Been practicing the past couple days

Kinda sorting to get the hang of it. I painted some heads by just dipping them into some enamel paint, the foam was some scrap I just slit with a knife to hold the jigs upright.

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003838.jpg

Here's what I've been tying, some I'm not too crazy about the color combo, so I'm starting to lean more towards "conventional" colors, and forgetting the multi-colors for now.

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003839.jpg

A few of my favs:

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003841.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003843.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003844.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003845.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003848.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003851.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003853.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IM003852.jpg

Feel free to pick 'em apart, always willing to hear constructive criticism Thumbs Up

No need picking em apart great looking jigs keep at it

Those will catch fish and on the days there not hitting, you have plenty of colors to play with!

Looks ready to fish. Nice start to your tying Thumbs Up.

perty darn goodlooking jigs.....love the color combos

Be sure to clean all the jig eyes after you dip them. Myself, I like to use powder paint for it's durability. Nothing wrong with those for your first ties. I like jigs with no collars on them to tie on. You will get a much neater finished product especially if you use a flat waxed nylon thread.

Very good for your first efforts though. Keep up the good work.

I think they all look real good and I think the fish will like them also. Good Job!

It's a good thing to have alot of colors as you never know from one day to the next what theyll want. I dont see anything wrong with those jigs. They look good and they'll catch fish.:)

they are totally good-looking jigs there is no need to pick them apart you doing a good job.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I'm pretty anxious to get 'em wet.:p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shipahoy41

Be sure to clean all the jig eyes after you dip them. Myself, I like to use powder paint for it's durability. Nothing wrong with those for your first ties. I like jigs with no collars on them to tie on. You will get a much neater finished product especially if you use a flat waxed nylon thread.
Very good for your first efforts though. Keep up the good work.

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I will Ship. Soe of them I was able to keep the eyes out of the paint, but the larger (1/16th oz) didn't cooperate as well. After I tie-off, I coat the thread and head with SH Hard as Nails, so I clean the eyes after that's good and dry. I am using uncollaerd heads, except there is one pic'd with eyes, it's from Cabelas, and is collared.

I'm kinda on the fence about even bothering with painting mine. I just wanted to do these for the heck of it. The ones I do paint, will probably be dipped like these. I don't have room for a huge set-up, plus when I run off my solar, a heat gun and over would be out of the question. I'm just making them for myself, lol....as long as it takes me to tie one I'd have to ask $5 each for 'em Rofl

Thanks again all!

Nicely Done. Keep up the practice you will only get better. Now start to keep track of what jig does really good and which color combo are duds. I tie 6 of each pattern I want to tie. If it does good it is moved into a good box. if it doesn't it goes in to the also ran box. The better a jig does the higher numbered box it goes to. I have a box that is a go to box. This always goes with me. I take about 6 to 7 boxes with me. Some times the lowest box will produce the best fish so I never get rid of a pattern only rank it in a lower box. Hope this makes sense to you.

Don't be afraid to experiment on days that they are biting slow that fugly jig may be the one that they really want.

Redman

Redman that is a awesome idea thanks

Nice work!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yellowjacket

Redman that is a awesome idea thanks

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I agree!

Good job especially for a beginner. I don't leave my thread showing, but some do and I never use a collar when tying a chenille jig, but if that floats your boat then so be it.

Paint in the eye, I don't worry about it and I actually like it to be painted, but open. I try my best and have some special steps I take to keep them open. However some after curing at almost 400 degrees close up and I take care of that when I tie them. I keep one bodkin (thinnest I have) just for that and after I have it secured in my vise I heat the tip of that bodkin and stick it through the eye melting the paint out and then clean up with my thumb nail or one of the torch tool cleaning things.

Skip

Thanks Skip! I figured at the beginning it might be better for me to add the thread collar (which maybe was what Ship was meaning, and I misunderstood thinking he was talking jig heads?), but I think I'm going to "advance" to hiding it. I want to thank all you guys again for all the help and direction you lend to us newbs. You guys are a credit to the sport of fishing and hobby of tying!

