Making trailers out of old soft baits

By Ian

  We all love our spinnerbaits and chatter baits. They are great search baits that work year-round, and produce. Sometimes, there's no bait like a small spinnerbait for catching numbers, and fast. The chatter bait, otherwise know as the bladed swim jig, was a recent upstart that shook the industry, as pros all over BASS and FLW tour caught their limits, way ahead of everyone else. Both of these baits are easy to fish, and are relatively weedless. Everyone has a few of these baits in his/her tackle box, and for a good reason, too. 

  However, the trailer of the spinnerbait/chatterbait is sometimes just as or more important as the bait itself. The trailer can make or break your trip, as fish favor certain profiles or actions at certain times. Fish also often chew or pull of your trailers. It's often to a have wide and large selection of trailers with you at all times. 

Above: Two of my best chatter bait trailers were made from ripped up soft jerkbaits and worms. Simply cut off the tail at an appropriate place, and you got a unique trailer unlike anything the wary lake bass have seen before. 

  I like to cut off the trails of old or ripped soft plastics to use as trailers. The soft jerk bait-tail is an especially well known and effective chatter bait trailer, as well the claw end of a soft plastic craw. The combinations are endless. The trailers created from old soft plastics are unlike anything the seasoned bass from pressured waters have seen before, and these may tempt them to strike. It's also a very cost effective way of acquiring trailers for your baits, as these trailers are entirely free, made from old or beat up plastics. 

  The sizes of the baits are customizable, as well. You can cut a bait as long or as short as you want, as the situation dictates. Smaller trailers are good for cold water or post frontal conditions, while larger trailers work great for warm water or otherwise feisty bass. 

Tight lines, 

​-Ian