Thread: Looking for opinions on my jigs

Originally Posted by Nick322

Hello I have been checking out this forum for a little while and decided to post a few of my jigs. I haven't seen very many jigs on here that do not have chenille and I have wondered why everyone uses it. If it's just for the looks or if it makes the jig hold up better. I have never even fished with a jig with chenille. I have only been tying for 3-4 years and only tie for myself so I don't get real worried about imperfections as long as the jig looks halfway decent lol. I am also wondering what kind of glue everyone uses to hold their thread together after the knots. I use clear finger nail polish and a small dab of super glue. I use pro-tec powder paint on the heads and am not very happy with it because even after baking the heads the paint still chips off. I don't know if there is anything I'm doing wrong or if it's just the downfall to powder paint. I am just looking for opinions positive or negative on how to improve my tying. Good luck on the water!


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for many years I have tied jigs without any body material it's a preference to you whether you use body material are not sometimes it helps to work out a color pattern and sometimes it has nothing to do with the fish on what they are going to hit that day and all. where I come from we used to tie up very small jigs 1/80oz 1/64oz 1/32oz in the same method that you have made your jigs very deadly at times I don't quite use as much hair as you do all in all you will definitely on the right track keep up the good work hope to see more of your postings in your progress we use lacquers for head cement .

First welcome aboard!!! The jigs look good! If they're catching fish you've won the battle. You don't have to use chenille on jigs if you don't want. If you use zonker strips, bear hair, craft hair or feather bodies you wouldn't want it anyway. I like that you don't have straight cut ends on your materials.

The powder paint problem could be didn't cure right, or I've seen it before if the heads weren't clean it would crack right off. Clean your hook eyes before curing.

I don't care what you're using to bake them to cure - go to WalMart, Target anywhere you can find an in oven thermometer and set a heat and see what it says!!!! Couple of guys over on TackleUnderground who all had different ovens, toaster ovens all checked and some were off by close to 30 degrees. If the temp you set your oven on isn't there they won't cure right and it's an easy $4 dollar purchase of the thermometer to find out for sure.

Fatman hit it with the thermometer. Never go by what the oven says it is supposed to be.

There is a sticky someplace that talks about the exact temperature and cure time for CSI paints (and different colors). Some colors like different temperatures and different times of curing. For me, I've found the best overall temperature for different colors has been 325 degrees. Most powder paint companies recommend 350 however that is just a general rule. The lower temp the longer you bake. For me, I run them at 325 for 25 minutes.

The best thing I have found for cleaning eyes (prior to baking): after I dip my jig, I utilize a sewing needle that matches the size of the hook eye. I also use a piece of Styrofoam. I put the needle through the eye, run it around once and stick it in the Styrofoam. I pull the jig off the top of the needle with it still stuck in the Styrofoam. Sometimes, I have to cut the thread end off the needles. Works well. I sell tons of jigs every year and never have to go back and clean any eyes after baking when using this method.

As for your jigs: I looked and I looked, even zoomed in on the picture and I could not find an "opinions" located anywhere on your jigs. Nice play on words!! I think they look great. When I am using tied jigs, they are hair jigs most of the time. If your making them for yourself, your trying to catch fish.... If your making them to sell, your trying to catch fisherman! I'm not sure if they catch fish, but they sure do look good! Great work

Originally Posted by wicklundrh

Fatman hit it with the thermometer. Never go by what the oven says it is supposed to be.

There is a sticky someplace that talks about the exact temperature and cure time for CSI paints (and different colors). Some colors like different temperatures and different times of curing. For me, I've found the best overall temperature for different colors has been 325 degrees. Most powder paint companies recommend 350 however that is just a general rule. The lower temp the longer you bake. For me, I run them at 325 for 25 minutes.

The best thing I have found for cleaning eyes (prior to baking): after I dip my jig, I utilize a sewing needle that matches the size of the hook eye. I also use a piece of Styrofoam. I put the needle through the eye, run it around once and stick it in the Styrofoam. I pull the jig off the top of the needle with it still stuck in the Styrofoam. Sometimes, I have to cut the thread end off the needles. Works well. I sell tons of jigs every year and never have to go back and clean any eyes after baking when using this method.

As for your jigs: I looked and I looked, even zoomed in on the picture and I could not find an "opinions" located anywhere on your jigs. Nice play on words!! I think they look great. When I am using tied jigs, they are hair jigs most of the time. If your making them for yourself, your trying to catch fish.... If your making them to sell, your trying to catch fisherman! I'm not sure if they catch fish, but they sure do look good! Great work

Guess you have not looked at the sticky post at the top of this board? I have had them posed here for years now and the note at the bottom is most important I feel! Know this the longer the paint is in heat the darker it will get and the first one to look a lot different and for the worse is Flame Red. Take it too long and it looks totally different. Look at the sticky post.

Skip

when I use powder paint for my jig heads after I get through I take a ice pick" and poke the paint out of the eye of the jig head before I put them in the oven to care don't worry it pokes out very easily.

i know nada about jig tying in general but those look like i could ketch some fish with them ....welcome to the forum .....
and the paint job dont matter much anyway it seems to me as it aint guna make it past one trip with me if i tie it on anyway ....LOL

I've forgotten to knock the paint out of the eyes before baking a time or two... The easiest way to do it is to heat a piece of wire over a flame until red hot and push it through the eye.

As for the jigs.. they look good to me. I like less hair on mine for a more natural fall, with a lot of hair they almost have a parachute effect where the head drops down and the tail slows it way down. Looks different but I can never seem to do too well with them unless I tie them with less hair and fish them normally.