Cold Water Football Jig Set Up ?

[ChrisD46]

What are your favorite football jig set ups for cold water (Fall / Winter) in water depth under 10 to 15 feet ?

Provide one for clear water and one for stained water presentations :

 

• Weight ?
• Jig Color ?
• Trailer ?
• Trailer Color ?

 

Thanks in advance ...

[TnRiver46]

I use black/blue most of the time, maybe a green or brown in super clear water. 10-15 feet is fairly shallow so you could throw any weight, I would downsize for clear water and go a little heavier for muddy water. Trailers are flappy like rage craw in muddy water, back half of worms and grubs in clear water. 

[fishballer06]

There is no magic combination. I'm one who like a little heavier weight when it comes to football jigs to ensure I keep bottom contact, so I'd be using a 1/2 - 3/4oz jigs. In clearer water, I'm going to use a more natural green or brown color, and then darker colors for dirtier water. In cold water, I want a trailer with less action. Some guys like chunks or pork for this. Me personally, I like the Zoom Z Hog (and Jr) for this. 

[WRB]

1/2 oz Anytime Anywhere* hair jig with UJ#11 pork rind black, purple or brown. 1 jig and change trailer color.

Tom

*blank/purple/brown

[Bluebasser86]

1/4-1/2 oz, usually black and blue, black and blue rage craw or sapphire blue Zman BatwingZ, the bigger size.

[Fishes in trees]

I thought that 5" Chompers were made for half ounce football heads.   Pick your favorite color based on regional color preferences.   I like the black/chartruese laminate, but lots of other colors work.  I don't think that I"ve ever fished a football head with a skirt and an trailer, like you might with an Eakins jig.

[WRB]

The key to colder water jig fishing is moving the jig slowly with life like movememts and occasionally hoping the jig a few feet foreward to trigger any curiuos bass watching it.

Soft plastics have very little life like movememts when sitting still or moving slowly foreward. Plastic chunks look like a pork trailer but don't move like it. 

A simple alternative is use a floating worm or paddle tail grub*  cut off so it's about 3"-4" long and split the tail about 2" and rig it with exposed hook threaded onto the jig hook.

Tom

* Iovino 4" paddle tail grub for example Electric blue, Honeycomb, PB&J on Sieberts PB&J skirt color.

[I/MBasser]

I use 1/2 oz jigs most of the time.  For dirty water I use Black/Blue.  For clear I use Brown, Green Pumpkin or White.  My trailers are normally a Rage Craw or Net Bait Paca Craw for less action.  Sometimes I'll throw on a RI Beaver.  Sometimes my trailers match, sometimes they don't.  Most I often a use a green pumpkin trailer on a black and blue jig.  

 

Bottom line is there is no magic combination.  Try different combinations and see what works.

[scaleface]

I like dark colors . Black jig brown trailer or vice versa has been good. Alo  Black blue in clearer waters , black chartreuse in dingier water . Temperature makes no difference to me . 1/2 ounce is a good weight .

[Tizi]

I try to keep things simple and use 3/8 and 1/2 ounce mostly (I go heavier if fishing deeper than 20 feet).  For color, I use green pumpkin and black/blue.  Black/blue for darker water, green pumpkin for everything else.  I use Rage Craw and Paca Craw for trailers in the same colors as the jigs.  I might use a creature bait once in awhile as a trailer.

[primetime]

I tend to fish a 1/2 ounce jig most of the time and I tend to use brown or a darker color like black/Blue, sometimes will match trailer color, or go opposite...Brown jig, black and blue trailer...

 

I actually like using a 4" senko as a trailer on a football jig,not sure why it works but it will, and if you happen to wacky rig one, it can surprise you. A wacky rigged senko behind a jig on bottom just seems to work, then again, a wacky rig kind of always catches fish.....

 

Like many said, fishing slow is the way to go, and really any trailer will work. If you are not getting any strikes on something with alot of action like a rage craw, or Menace, I find a simple craw like the Zoom Critter craw works well in tougher situations. Zoom Critter craw actually works well all the time for me, doesn't have much action at all, but is also good on a swim jig for some reason.

[rtwvumtneer6]

I generally throw the same thing in clear and stained water.  If anything, I'll change the trailer.

 

• Weight 1/2 or 5/8.  I like it heavy enough that it's not hopping of the bottom like crazy, but not too heavy that I think the fish will find it unnatural to pick up.  Bumping off of whatever is down there is erratic enough action for me.
• Jig Color - Brown and purple.
• Trailer - RI beaver. Usually bite off a few ribs
• Trailer Color - stained - blacklight, clear - GP or PB&J

I like this set up on a 7'3 MH an 17# fluoro.  Reel either 6:1 or 7:1 

[WRB]

If everyone on the lake you fish is using black-blue or green pumpkin jigs why would a bass strike your offering verses everyone else using the combination?

Tom

[A-Jay]

My 'cold' open water opportunities are relatively brief ~

Cold water warms up rapidly in the spring and freezes up fairly fast in the fall.

However, the times I can and chose a cold water jig presentation,

These work well.

 

1/4 & 3/8 oz Punisher Hair Jig with a 4 inch Reins Punching Predator Creature Bait Trailer.

(I pinch off about 1/2 an inch off the head)

A-Jay

[jimmyjoe]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

If everyone on the lake you fish is using black-blue or green pumpkin jigs why would a bass strike your offering verses everyone else using the combination?

Tom

   Yup.   "Show'em something different".  That's what keeps a lot of fishermen (including me) interested in the game.     jj