I know this opening a can of worms but would like to see what the majority use. I am leaning to going with plastic because it is easier to make and I feel like the soft plastic my cause the fish to hang on to it longer.
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I know this opening a can of worms but would like to see what the majority use. I am leaning to going with plastic because it is easier to make and I feel like the soft plastic my cause the fish to hang on to it longer.
If that is what you like then I say that is what you should do and not do what everyone else is doing. Personally I have pounds and pounds of soft plastics and almost never use them.
Now if I am going bass fishing I do use a lot of soft plastic unless the water temp is under 50 as soft plastic is no good under 50! Hair or feathers are much better then for sure and hair is probable the best when the water is that cold.
I do know that I have a good many customers that did use soft plastic almost all the time, but now use mine way more and soft plastic at time if they produce. Nothing wins 100% of the time.
I do question why you would depend on others telling you what to use and really if you like soft plastic then I think that is what you should do.
Skip
I am unfamiliar with both. If it is a fly I know what to do but jig fishing is a new world. When I tied flies for a living the only way I could make is was to offer something that no one else had. I want to see where the trend is. My friend here owns a bait show and his jig sales has dropped to almost 0 but his soft plastic flies off the wall so fast he can't hardly keep it in stock. I would like to see if it is the younger fisherman going to plastic of if it is a local thing. I want to set up a very small bait supply here and am looking at the most popular lures. The market is a fickle master and what is good today is out tomorrow. So where is it today?
I used to use plastic alot , most of the time, until I started tying now I want to catch em on what I tyed that is the greatest!!! but on one lake I fish It seeems that plastic will always out produce hair or feathers so I guess let the fish tell you what they want!!!
I prefer good old feather/hair jigs, they don't melt in a hot truck on a summer day.
That is a good one.
I dont tie, but plastic is hard to beat for me. Sometimes I'll fish feathers, but rarely. It's either plastic or meat for me.:o
Agree with Skip. There's not a plastic bait on the planet that has the same action as marabou or rabbit fur.
You said you tie flies, so you know how popular woolly buggers are. The hair or feather jig is the WB of the crappie world. They always have and always will catch crappie (and bluegill, bass, perch, white bass, etc.)
Don't get me started on the WB. I tie a western pattern that is a killer on browns. I had thought about doing up some of them as a jig to see what would happen. The only thing I have seen out produce the WB is maggots.
Hi JigTosserQuote:
Originally Posted by jigtosser
If U R goin to make them to sell I would go with what is popular in UR area .. if its Soft Plastic .. Let them have it . Local markets vary a lot all over the country ... as long as U know how to tie for a back up U got them covered.
Good Luck
JSC
The basic marabou-and-chenille jig is just a WB without the hackle, but I don't doubt adding the hackle would be OK. I have an old jig tying book by Gee and Silas, and they claimed a wooly worm tied on a jig head was their #1 bluegill bait. There is something magical about the WB/WW.Quote:
Originally Posted by jigtosser
Despite that, you'd probably make more money selling plastics. They seem to be the "hot thing", particularly with the bass guys. In-Fisherman has been promoting them a lot for walleyes. I use plastics, too, but I'll never leave home without hair and feathers.
Years ago, Field and Stream had an article about a guy who did that very thing. He was murdering the trout with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by jigtosser
This question reminds me of the Ford vs. Chevy arguments and then the old which catches more crappie....live minnows or jigs. There is no cut and dry answer.....some things just work better for some folks....lot of variables, how you move or work the jig, current, water clarity, time of year, water temp, sunlight or not, and the list goes on and on. Just fish with what you like and what works best for you or what you have confidence in. Its always good to try new things as well. Now.....go fishing and catch a limit.
I'll agree with you G3 100% there is neither pro or con on either plastics or feathered jig. I believe it has a lot to do with the fisherman for many years I've used marabou and other hair type jigs and have caught tons of fish but not every day was so same. Some days I just couldn't get into whatever I was doing the day before to get those fish to bite. It's simple this 123 you may have to put one extra twitching your jig or let it fall just short way to get them to strike in this is the same case with using plastic baits if there was two guys standing side beside using the same date one guy is catching more than the other in his body is wondering what a he is doing wrong. It's simple. He has some type of fishing method did he is putting to good practice and it is working for him. This is the case with any artificial bait on the market. It's all in how you use it. I can tell you why Rusty baits are more popular than hand tied jigs. It's because of the variety you have so many different shapes and sizes. And of course, color I believe this has a lot to do with catching the fisherman's I weather than it does fish sometimes yes I do make both plastic baits in jigs for sale. I do not pay too much attention on what a guy would want for a certain color combination. Some combinations will work better than others. I for one stick to basics. Whatever the fish are feeding on this is what I kind of lean to on color . So the question is up again. Which is better plastic or feather neither I will state this to you guys. It's a little bit puzzling sometimes BM a person that sells jigs I have made many hand tied jigs and hold them for sale here. The cells were not good, not good at all the most of the public here is leaning towards plastic I believe it has taken over the market and that's where it's leaning my self why use both plastic Ken feather but for the most of the public out there is plastic but I will make this comment. There is nothing better than the world than a hand tied jig. I rank them number one over anything it's because I know what they can do. I have caught every specie of fish there is in the Northwest yes on jigs that includes steelhead and salmon and all the freshwater game fish that we have here. Net includes all panfish all on feather jigs or hand tied.Quote:
Originally Posted by G3 Fisherman
I don't pour plastics (got enough hobbies), now I've got alot of custom plastics I've bought but I'll always have feather and hair jigs. I let the fish tell me what they want.
