My first tie

I bought a bunch of materials from Grandpa Bob's a few weeks ago, and finally got a vise last week. I live in a small apartment and don't have a table to tie on, so I opted for the Cabela's $45 "Deluxe" fly tying kit. It has a wooden case with a pedestal so I can tie jigs in my lap, and store all my gear in one place. Watched a bunch of Youtube videos on jig tying before I started.

I kind of put off for awhile cause I'm the type that worries about "What if I suck at tying jigs and it doesn't look good?" Last night I finally forced myself to sit down and make something. And here it is:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...-14-19_870.jpg

Standard chenille body with marabou tail, and a couple of strands of crystal flash. No particular pattern, I just had a green jig head with a collar and picked colors based on tube jigs I have been successful with this year. I probably used about five times more thread than I really needed to, but I'm so proud of myself for actually doing it I could just about bust. Does it look like it would catch fish?

Things I learned tying it:

Never, ever try to smooth back crystal flash by running it through your fingers. Ever pulled on a rubber band and then had it snap back into a big tangled wad? That's this stuff.

Make sure you have your bobbin adjusted to the correct tension before you start.

Avoid that hook point with the thread.

The feather looks bushier on the jig than it does in the package.

outstanding job you did on your first keep up the good work hope to see more of your jigs post it.

Good Job, keep going and soon you will be very happy pulling in crappie caught on your own jigs.

Skip

Nice jig and the amount of marabou you used looks good. It sounds like tying one jig was all it took to hook you on tying. Look forward to seeing you post more of your work and welcome to to tying. Thumbs Up

For your first one that is pretty good. The only criticism I have is there is no Crappie hanging on to it. That will change when it hits the water though. Nice color combination. Well done.

For your 1st one Id say you did awesome....Keep it up

That's a nice looking jig. Cant hardly believe that is your first one. Keep the good work up.

That's a great looking jig! First or if you'd have been tying for years. No "pretty good" about it, it's a fish catcher. Good color combo too.

Adam

Nice jig! Great Job!

Nice job, now let's see some other colors.

Nicely Done!! Now go and get some more practice. You only get great by doing it thousands of time. You will get better and the technique will come.

Great job on your first jig. Only thing wrong with it is its not tie on a line and in the water. It will catch fish!!!!

Redman

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I'm hoping to tie some more and try some of them out this weekend, if the fish will co-operate. They're in their post spawn "Haha we're all scattered so you can't find us." stage here right now.

I'm hoping to learn to tie steelhead jigs too, because when you lose those it's really painful at $1 to $3+ a pop. And you lose a ton drifting them down the river.

I'm looking forward to taking part in the next jig swap. Hands Clapping

Good job Shoe. Welcome to the addiction. The next pic should have that jig hanging from the mouth of a fish. Using colors that have produced for you before gives you an advantage- Confidence. With some of that you can do very well.

Well, there's a Cabela's only a few blocks away from where I live, so I went in today to buy some colored thread I forgot to include with my order. $35 later I came out with the thread, two 1 ounce bags of marabou, one 1/4 ounce bag of marabou, two packages of (clearance) flashabou, a wad of ice chenille, and a grab bag of bucktail pieces in tons of different colors.

Yeah, I've got the sickness. Rofl

Great job ,one other thing to watch out for . After you tie a while bobbins that don't have ceramic tips will get sharp as a razor from the tread passing through the tip. It will begin to cut your thread and if you are one of those people who wind thread towards themselves instead of away at some point and time the thread will break . Resulting in stabbing a hand with the bobbin point. It makes a neat little hole . Brass cuts are to say the least PAINFUL!

Thanks for the tip. I read about the issue with metal tip bobbins cutting thread, but I never knew it could be painful. I did get a bobbin with a ceramic bead glued into the end. Here are a few more I tied up this morning.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...3-08_138-1.jpg

Puuuurty. That black n chart can get em anywhere SO obviously my fav. BUT that pink (or maybe cerise?) bottom right has been a hawg killer lately. Add some purple and it's gold. Sorry I get excited over combos that catch fish around here
Awesome work and can already see improvement. Sure they'll make you proud.

I have some purple strung marabou, but it's very dark purple. The stuff in the bag looks almost black. I bought it intending to use it for steelhead jigs. Would it work for crappie, or should I get some that's lighter in color?