Jig Trailer Action vs. Water Temp ?

[ChrisD46]

For say a football jig or flipping jig - what approx. water temp do you decide to switch from a trailer with action (i.e. rage tail / twin tail grub) to a chunk style  trailer with less or more subdued  action ?

[Dens228]

I don't really go by water temp as much as fish activity.  When the season starts out I start with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver or a Rage Bug.  As the season progresses and the fish get more aggressive I switch to a Rage Tail craw.  I do the reverse as the season ends.  

If it's going slow I'll change it up at any time of year though. This past summer I was fishing a small lake that I go to when I want to catch numbers.....it was mid June and I usually slay them there with the Rage Tail, nada, switched to the Bug, same color and started catching until I went through two packages.........

 

So you never know.

[Mike L]

I don’t really let actual water temp dictate when to use what size of what to use. 
Fish have been caught in all kinds of weather using all kinds of shapes and sizes of baits. 
 

To have a preconceived notion of “This will only work for this” has gotten me in trouble too many times. 
 

If it’s the dead of winter I know to slow down and/or go for an reaction strike. If I know they’re in a certain location I’ll keep changing everything up,,,speed, size, shape, action then finally color until a pattern emerges. 

 

 

 

Mike

[WRB]

For decades all we had was pork rind jig trailers in frog ( chunk) and lizard ( split tails) fished these year around and still do.

Soft plastic jig trailers have replaced the pork trailers and I don't see any reason to change shapes based on water temps, change based on what the bass will strike.

Lakes that have Florida strian LMB the water temps stay above 45 degrees where those bass are located, colder they can't survive.

Lakes with Northern strain LMB, Smallmouth bass or Spotted bass the water can get colder and very cold water less then 40 degrees slows down the bass need for food, less active so a more precise close to the fish tends to trigger more strikes with whatever style jig trailer you use.

I am not a fan of fast flapping jig trailers because they tend to attract smaller bass, some lakes fast flapping jig trailers work, others they don't, trail and error.

Tom

[galyonj]

2 hours ago, Dens228 said:

...I start with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver or a Rage Bug.

That Sweet Beaver in Magic Craw Swirl is my confidence trailer. I start with that, and then I adjust, as you and @WRB noted, based on what the fish are telling me they do or don't want.

 

Instead of the Rage Bug, I'll throw on the Rage Craw or a Christie Craw when I want a little bit heavier plastic on the appendage for fewer flappies.

[fishballer06]

Honestly, it depends on how I'm fishing a bait, and how I want my sink rate. If I'm dragging a bait, action doesn't matter much like it does on a jig that I'm fishing on the fall. And if I'm fishing a jig on the fall, a bait with action like a Rage Craw will sink slower than a chunk style trailer, so I can control my sink rate with that. 

The fish will always let you know what they prefer. 

[Dens228]

11 minutes ago, galyonj said:

That Sweet Beaver in Magic Craw Swirl is my confidence trailer. I start with that, and then I adjust, as you and @WRB noted, based on what the fish are telling me they do or don't want.

 

Instead of the Rage Bug, I'll throw on the Rage Craw or a Christie Craw when I want a little bit heavier plastic on the appendage for fewer flappies.

I'm going to purchase some Spicy Beaver to see how I like it compared to the Rage.

[Catt]

As previously mentioned my selection is based on what the bass want not what I want.

 

I'll go down to a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw & up to a Rage Lobster.

[galyonj]

1 hour ago, Dens228 said:

I'm going to purchase some Spicy Beaver to see how I like it compared to the Rage.

Never used that one, but I'd be interested to hear what you think. That think looks like it'd move a bunch of water.

[AstroFishingTV]

I've learned that when the water temp is lower the bass tend to veer away from the more aggressive/bigger trailers. Just something simple like the zoom chunk would work great. Towards the spring and summer months I tend to use bigger trailers, I have even used brush hogs on. 

This past weekend, the water was 57 degrees, the pattern I was catching them on was fishing in the mouths of feeder creeks off of the main river. I was flipping lizards, and craws under lay downs. So you can still get away with flipping in the colder time of year. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, the creek stays the same temp. The creeks are my go to when I can't figure things out on the lakes or rivers. Hope this helps somewhat.

[scaleface]

I'm not to picky when choosing trailers and often just use whatever piece of torn up plastic thats lying on the floor of the boat . Before anglers used pork frogs ,  pork eels were popular especially in the cold months . I knew about the jig and eel way before the jig and pig .    I sometimes   use a plastic worm as a trailer , it resembles the jig and eel . It  wouldnt   surprise me if a  pro wins a tourney with a worm trailer and it becomes the new hot thing .

 

 

[ChrisD46]

I suppose water temp more often than not equate to aggressiveness of bass (i.e. metabolism) ... Might have been better of me to ask which trailers you prefer based on low / high aggressiveness of bass on that particular day of fishing  .

[Todd2]

On 12/16/2019 at 3:47 PM, scaleface said:

 I sometimes   use a plastic worm as a trailer

 

This x2..I mostly use worms, brush hogs that have been have been cut down a few times after use, then put it in with my jig trailers for future use. 

[Catt]

5 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

I suppose water temp more often than not equate to aggressiveness of bass (i.e. metabolism) ... Might have been better of me to ask which trailers you prefer based on low / high aggressiveness of bass on that particular day of fishing  .

 

Aggressiveness is often equated to a actively feeding bass.

 

Bass are predators & are aggressive by nature.

 

For me it's about getting a reaction bite from a bass that's not actively feeding.

[fishballer06]

On 12/16/2019 at 12:25 PM, Dens228 said:

I'm going to purchase some Spicy Beaver to see how I like it compared to the Rage.

 

On 12/16/2019 at 1:27 PM, galyonj said:

Never used that one, but I'd be interested to hear what you think. That think looks like it'd move a bunch of water.

They're a bigger profile than the Menace Grub. The body and claws both are significantly bigger and definitely show off a bigger profile. Whether that's good or bad is up to you to decide. 

[galyonj]

2 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

They're a bigger profile than the Menace Grub. The body and claws both are significantly bigger and definitely show off a bigger profile. Whether that's good or bad is up to you to decide. 

Reckon that's a question for the fish. Sometimes bigger and moving more water is just what the doctor ordered.