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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
Ditto JJJ, smoothlures, and Attica Fish for me. Mostly with match the hatch + action.
when I am fishing I carry both long and short tailed jigs I judge the fish on what they want. some days they are very picky.keep in mind on what the fish are feeding on.
I hardly ever get this technical. If fish hit them I tie more of em. If they don't ever hit em they go into a rip and strip drawer.Long tails ,short tail what color,wether eyes make a difference or not.
Yeah its fun to talk about and discuss. But like so many of you have said the fish are the ultimate judge.It can be a perfect jig in our eyes and never get a bite.
I tie to please myself. Sometimes they come out a bit longer or thicker than I planned. A new addition to the boat box is a pair of scissors to trim overlength tails. Got short struck a bunch foolin with the gills a while back and wanted some but they were all home. Fox squirrel tail jigs tend to get a bit more hair, and is not as long. Bucktail tends to get a bit longer material, and the hair stackers are a pest.
All this being said, I have a lot of untested jigs in my box so I am kinda holding off for a while til I get a chance for the "judges" to tell me what I need to tie more of. I still have ideas to try but short of having a cleaqrance sale of the contents of my box I'm at a loss. I have materials that I may never use, but y'all are always giving me more ideas to try. C'mon March, Daddy needs a bit more room in his box.