How much is to much

I am looking into tying some 1/24 & some 1/32 hair and maribou jigs. In the past we did a lot of fly tying so I am famiiar with the tying part. I wonder how much is to much hair or bou when tying these jigs. I notice most commercial tyed stuff seems to have less hair and bou as some I see on here.

Personally,I like tails shorter and closer to the hook,I believe it helps eliminate short strikes plus tails on baitfish or shorter than their bodies.Marabou collapses when wet so I use a little more marabou then hair because hair doesn't collapse like marabou.Maybe I think too much and give fish to much credit. I try to make them as reallistic as possible.

i agree 100% with JJJ

With a little less marabou, I think the jig "breathes" better in the water. In the old days when I bought 'em, I'd tear out a bit on any one with too much. Just my opinion.

Fill a clear glass with water, tie on a few different jigs and see how they look. Start tying your jigs like the one you like best.

My opinion is that less is more. Seems that a jig that works, gets thinned out from catching fish, but as it thins out it's catching ability doesn't decrease. Think about how thin the profile of a baitfish looks. My .02

boatstall

I use the "Less is more" approach. Give the jig just enough hair or marabou to imitate the profile of a baitfish, but not so much as to inhibit the action of the jig or hinder the strike. Just my own opinion.

I tie both ways but like a good fat tail. :p Bou and hackle thin out so much when they are in the water I always try to put extra so they are fuller once wet. I have been using alot of rabbit strips lately, they do slim down, but not as much with the piece of skin in them.

Also - Match the hatch. If you see crappie chasing 1" bass fry around, go thinner - Fat shad or gills in their stomach, go thicker. That's why I tie both. ;)

Well I am opposite of most here and like a longer tail for more action and believe the crappie have a big old mouth unlike bream which do short strike a lot. I don't seem to have any trouble with short strikes, but maybe that is just me. I also use a bit more than what you buy in the stores, but you can get too much. I also make sure to take the feathers off the stem to tie marabou.

I never include the stems in marabou unless it is so thin that it will not hamper the action, but is rare for me to do that. You can look at my web site and see how long my tails are if you want to.

I guess it is just a matter of preference, but have never had anyone tell me that my tails on marabou is too long and I do catch a lot of crappie long line trolling Roadrunner with long marabou tails.

Skip

I think you have to test them out to find what you like. I have gotten to where I can eyeball how much I like now. There's an amount you can put on there that is enough to where your hook isn't just over revealing, (though it is going to be exposed a good bit) and it has a ton of action. I think strung marabou is easier to tie and provides a really good amount of action. Any marabou is hard to beat. I try to make mine the same length as an average size minnow. You could compare to the size of a Bobby Garland Baby shad and use that as a guide.

Clark