Spring 2018
SWIMBAITS
With the flash from the blade and the action of a swimbait tail, this combination excels when used to target bass feeding on shad. The key thing is to find a swimbait that doesn’t overpower the vibration of the blade on the jig, as I feel that vibration is key to getting bites.
When looking at soft plastic swimbaits to use a trailer, you can choose either hollow bodied baits or solid plastic bodies. You want to select the swimbait size to match the weight of your vibrating jig and the size of the baitfish that the bass are feeding on.
Any time you are rigging a soft plastic as a trailer, you want to make sure it is rigged on straight, as this will ensure the bait runs true in the water column, but I feel it is paramount in this scenario as nothing will curb a fish eating your bait than a vibrating jig running wonky!
HOT RETRIEVE – If the bass are still feeding on shad, but you can’t get them to eat anything, then try a vibrating jig with a straight-tailed shad bait, like the Zoom Super Fluke. The slight action in the fork tail, coupled with the vibration and flash from the blade can force bites from picky bass.
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Swimbait Trailer
Baby Brush Hog Trailer
CREATURES
This soft plastic trailer option is probably one of the least used by anglers, as it may not garner as many bites, but when it gets bit, it is usually a good bass. From small creature baits like the, Baby Brush Hog, to bulkier designs like the Brush Hog or Super Hog you can mimic big bluegills that bass are feeding on along weedlines or on main lake flats.
HOT RETRIEVE – Rigging up a Brush Hog or Super Hog on a 1/2- to 3/4-ounce vibrating jig is a great way to probe deep water schools of bass that are feeding on bluegills.
VIBRATING JIG GEAR
Regardless if I’m fishing around heavy cover or in open water, I’ll rely on the following gear when fishing a vibrating jig.
ROD – Witch Doctor Tackle Surman50 G 7’2” MH Casting Rod: Half fiberglass/half graphite construction of the rod will load up as a bass hits the tracked vibrating jig.
REEL – Wright & McGill Victory II High Speed Casting Reel: as I’m able to pick up the slack in my line.
LINE – Seaguar Smackdown Braided line 40-pound-test (heavy vegetation) or Seaguar TATSU 15-pound-test fluorocarbon (open water)
Making a long cast either parallel to the weedline or beyond the key weed clump, letting it sink down to the desired depth and ripping it out of the vegetation, when it gets hung up, will many times trigger a ferocious reaction strike.
If you are looking to increase the effectiveness and ability to use a vibrating jig more frequently on the water, then start looking at your soft plastic bait arsenal and have an idea of when and where to use each a trailer on your vibrating jig. •
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