Best Jig Trailer for Winter Bass Fishing
The jig is potentially the best year-round bass lure of all time. And one reason for this is that you can slightly alter your jig to optimize it during each season of the year.
And the best way to optimize your jig is to rig it up with the correct trailer. Now I prefer to keep my trailers very simple, so let me break down the why and what of the best jig trailer for winter bass fishing when the water gets cold.
Best Style Jig Trailer for the Winter
When it comes to the style or type of jig trailer that works best in the cold, winter season, I believe that it is a chunk style trailer.
The classic chunk trailers have a couple characteristics that give them a slight advantage over the other trailers when fishing in the winter season.
Also Read: Best Jig for Winter Bass Fishing
Less Movement
During the winter season, when the water temperatures get very cold, everything in the water begins to move less.
The crawfish, baitfish, and even the bass start to get sluggish, stiff, and don’t move very aggressively.
So the flapping or swimming jig trailers just have a bit too much action and vitality that isn’t very natural once the water temps get cold.
But the chunk trailers have a very natural, minimalistic action in the water as they just glide and undulate.
More Natural Action
For the most part, a jig primarily imitates crawfish. And when you look at how crawfish swim, they don’t flap that claws around in the water.
Real crawfish have a very streamline profile and swimming action. So a chunk style of trailer is much more realistic at imitating crawfish than a flapping or grub style of trailer.
Why is this so important for winter bass fishing? Well generally, the water will get very clear during the winter season.
And bass can see very, very well. So it is very important that you make your baits look as natural as possible when fishing the clear, winter waters.
And the chunk trailers are always going to be a bit more natural, which can make a huge difference for getting bites from the picky, cold water bass.
Best Chunk Style Trailer:
Zoom Super Chunk Jr.
Over the years, I have used a bunch of different chunk trailers. And the one I have found catches the most bass is the Zoom Super Chunk Jr..
There is just something about Zoom soft plastic baits that seems to get tons of bites. I don’t know if it is the scent in them or the classic designs, but Zoom baits just flat out catch bass.
I also like how the claws of the Super Chunk Jr. are very thin and streamline, which I think looks amazing in the water.
And at a very good price point, I just haven’t found a chunk trailer that I think works better than the Zoom Super Chunk Jr..
Chunk Trailer Rigging Tip
The old school way of rigging a chunk bait was to just “hang” the chunk on your hook by sticking the hook straight up through the bait.
But in my experience, and amongst modern anglers, you get a lot more bites and miss less bass if you actually thread the chunk bait on the jig just like you would any other type of trailer.
Threading the bait on gives your jig a much more natural profile and helps ensure that the bass eat the whole jig instead of just nipping at the back half.
Winter Jig Colors
During the winter, there are two factors to consider when picking jig colors. First, like I mentioned earlier, the water during the winter is usually very clear.
So you don’t need to worry about choosing super bright or super dark jig colors to help the bass find your jig.
The bass won’t have any problem finding your jigs. And second, during the winter when the sun stays low in the sky and many fish move our deep, pretty much all creatures underwater will lose a lot of their colors.
Their colors will get a lot duller. So again, you don’t need any flamboyant or highly colored jigs. The only jig colors that I really use during the winter are brown and dark green pumpkin.
Also Read: Best Jig Trailer for Fall Bass Fishing
Reeling this In
To wrap up, optimizing your jig with the right trailer is the key to year-round bass fishing success, and this is especially true when the water gets cold. In winter, the best choice is a chunk-style trailer.
Its minimal, natural movement perfectly mimics the sluggish crawfish that bass are feeding on, offering a huge advantage in the typically clear, cold water.
For a reliable bite, consider the Zoom Super Chunk Jr. and remember to thread the trailer onto your jig hook for a more natural profile and better hooksets.
Stick to dull, natural colors like brown and dark green pumpkin, and you’ll be set to fool even the most finicky cold-water bass.
