Trimming jig and spinnerbait skirts

Do you trim your jig or spinnerbait skirts? If you don't, you might be costing yourself fish.

Do you trim your jig or spinnerbait skirts? If you don't, you might be costing yourself fish.

I rarely throw a jig or spinnerbait right out of the package. At a minimum, I trim the skirts. As you must know by now, I'm very precise with my equipment, and jig and spinnerbait skirts are no exception. I trim every skirt I use regardless of whether I'm fun fishing or fishing the Bassmaster Classic.

The reasons for trimming a jig are many. I might want more flare, more subtleness, to match the size of crayfish or to match the skirt length to the trailer I'm using. Trimming a skirt isn't hard, but I have found one particular method to work best.

I trim the skirts to different lengths and sometimes even different angles for a variety of situations, which I'll cover in future columns. For now, this video will show you a simple system for trimming skirts that I learned years ago from flippin' legend Dee Thomas.

You should experiment with trimming skirts to different lengths, especially for different species of bass. It's the best way to find the right length and get more bites. The smallest changes can make the difference between a good day on the water and a great day on the water.