The "off Season"

[The Young Gun]

I know a large portion of bass angelers live in the southern states but I know there's a few in the midwest including me in northern wisconsin. Most People go for walleye or panish during ice fishing not bass so it tends to be called the off season for bass around this time because of the ice on the lakes. Now is when I want to get stuff ready for new tactics. Preferably jig fishing.. I know the basics of jig fishing, but I have a few questions..

1.) What is a good trailor if i'm fishing lakes with no crawfish? I always seee rage craw trailors for everyone but thats not what we have around here mostly.

2.) I have lots of weeds under the majority of the lake I love to bass fish on, will a lighter jig sit on top of these rather than sink into them?

3.) I know a lot of people like the "Double twitch" retrive with the rage craw trailor, because of the way they act, but can I do that with others? Or whats a good all around retrieve?

Any help would be appreciated!

[Bluebasser86]

I know a large portion of bass angelers live in the southern states but I know there's a few in the midwest including me in northern wisconsin. Most People go for walleye or panish during ice fishing not bass so it tends to be called the off season for bass around this time because of the ice on the lakes. Now is when I want to get stuff ready for new tactics. Preferably jig fishing.. I know the basics of jig fishing, but I have a few questions..

1.) What is a good trailor if i'm fishing lakes with no crawfish? I always seee rage craw trailors for everyone but thats not what we have around here mostly Rage craws also imitate bluegills and baitfish very well and just because a fish doesn't see crawfish very often doesn't mean it won't eat them.

2.) I have lots of weeds under the majority of the lake I love to bass fish on, will a lighter jig sit on top of these rather than sink into them? Possibly, if you fish a light jig with a thick skirt to help it parachute down slowly you may be able to fish on top of them.

3.) I know a lot of people like the "Double twitch" retrive with the rage craw trailor, because of the way they act, but can I do that with others? Or whats a good all around retrieve? I think a "hop, hop" retrieve mimics a craw very well and it works with any trailer in my experience. In colder water I like to drag a jig too so it never leaves the bottom if possible.

Any help would be appreciated!

[Sam]

1.) What is a good trailor if i'm fishing lakes with no crawfish? I always seee rage craw trailors for everyone but thats not what we have around here mostly. - As said above, Rage Craws. Also consider Fat Alberts and single tail grubs. You want a bulky trailer as the bass are not active in cold water and they are looking for a big easy meal. You also want to have your jig fall slow to the bottom and then let it sit for about 30 seconds and move it back to you with slow sweeping motions to the left or right.

2.) I have lots of weeds under the majority of the lake I love to bass fish on, will a lighter jig sit on top of these rather than sink into them? - Depends on the thicknes of the weeds and the weight of your jig and pig. You have to experiment. You can try a swimming jig to move the jig above the weeds.

3.) I know a lot of people like the "Double twitch" retrive with the rage craw trailor, because of the way they act, but can I do that with others? Or whats a good all around retrieve? - The fish will tell you what retrive they want. Fast. Slow. Stop and Go. Shake and pause. Rage craws have a fast action. You can change the pig to other brands if you want their pinchers to move slow. Every day is different. You have to find the pattern each day.

By the way, the bass will hit the jig and pig even if there are no crawfish in the lake. The bass hit your plastic worms and there are no worms in the lake, either!!!!

[Sam]

Go to Amazon.com and get Denny Brauer's book, Jig Fishing Secrets.

Great winter read.

http://www.amazon.com/Denny-Brauers-Jig-Fishing-Secrets/dp/1879206226/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353234205&sr=8-1&keywords=denny+brauer

[RyneB]

im willing to bet there is craws in your lake. I fish a northern wisconsin lake that my buddies family has property on. We have been going up there for 20 years or so. He insists theres no craws in the lake. The fish in my avatar was caught at that lake and when i swung him into the boat he spit up a half chewed craw that was massive. It had a dark green, rusty orange color, and brown. I always bring my jig tying material with me. I set the mangled craw on my table and matched it as best i could and it was killer. The Bama Craw rage craw was a perfect patch to the craw and jig. It was deadly

[The Young Gun]

Okay, so i'll still purchase some rage craws.. All my jigs are 20years old, I accuired them from a friends dad who passed. The skirts are one or two color silicone, and the jig heads themself obviously show wear. I have green/black, blue/black, red/black. I have a lot of blue gills in the lake, so would the blue work best? I've heard people try to match the skirt with the trailor. It'll be hard beccasue my skirts aren't a very nice appealing color, but is that what I should do?

[RyneB]

i have my most success in northern wisconsin on a black/blue jig with a blue saphire rage craw. That should get bit, get a pack of black/blue fleck rage craws just in case they dont want that bright blue.

[The Young Gun]

Okay, i'll make an order once I can get some money.. Where are you fishing in northern wisconsin?

[The Young Gun]

You don't have to be super specific, but just wondering if im close to you!

[Arv]

I usually try and match my colors pretty close. Its rarely a perfect match though. The blue in the skirt might be different from the blue in the trailer, but that's never mattered before from my own experience. Just do your best. Critters in the wild have all kinds of different shades and imperfections so if you're off, it shouldn't be a big deal. And remember, just because it doesn't look good to you doesn't mean it won't look good to the fish. I can't remember the last time I saw a crawdad with shiny blue flecks in its pincers.

Other times though, I will put a slightly different colored craw on my jig. For instance, if I have a skirt that is primarily brown, but has some green strands/highlights in it, I may put a green craw on the jig. It still "matches." Its just not identical. This has also produced fish for me in the past as well.

[RyneB]

chetek area. If you want to PM me your name and address, ill send you some jigs that wil get you started.

[Bankbeater]

This time of year I like to throw 1/8 or 1/4 ounce jigs. I usually put on a Zoom small salty chunk and just cast them out and let them fall.

[HookSetDon]

You can also put a small swim bait as a trailer

[The Young Gun]

Its a stained/murky water, will those light jigs even have a big enough profile to be noticed really? I just paid the 3$ for a bitsy bug strike king but it looks really small compared to all these jigs I see all the pros using. I'm lost when it comes to all the variations and colors and jig heads I can use and aplications of each.

[skeletor6]

For murky water I like going with PBJ, Falcon Lake and Black n Blue.

Rage Craws are great. So are the Rage Chunks and baby craws. Depends on the size. I really like the green pumpkin purple gold color. The trailer does not have to be a perfect match. I try to get as close as possible and as long as I am matching at least one of the colors on the jig I'm confident.

To match a bluegill I think the New Gill color from Northstar does a fine Job.