When you get your chenille tied in and the extra cut off, I wrap about 3 or 4 more times good and snug, then finish with 3 to 5 turns with the matarelli finishing tool. lastly, apply a spot of thinned sally to bind it all together. This should hide the thread and hold it all together. Show us some of those when you try it, your work so far is fine.

They all look good, only thing I'd say is don't use those heads with plastics!!!!!!! Even if you coat them with Sally hansens you'll have aMESS. Any you decide to use with Plastics use an eopxy overcoat or use powder paint, so the plastics don't react with the paint.

No plans to use plastics (have lots of prepainted heads for those), but thanks for the advice. I took a shot at hiding the thread.....lol, got a little overzealous with the diluted SH, it wicked all the way into the tail! I have poor eyesight upclose, and have to wear stronger reading glasses when I tie, but I just couldn't tell what was happening at the end of the needle on the bottle. Considering buying a magnifying screen to try. I can buy cheap syringes, maybe that would be better for me on the SH application. I'll give it a shot again after my recent order arrives (ordered some Crystal Chenille).

Don't know if I said this to you yet or not, but no reason to buy them little bottles of hard cement for drop of glue added at the end. I make my own with Clear High Gloss Lacquer and MEK thinner and I make it thin, about 50/50 and put it in one of them little plastic bottles with a metal tip. I also have the Sally's stuff, bit for other reasons. Other thinners will work, but I like MEK for a lot of reasons, but can't be too careful with that stuff and don't want it on you skin if possible. I use some other stuff I make too, but it's even worse.

Skip

Jigs are awesome and I like your foam cradle

Jigs are awesome n I like your foam cradle I don't work in quantity so I usually just stick em in some loose skin while I paint another. Advantages of powder paint. If you ever decide to go the pp route, yell at me, I've got some extras if you build your own bed.

Thanks Skip, I had read your posts and saw the mix you use. I'd also read where others use acetone to thin, thought that was what I'd grabbed but it was mineral spirits. I'll try it with the proper thinner next time (I also believe I'd read some use laquer thinner). Micropterus- Thanks! I thought setting them vertical (hook down) would allow any excess paint to run towards the hook end of the head as opposed to making the heads odd-shaped. Glad I did since the enamel is a bit slower to dry. They make a hardener for the enamel (which I've used before on larger projects), and a $15/pint would do thousands of heads if it didn't lock-up 1st. It dries hard as a rock & tough as nails. If I decide to paint more heads, I'll likely give it a try. I appreciate the offer, but unable to provide a heat source for the powder paints much of the time (live in RV, and use solar power much of the time).

I use a Wagner(I think) heat gun used for stripping paint and such, $20 at Lowes. It's looks like a blow dryer (yellow housing) that will stand on it's tail and is really easy to use. DON"T use the wife's oven to cure them, a cheap yard sale toaster oven works best and keeps you sleeping in the RV and not in the dog house.

Skeet, I live in a converted bus and get my electric from roof mounted solar panels. Anything that generates heat (electrically) isn't feasible. Thanks for the advice though (matter of fact I also have a Wagner heat gun). I've pretty much decided I'm not even gonna fool with painting the heads. I dount the crappie won't wanna bite 'em because I didn't paint 'em.

Gonna head south (or west) for the winter, maybe I'll play with some powder painting when I come back next spring (and have outside power available). I like the looks of it, and it makes for a much nicer looking jig, but I'm not tying to sell.

NM, if you ever make it this far south, give me a yell. Would love to take a look at your solar set up. Could put you on a place to park for a bit where you could catch food and stock up for the next trip.

Good fishing,
Adam

Thanks Adam! I may just do that sometime, was gonna spend this winter in Quartzsite (AZ) but they've got some "stuff" going-on that is making me feel I should steer-clear right now. Thinking about going to GA this fall to visit a buddy down there. He doesn't fish, so I may have to work on that, lol.


For now, here is a pic ov my PV panels:
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...l/IM003663.jpg