Hair Jigs

[bassguytom]

When you guys fish hair jigs in the cold do you put a trailer on? I usually put a baby paca craw on but am wondering if anyone fishes them without trailers. Any info. Is appreciated.

[Catch 22]

I used to use a lot of black hair jigs 1/16 to 1/4 and seldom ever used any thing on them. The river smallies  couldn`t get enough of them. Once in a while a Josh 101 pork was on.

Locally without  a river to fish anymore the pond fish like them too.

C22

[papajoe222]

90% of the time I don't use any trailer on a hair jig.  I believe the subtlety of a hair jig is it's greatest asset and any trailer takes away from that.  When I do add one, it's almost always a Berkley Power Grub and I do it more for the scent than the action.

[kickerfish1]

Depends on the hair jig. Size of jig, materials used, and water temps play a part in the usage of a trailer. If I do use one generally it has little action.

[MIbassyaker]

I don't use a trailer. Or rather, the hair is its own trailer.

[smalljaw67]

The truth is that I will sometimes use a trailer and sometimes not. It depends on the hair jig I'm using, if I'm fishing a marabou jig, I'm usually using 1/16oz to 1/8oz range and it will never have a trailer. Now buck tail is different, sometimes I'll tie on a rabbit zonker on the back and that will act as a trailer, but I also just leave it with plain buck tail and if I need more bulk to entice the fish or perhaps to slow the fall, I'll use a either a Zoom tiny salty chunk or a Venom lures Ron Yurko Finesse chunk. Rabbit hair is the same, and I tie one that I intended to use with a trailer all the time. I know this is more confusing than ever but here is the way I go about it. If the water is stained, then I'm using a trailer, iff I'm not getting any bites, and I'll fish it for an hour, depending on water temp, before I take it off and use it without. If I'm fishing in clear water and the temp has dropped or stayed the same, I'll go without a trailer, if there is a warming trend I'll add a trailer as sometimes a slight uptick in water temp will make them a little more active and the larger fish will hit the bulkier jig. That is about the only way I can explain, it is trial and error, good luck.

[OkobojiEagle]

I've tied/fished various patterns of hair jigs over the years, but for the last few years I've favored a Brewer Spider head tied with bucktail and either a thin zonker strip or a Brewer boot-tail grub.  I prefer the zonker strip be tied "fur downward" as it fishes with less " fur poof".

 

 

oe

[MIbassyaker]

You could always try.......bacon:

[A-Jay]

I've always thought of the hair jig as more of a weighted fly type offering than a "Jig".

 

 So that's how I present & fish it.

 

Accordingly, No trailer ever for me - seems to distract from the presentation quite a bit.

 

But after that video - I'm rethinking this - Ike may really be onto something with that bacon deal . . . .

 

 

 

A-Jay

[OkobojiEagle]

I've always thought of the hair jig as more of a weighted fly type offering than a "Jig".

 

 So that's how I present & fish it.

 

Accordingly, No trailer ever for me - seems to distract from the presentation quite a bit.

 

 

A-Jay

 

 

I think more in terms of representing prey of some type to the bass... when dragged along the bottom it represents crawfish or some species of insect -- when swimming in the water column it represents some species of prey fish.  The weight, whether mid-hook shank or at the hook eye, is only to assist in the presentation.  A "jig" and "fly" are the same in my eye... only presented at different depths.  Whether or not a trailer is used doesn't enter into my thought process.

 

 

oe

[Team9nine]

The truth is that I will sometimes use a trailer and sometimes not. It depends on the hair jig I'm using, if I'm fishing a marabou jig, I'm usually using 1/16oz to 1/8oz range and it will never have a trailer. Now buck tail is different, sometimes I'll tie on a rabbit zonker on the back and that will act as a trailer, but I also just leave it with plain buck tail and if I need more bulk to entice the fish or perhaps to slow the fall, I'll use a either a Zoom tiny salty chunk or a Venom lures Ron Yurko Finesse chunk. Rabbit hair is the same, and I tie one that I intended to use with a trailer all the time. I know this is more confusing than ever but here is the way I go about it. If the water is stained, then I'm using a trailer, iff I'm not getting any bites, and I'll fish it for an hour, depending on water temp, before I take it off and use it without. If I'm fishing in clear water and the temp has dropped or stayed the same, I'll go without a trailer, if there is a warming trend I'll add a trailer as sometimes a slight uptick in water temp will make them a little more active and the larger fish will hit the bulkier jig. That is about the only way I can explain, it is trial and error, good luck.

 

DItto ^^^ pretty much this above.

 

I always carry a tiny trailer with me when I fish hair jigs for most of the reasons stated above. I always start with it on, and then remove if I'm not getting the bites I think I should or need to remove it for some specific presentation need. Don't overthink it - the fish will let you know.

 

-T9

[WRB]

Hair is simply the shirt on a jig, fish it like any other bass jig.

Tom