Thread: new to jigs tying

Originally Posted by jigolo

they look darn good! any ways i always tie my chenille in by pulling the tip off exposing the string under it. this makes a flat symmetrical body better then trying to tie the chenille under it also know as to much build up. also learn this while steel heading to half hitch from start to finish the chenille. this is cause "blue gill" will peck, peck and peck at the jig till they fall apart. if one half hitch comes lose they still have others holding it just some tips....

And to add to this, I do the same and always add head cement! I add a drop to the thread before I lay the tail material down so the bluegills cannot pull the tail out. Then I always tie off the jig with 3 half hitch knots and a drop of head cement on top of the knots.


When its all tied, there is no way it is coming untied while fishing. You'll have a jig head with no tail and a body beat to heck before anything comes untied. The only way you are getting everything off to re-use the jig head is to burn it off with a lighter.

I started tying using headstrong cement, but I picked up a bottle of creative angler head cement from overstockbait on my last order and it seems to be doing just as well... Was less than 1/3 the price of the headstrong. I believe I paid $2.99 and it was a glass bottle that I'd have to say is 2-3 oz. I know I've tied about 200 jigs with it since I got it and I have not even put a dent in it. I transfer it into a .5oz squeeze bottle with a syringe top for applying it. I like it better than a bodkin/needle. The bottle is for e-cigs.

Originally Posted by Deafcrappieslayer

thanks for kind words everyone! i am starting to like this hobby! now on to micro jigs which i want to use for ice fishing.

I actually started with micro jigs this winter. Here is my big producer, it has been equally well so far this year in open water with the back-to-back cold fronts that are putting the fish in a negative mood.

1/64 head. Cut hackle for the tail with 2 pieces of flash added. Med Chenille body. This is on a #8 hook. I caught quite a few crappies on this jig through the ice!


I have a buddy in Indiana that is keeping me busy tying them. He's using them for bluegills and crappie under a float. I keep sending him more and more and he keeps showing me pictures.

i guess our mind think alike because i make exact same color as that! i never thought of apply cement to thread before adding chenille to it. thanks!


which part of iowa your from? used to hunt a lot near clear lake city to estherville till pheasant numbers crashed but alway want to come back to the area for fishing, heard its very good.

I'm in the quad cities, on the miss river. Fishing isnt great here, not as good as some of the interior lakes... but we do get one some nice fish in the backwaters every so often.

Works for me.

Originally Posted by Deafcrappieslayer

Where do you normally start to wrap chenille? To hook or to head?

Depends. I always finish at the head. BUT depending on the jig head size, I may start wrapping at either the head or tail. If it is a larger jig I'll start at the head and wrap to the tail and then back to head to increase the profile to match the head. I tie the chenille off as others do.

I always start at the head and end at the head. I never put glue on before I am finished except with tying rabbit strips. I never have any that come apart. Also you can not feel where I put my glue, no hard spot at all and they hold up fine. Have had more than one person tell me they caught over 300 crappie on one single jig. I believe they do just fine with a good whip finish, I never use the half hitch!

also I make my own glue and the cost is cheap and one trip to the hardware store and that buy has last me 10 years and still don't need any more yet, not even close! I am sure the stuff I use is posted in the sticky post at the top of this page!

Originally Posted by skiptomylu

I always start at the head and end at the head. I never put glue on before I am finished except with tying rabbit strips. I never have any that come apart. Also you can not feel where I put my glue, no hard spot at all and they hold up fine. Have had more than one person tell me they caught over 300 crappie on one single jig. I believe they do just fine with a good whip finish, I never use the half hitch!

also I make my own glue and the cost is cheap and one trip to the hardware store and that buy has last me 10 years and still don't need any more yet, not even close! I am sure the stuff I use is posted in the sticky post at the top of this page!

Seeing you are from texas, I think I already know the answer to this.. but have you ever dropped a micro tied jig down an ice hole and had bluegills peck at it? They'll grab that tail and keep on tugging until its gone. Your fish down there could swallow these micro jigs in a second, but not up here.. all they do is peck. I've got a bag full of marabou jigs missing the marabou from fishing around bluegills.

I've never had a crappie destroy a jig, not one I've tied nor one I've bought. Crappie are the "gummers" of the fish species, they don't grab and pull. Bluegills grab and pull.

With a standard "crappie jig" I don't think it is really an issue.. but I'm sure you already know that when you are tying a 1/100-1/64 with a #14-#8 hook there really is not a ton of room to wrap thread to secure the tails material. The extra glue helps!