Jig And Eel???

[(='_'=)]

hey.... some time ago i got a fishing book, i think its called "101 bass fishing tips", from Rolan Martin, and in several occasions he mentions the "jig and eel"... i assumed this was something like a shakey head, a skirtless jig head with a worm... is that correct?? because in here i have never seen this term being used...

[Bladesmith,]

Years ago when most bass fishermen were just discovering that a jig was an effective bass bait, most folks used an Uncle Josh "split tailed eel" as a trailer.That is what he is referring to as a "jig and eel". Back then the jig was used mainly for cold water bass (winter time here in the south). The bass jig proved to be such an effective bait for big bass that it became popular (circa; mid to late 70's). As it became popular other trailers were used such as the Uncle Josh pork frog and others. Now, 40 years later, it's getting hard to find Uncle Josh pork anything in our local stores as most everybody has gone to using plastic trailers. I still find the split tailed eel to be a good trailer though, and we now use bass jigs year round. Also, most of the jigs we had available back then were hair jigs (I still have and use some of them) rather than the rubber and plastic skirts you normally see now. At least that's how I remember it.

[(='_'=)]

thank you!! so, besides the "eel" trailer, did the jig had a skirt?? were they normal jigs and they used the eel as trailer??

 

if so, maybe a half worm would make a good trailer?? i have lots of senkos that break down after a couple of fish, maybe i could use them as trailers for my jigs?? i have never fished a jig before, and i have a lot of confidence on the senkos, thats why i want to try it to improve my chances at catching one with a jig...

[WRB]

The Josh eel wasn't a split tail pork trailer, those were called lizards back in the 60's-70's. Uncle Josh made and still makes the Black Widow eel, a pork eel that is 6" or 9" long. We fished these on a football head jig with a vinyl skirt. The secret lure called "the Thing" was a 9" eel on a twin spin spreader type spinner bait. The Thing still works good, very slow vertical falling jig bumped along the rocky deep structured lakes.

[Will Wetline]

I ordered direct to get the pork trailers I wanted to complement the hair jigs I had tied up.

 

http://www.unclejosh.com/C/PorkStrips/420

 

 

I went with pork more out of a sense of nostalgia than necessity; today's plastics work fine in cold water. My first bass this season, a 4 1/2 lb. LM, took a GYCB Hula Grub in 42º water. The same day I interested a 3+ lb. SM on a white bucktail jig with an Uncle Josh spinning strip. Take your pick.

[Bladesmith,]

WRB, you sound like you had a 10 year head start on me. I didn't start to use jigs until mid to late 70's. At that time they had the "Black Widow Eel", I don't remember seeing the lizards, but they still make the "split tailed eel (product # 260). I just found it on the link posted above. Thank you, Will Wetline for that link.

[(='_'=)]

WRB, you sound like you had a 10 year head start on me. I didn't start to use jigs until mid to late 70's. At that time they had the "Black Widow Eel", I don't remember seeing the lizards, but they still make the "split tailed eel (product # 260). I just found it on the link posted above. Thank you, Will Wetline for that link.

 

hahahaha, then you had a 40 year head start on me... i was BORN in mid 1980s... you have been fishing longer than i have been LIVING!! 

[flippin and pitchin]

Oh the days of pork. Uncle Josh had a pork strip and twin tail which I used as spinnerbait trailers.  The frog and lizard were jig trailers. I never fished the eel although some guys I know fished it on a long hook with a wire weed guard. I used to throw a 1/4 ounce jig with a Gator tail worm shortened about two inches. Back then there were about three colors, black, black and black.  Pork was a pain but when a bass ate it, it held on.  

 

So, WRB, did you fish a 5'5" pistol grip and use the over the head hook set back in the day ?

[Downeaster2010]

I used to fish a jig and eel all the time, and still do on occasion.  Mainly it is a regular jig with skirt, and a rubber worm

on the hook.  Mainely we used a worm with a curl tail.  Using maybe a black jig with a black worm and red, or chartreuse

tail.  A lot of fish get hung up on them.

[WRB]

Oh the days of pork. Uncle Josh had a pork strip and twin tail which I used as spinnerbait trailers.  The frog and lizard were jig trailers. I never fished the eel although some guys I know fished it on a long hook with a wire weed guard. I used to throw a 1/4 ounce jig with a Gator tail worm shortened about two inches. Back then there were about three colors, black, black and black.  Pork was a pain but when a bass ate it, it held on.  

 

So, WRB, did you fish a 5'5" pistol grip and use the over the head hook set back in the day ?

Trigger sticks first introduced by Fenwick came out in the early 70's, Dee Thomas 8' flipping rod was a trigger stick.

We fished with pistol grip rods and Eagle Claw 5'3" to 5'5" with cork handles and fore grips were type hot ticket before the graphite rods hit the market. Agian Fenwick lead the way with HMG rods, followed by another west coast rod builder Phenix they became the tournament rods out west and offered 6' to 6'6" bass rods in the mid 70's. I put away the pistol grips in the mid 70's.

The pork rind we all used out west was Pedigo who made 4" lizards that were 3/4" wide with a split tail in purple, brown and black colors. Pedigo pork rinds were great, soft and high floatation. Uncle Josh bought Pedigo in the early 80's...too bad as UJ never continued the line. SuperPork come out in the mid 80's with a soft super floater pork rind and I had Robin make the old Pedigo lizard for me and was back in business, until last year when SuperPork closed. Uncle Josh rinds are in consistant in texture and don't float well without a lot TLC.

Tom