Fishing Mini Jigs For Trout

An often underutilized trout bait is the mini jig and in this post I will discuss fishing mini jigs for trout so that you can add this unique trout bait to your trout fishing arsenal. The types of jigs that you should focus on when fishing for trout are plastic bodies with a straight or forked tail, marabou bodies and tails, or a combination of the two. These are the types of jigs that I have found to be the most effective when fishing for trout.

Next we have the size. Seeing as how trout jigs are usually called mini jigs, this obviously means that the jig heads are quite small. I prefer to use 1/8, 1/16, and 1/32 ounce jig heads for fishing mini jigs for trout, but many trout fishermen use jigs that are as small as 1/80 of an ounce, believe it or not. The point here is that mini jigs are exactly as you would imagine, quite small. The truth of the matter is that any small jig can be effective for trout fishing, so many anglers use crappie or pan fish jigs when fishing for trout and experience plenty of success.

Many people wonder what color mini jigs are the most effective for trout fishing, and while this will vary from fishing trip to fishing trip, there are a few considerations to be aware of. When the water that you are fishing is high and muddy, darker colors and florescent patterns seem to be effective trout colors. And later in the year when you are fishing water that is very clear, white, tan, and pink all seem to be effective color choices.

Finally we have the way in which your jig is fished. Because mini jigs are so lightweight, casting and "feeling" them can be a challenge even on the extremely light gear that we all use when fishing for trout. For this reason, I like to use a small Styrofoam float that slips onto my line so that the depth at which the jig "hangs" in the water column can be easily adjusted. It's usually a good idea for your jig to be very close to the bottom of the river or lake that you are fishing, so a little experimentation with depth will be necessary. A ton of movement usually isn't necessary when fishing mini jigs for trout and "twitching" your rod tip every 30-60 seconds usually does the trick quite nicely, but again don't be afraid to experiment a little bit.