right or left set the hook hard!!!

WELCOME to the forums!!! You wouldn't believe what size bait a bass will try to swallow ...

                            As Ever,

                             skillet

Hey BayouBass, Welcome to the group and don't worry about Jigs appearing to large for the size of fish in your area. Jigs with trailers are notorious for catching all sizes of fish in just about all conditions so go for it. My trailer of preference for smaller size 1/8 to 1/4 oz jigs is Rage Tail Chunk and it has remarkable action even with the smallest jigs at minimal rod tip movement. Even on the fall with these smaller jigs the claws of the Rage Chunk are flapping wildly back and forth and other chunks or trailers can't achieve that.

Good Fishin

Big O

www.ragetail.com

I use the Rage Chunk on my smaller jigs as well.  I use the Rage Tail Craw on larger jigs.  I don't use any other soft plastic trailers other than these two anymore.  

If you are an LSU fan from the bayou may I suggest purchasing Denny Braue's Jig Fishing Secrets book or DVD.  Super.

If you are a Tulane fan from the bayou, forget it.  

Make that Denny Brauer.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time about jigs and how to fish them.

If the fish are hungry they'll eat a jig. Size does (not) matter. As for trailers, one of my favorites over the years, and one you should have in your bag of plastics for t-rigging, are brush hogs. Mike McClelland used them at the KY Lake event with great success.

Yeap. Small fish will eat big jigs. If a bass can get its mouth over it, it will try to eat it.