From one tying newbie to another (others)
After looking at this particular board, I thought it was pretty cool seeing how these guys tied their own jigs, and the icing on the cake was seeing/hearing them catching fish on their own jigs. I have a fair amount of spare time, and though I don't get to fish as often as I'd like, I wanted to tie my own jigs and catch fish on them. Only reason for mentioning all that is, that's what brought me here........
I ordered the Advanced Kit from Cabelas, and have been more than pleased with it. Yes there are items I won't use, yes it's cheap imported stuff, but it was cheap ($30) and I'll not be running production numbers, so I don't see being in any hurry to replace any of it anytime soon. I did buy 4 additional bobbins.
I've been tying less than 2 weeks, but thought I'd share what I've learned up 'til this point.
1- Read old posts (I read most of the 150 pages here that had titles that caught my interest in learning), look at pics, check-out the stickies at the top of the main page, and watch videos on YouTube.......before asking questions, or trying to tie your 1st jig.
Reason for my saying this is there are many guys here who are more than willing to help and offer advice from their experience. I'd bet a dollar to a dime that not one of them would deny offering assistance to anyone. However I'm also sure it has to get old answering the same question several times, something all us newbies are known for :o This site also has a search function, so try answering your own question if at all possible, or see if it's been asked before.
2- When ordering materials, order 3 times what you had in mind. It will save you time and money because you WILL be ordering more. I was warned this is an addicting hobby, and they were right. It doesn't take long to burn through "singles" of items, and you'll end-up paying a minimum shipping charge, and it probably wouldnt have cost any extra (or very little) to add some extra stuff to your initial order, most is very light weight stuff (and not that expensive).
3- Start-off buying "common" colors of maribou and chennile, fluorescents, pink, chartruse, orange. Look at pics of what these guys are tying, but save buying less common colors for when you get more experienced. Buy at least 300 jig heads, lol...you'll go through them quicker than you think, and 300 is only $21. I've already given quite a few away (and asked for pics of catches in return Thumbs Up). Ship or Ship (I believe) wrote that you'll tie 50 ugly ones in the process of learning...I can vouch for that, lol. I bought some hackle, but honestly haven't used much, I just like the look of maribou (YMMV).
4- Being a newb, I'm tying mostly maribou (I think it;s easiest to start with). I don't have a lot of dexterity in my hands, and found it nearly impossible to trim the maribou to it's finished length, then lay in place behind the jig head, and wrap. So I use longer pieces, hold it in-place, start a few wraps, and see how it looks. If it's too long, I can pull it back (towards the head) a bit, and then trim the excess. This may not be the "proper" way to do it, but it's the best way for me, otherwise I'd be dropping 1/2 of the material before ever getting it wrapped.
5- I was having trouble wrapping chennile. I was leaving it on the card as to not have any waste (I could trim it off exactly where I needed), but it was awkward for me, so I determined the length I needed, and can "measure" the chennile by matching it to (just short of) the length of my sissors. This gives me an extra 1/4-1/2" to trim-off. I can live with that. I clip my hackle pliers to the end of the chanille to use as a "handle" for wrapping. I've got problems with my hands (don't work as good as they used to) and am a fumble-fingers. I was having trouble trying to hold onto the end of the chenille. The hackle pliers solved that, plus the weight of them keeps the chennile hanging straight down (out of the way).
6-I found that using the 210 thread made a huge difference when it came time to tighten things down. I'll not be using anything else.
7- I'd tried numerous times to "get it right" when it came time to "cement" the thread in place behind the head, at least when I practiced tying jigs and hiding the thread between the head and chennile. Again, having fumbly fingers and being blind as a bat up close are probably my main problems. I'd end-up soaking the "mix" (SH & thiner) into all the material on the jig. I tried several times and several ways....couldn't do it.
So, once I initially tie the chennile down (stopping just short of straight above the hook point), I clip my hackle pliers on the end of the chennile, and give the body a light brush of SH, and put a pretty good "drop" where the head will meat the chennile. I quickly wrap the chennile, and tie things off (between the chennile and head). My way of thinking is...I'm "setting" the thread into the SH, which is still wet. Once it dries, my thread has dried into it, so I can't really see the difference of doing it this way, or putting a "dab" (which I can't seem to do) on the spot. I'm probably getting a better grip from the drop of SH anyway.
8- I live in a cramped space (RV), and set by a window (at the table) to tie. It doesn't take much of a breeze at all to have pieces of maribou floating all over the place. I found a left-ofer piece of thin carpet today, (cut a 24"X24" square) and laid it on the table and tie on top of it. It helps to "catch" thin pieces of maribou and trap them as opposed to having them floating around. I can hit it with the vaccum when it gets loaded-up, or just cut a new piece and rotate them.
9- I just keep all my materials in a plastic tote. I bought 3 of those "stackers" that fit into a 5 gallon bucket to keep my tying tools, SH, jig heads, etc. in, again simply due to space constraints (and not having room for a dedicated tying area).
10- All this I've written is strictly the opinion of this tying newbie. So far it's just what works best for me. I'll take this time again to thank those here who offer their help to those like me. I hope someday I can return the help. I've been having a lot of fun tying, and the only thing that could top that is catching some nice slabs on the jigs I've tied. It was told to me, and I'll pass it along....if you get into tying, you WILL become addicted to it!
You have been warned! Rofl
