My jig evolution

[fish_4_all]

Well I have started tying my jigs on jig heads to see if they look any better. I think they do for certain fish and are a little different tied this way. Took a while to get a clean tie at the head but working with the heads is harder to do than a plain hook. I know, only 4 with tails so far but wanted some feedback before I tied more with crystal flash. I am not sure it is the best material to use but it matches the material I used for the crochet. Will probably tie some of the lace bodies with marabou and see how they turn out.

Any favorites? Do you think they will all work to catch crappie and bluegill? And maybe a bass or two?




The following jigs are not on jig heads but they are new from the ones I posted before. This is the way I learned to tie them, well taught myself to make them and have worked on for a long time.

[Decoy Carver]

Look good, But would look a lot better if you would paint the heads first.

[bowhunter23]

They look very nice how long do each of those take you looks time consuming...

[jiggerjohn]

They look a lot better and more functional with the jighead and sharp hooks!! I liked the look of the one with the flat bottomed or HU style head,as it matches the flat,water resistant design of your tie for more easy, slower gliding. But the smaller round heads gives a nice look to your jigs, and if poured in tin ,provide extra lightness and flash! Don't paint these to lose a metallic flash- I'm convinced on my own jigs that this is a huge triggering factor on many days! I'd suggest trying small sickle hooks,too, tho the ones you're using are a bit longer and offer more length for your unique tie!

[AtticaFish]

Those look pretty good!

I like the 2 on the top pict at the bottom right corner. They look like they are on tube inserts... have a good profile. Put a tail on em and the profile would look very close to a minnow. By the looks of it though, I would guess those are the hardest to finish off.

[fish_4_all]

In the second picture the middle jig is tied on a sickle hook. The same one is the top left of the first picture. I really think I can make a really nice jointed body with a sickle hook. Will have to tie up a couple more to see how much of a segmentation I can truly get.

I do like the look of the tube jig heads with my crochet. They do have a really nice profile. I have a few more so I will try putting a tail on them and tying them in minnow colors. They are also in the third picture with a top view. They are the hardest to finish for sure but I still like the profile and think that they may have the best profile.

As for painting the heads. I didn't want to paint them yet so I could see how the jigs looked. I can still paint them but my intent was to simply paint eyes on them. I am trying to get some really small plastic gems that I can glue on for eyes. Leaving the head shiny. Am also thinking of doing the black acrylic with the glitter nail polish over the top that a member does here.

Most of the small ones are in TIN. I am making all my small jigs in tin and alloys without lead. The larger ones are simply too expensive in tin for me to buy in tin right now.

As for time consuming, I am beginning to think it is a full time job! 3-4 an hour max is all I get done between the crochet, the body wrap and getting everything looking just right. Finishing them is driving me crazy trying to get as little thread at the jig head as possible. They lose some of their "professional" look when I have to add a lot to tie the material in and keep it help tight. Thinking of staying with darker colors of thread to show kind of a neck band or whatever instead of bright colors. I just got a lot of darker thread in multiple colors so I can now match the colors a little better and not make it look so "thrown together". Lace simply makes it hard to not use a lot of thread to make sure the lace doesn't come out. The floss is easier by far but for bug patterns the lace can't be beat for looks.

Anyone have ideas for the tails? Marabou better than flash? Maybe bucktail or something else? I really need ideas for the tails as I have not put tails on them before and it still looks ODD to me.

[gabulldog]

the flask tails look good if you have any hackle use 2 tips and put a split tail on one i think would look great maraboo would look good but keep it sparse
i been playing with chelneail trying to get the look your doin but no luck lol

[Yodibuzz]

try 2 goose biots for your tails

[1aB]

IMO the unique value of the crochet tie is as a best possible caterpillar-grub imitation. Lots of proven effective minnow patterns that are probably way less time consuming. Not knocking, your talent and creativity are extraordinary!

[fish_4_all]

Chenille doesn't work that well. Too bulky and doesn't really give the right look. Vernille works well enough to give some ridging on the crochet but there again, the colors don't jump like they do with other materials.

A hackle split tail huh. Like taking 2 pieces and making sure the tips are slightly separated to form a real tail maybe? Place them with the bend of the hook so the tail is in profile right. I.E. look at from the side and the tail is broad and not flat.

I don't know if I have goose or not but I have some duck and others for sure, will have to try them.