Like many people have said, use what YOU think will produce and what YOU have confidence in. fishing might not be one of the sports like baseball that is 90% in your head but it is to an extent. if you dont think a certain lure/bait is going to work than you wont want to put as much effort in using it. if you're using a jig that you know will produce, a jig that you have caught many fish on than you will be more likely to fish it better and with more passion. Its all about comfort.
WHOA, Whoa . . . .whoa G3 . . . FORDS all the way, no argument :p.
Even thou I make most of my money off chevy's:D . . . . . (only cus I work at a chevy dealership)
haha i dont think the Whole Ford Chevy thing should've been started on here, because everybody know Chevys are the best and ford lovers just think Fords are good and dependable. Fix Or Repair Daily.
As far as productivity, it's all a matter of opinion. My preference is hand-tied more often than not, especially if you're "on em". Fish like bluegills and white bass will beat up plastics in a hurry. With hand-tieds, if well-tied, they will last for many fish without having to put on a new jig. When I'm on a school of fish, the LAST thing I want to worry about is if my jig is falling apart!
If you are confident in what you use and are good at using it you can catch fish on bare hooks! Know what you use, perfect the way you use it, build your confidence and you will catch a lot more fish. But always have that go to bag with you that has a little of everything else just in case the fish just care how confident you are that day.
If you are talking about selling, plastics make money and are easier. Eventualy jigs and other patterns will come back when the plastics have been seen by every fish in the water and they quit hitting it. The cycle never stops.
You are absolutely correct. It all runs in cycles. I was in the bait shop yesterday and the owner was wondering what to do with all the remaining tied jigs as they do not sell and he is trying to get rid of them below cost and they are still not moving. It is all plastics and it seems like there is a never ending new one coming out daily.
There is just so much more you can do with hair, like rabbit and feathers that can never be done with soft plastics. I had a guy call me last year and needed some of his favorite jigs. I had never tied any like he wanted and never seen any like he wanted, but he claims that he catches the big ones in Miss on these jigs. I tied him a bundle of 1/16 & 1/8 that all had #6 regular bend hooks and he wanted black chenille (I used Nylon) and then he wanted a black hackle palmered from the bend of the hook all the way to the head with lots of hackle and all with no tail at all.
I did send some to a few other customers to try and every one of them were very happy with that jig.
You just can't do this with soft plastic, but you can do the same thing with rabbit and I did, here is one, but I couldn't resist putting a few barbules of Amherst Pheasant for a tail, LOL! Here is a pic if you want to look.
http://thumpitjigs.com/images/DSC04776.JPG
Skip
PS there is just so many things that you can do with hair and feathers that no soft plastic can do. This is not to say soft plastics don't have their place and work very well at times, but you sure can forget water temps under 50?
I am still with you on this one skip. There are things you definitely cannot do with plastics that you can do with hair and feather though I make a lot of plastic baits but I prefer to fish with my hand tied jigs. Most the time. One reason and one reason only is that I've caught more fish on them. And I do not put my faith in plastics awful lot though I've caught a ton of fish on plastics I still lean towards my hand tied jigs and you probably know as well as I do skip that the action that we get out of some of these materials that we hentai far out do any plastic baits in that is speaking of experience over 40 some years that I've been in tying jigs. I still stand behind my hand tied jigs, bar none.
Skip isn't that a wooly booger on a jig? Did you bullet proof the hackle?
Snakes jelly jigs best of BOTH worlds
I agree 100%
Well not really, it's just rabbit wrapped around the hook and no chenille. Oh and no feathers at all except the tail.Quote:
Originally Posted by jigtosser
Skip
It is what you have the most confidence in. There is something to say for both types of jigs. Hair feathers and chenille hold scent longer than plastic alone. Weather will sometimes dictate how much action you get with plastics too. On the other hand there are some pretty good imitations of bugs and minnows in plastic.
My current "Go to" bait is a combination of soft plastic for the natural feel and a contrasting marabou tail for attracting qualities. This way I have the best of both worlds. Again it is what you have confidence in and what the fish are wanting that day. I am always fishing a double rig to give the fish choices in depth, color, lure, and size until they tell me something based on water clarity and weather conditions.
First of all, it's First Out Race Day for the Ford guys. Lately I've been vertical jigging with 2 rods and trying many different approaches. I sometimes use a plastic on one and a feather on the other. Same jigs, different days produce differently. Sometimes plastics on top, others not. I have 3 boxes of plastics, and 2 boxes of hand tied, one of those is hard to keep full cuz everyone wants to buy straight from my box. Maybe I need a bigger box. Point is that narrowing yourself to one style might also narrow your catch. You've already heard this a bunch, but let the fish tell you what the buffet needs to have on it. If you know where some fish are on a given day to start out, you can drop a few different colors and styles and find out pretty quick what the day will probably be like.
I've tried using soft plastics but it always seems like I end up using a hand tied jig. I think there is something to say about the "Natural" Feel of fur,feathers, and hair in a fish's mouth. Plus I feel I get more for my money when Tying my own jigs VS pouring or buying Plastics.