jig tails?

when it comes to tail materials. what does everybody think is the hardest and most time consuming. hair, hackle or marabou? also does any of you ever pre make your jig tails up prior to tying your jigs to save time?

You won't save any time pre making them It take's Me less than a Minute on most jig's to ty one it all depend's on the material 's use during the tying ,how it complicate's it's use I find hair harder to work with most times.

I'm with FF46. I cut as I go. To me, pre-cutting could possibly lead to a mess, especially in a drafty room. I think it's best to handle fur or feather only once while tying a jig.

Of the hair, I believe that I've read about synthetic craft fur being a pain to some tyers due to the short hair mix among the longer fibers. This situation can, at times, lead to a very bulky body with cowlicks behind the jig collar if the short fibers aren't removed. Removal is an extra step.

Hairs by far take the most time of them all if you are just cutting and tying in. Marabou and hackle can be separated if you want to but it is not needed. Hair and tails are harder because you are always trying to find the right lengths on the skin, cutting it can be a pain to get straight and those under hairs are a royal pain sometimes.

All that said, I prefer hair for most of my basic tails. Stay straight when fished and are much more durable.

you are asking for a mess on your bench, by premaking the tails, in my opinion. the hair takes the longest to get right before tying in, but I just love it for some unexplained reason. hackle tips can be a little pain too at times, being as they are curved, and when ya face them towards each other, they want to slip off to the side. lol

tying kip tail for me is about as fun as getting a root canal done with a rotor tiller...like the way it looks when it comes out right but mine seldom do. Last time I tried to tie some up I set my hair on fire and put it out with a ball peen hammer...felt much better about it all then. Everybody has their own favorites and their own nightmares, you'll find both of yours before you are done. Jiggin Joe and Ole Giller can help you with the little stuff and kip if you should ever want to tie any of the mess. .....brim

Like 3-steps in one motion: Tail material,body material and finish!

I cut my feathers up before I start tying if it's hackle, but if it marabou I cut as needed or it will end up getting blown on the floor by something.

Any kind of hair I also cut as needed.
Skip

I am a "cut as I go" person myself. I am by no means fast at it but I am much better than when I first started. It's not about the speed for me I do it for the fun, relaxation, and for something to keep me busy. Plus catching fish on your own stuff is a great feeling.

You might get away with that on some fly patterns for fly fishing, but the only way on jigs is to prepare feathers maybe, but for me it's faster to just lay out enough materials for 1/2 dozen at a time that's all I do.

Fatman

i think its what ya learn to use when ya first start out my dad could make the best buck tail jigs around and couldnt do anything with maraboo he showed me how to tye using tree rat tails i have no prob at all with it i moved to boo and hackles and my buck tail jigs look like crap lol and dont get me started on kip tails that stuff is soo slick i swear the oil them things

I guess everyone has their likes and dislikes on the various tail materials. its interesting that most have the cut and tie as ya go aproach. usually when i tie its more than one of the same pattern and i also use the same types of tails in different colors for different types of jigs. i guess thats why i like to premake alot of my tails. thans for sharing. http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/v...4/IMG_0132.jpg http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/v...4/IMG_0134.jpg http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/v...4/IMG_0130.jpg http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/v...IMG_0085-1.jpg http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/v...at_04/0012.jpg

I say whatever work's best for you.They work well doing them in advance with the plastics and your ties look great. Some nice looking jigs you got there,look's like you do some bass fishing..

They are some mighty fine looking jigs you have there... I like them