at an angle, ” Christie said of his finishing cuts. “ Now, that gives me a compact skirt that flares outward. ”
In addition to jig skirt length, consider plucking out skirt strands to slim the overall profile. This, too, affects fall rate, so slim it down when you want a more rapid descent.
JUNK IN THE TRUNK
For optimal jig performance, Christie said that pairing the right type of trailer with the appropriate skirt length helps him achieve the appropriate fall rate for his winter presentations.
Specifically, warming trends might energize the bass enough for them to snap at quickly descending meals, but shivering fish will simply watch the fast food fall past them. In the latter case, slowing the fall rate is what you want.
Generally, your thinner trailers create less water drag than a bulkier chunk-style trailer. Taking that into
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consideration, the Oklahoma pro will often use a full jig skirt with a YUM Craw Chunk when he knows the fish are lethargic. However, if a pleasant spell has them frisky, a trimmed down skirt with the more streamlined YUM
Christie Craw gives him a peppier package that
flares nicely and has just the right amount of trailer
wiggle.
“ I like the Craw Chunk when the water is
cold because I don ’ t want a lot of movement, ”
Christie said. “ With the Christie Craw, it ’ s the
opposite. It has a good profile with the right
amount of movement. ”
Another trailer thought – Sometimes Elite
pro Timmy Horton wants the enticing action of
a Klone Crawsome but the 4-inch trailer may
be a little long for the winter package he ’ s
trying to present. Easy solution: bite about an
inch off the body.
Similarly, Upshaw lessens his finesse jig ’ s
length by removing the tail of his Biffle Bug
Jr. trailer. He ’ ll also clip off the lower half of
the weed guard. This facilitates hook sets on
the medium-heavy Lew ’ s spinning outfit he
uses to optimize casting with the light jig.
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