i have always heard of catching bream on squirrel tail jigs i am wanting to try tieing a few myself. what color heads should i paint and what color thread should i tie them with ? any help with this would be appreciated thanks
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i have always heard of catching bream on squirrel tail jigs i am wanting to try tieing a few myself. what color heads should i paint and what color thread should i tie them with ? any help with this would be appreciated thanks
I would use a dark color head like black or brown and tye with either red or chart colored thread, others may like something else but it works for me.
I agree with fishhunter, a dark head and use any color thread you want to make different jigs. You will have one color that works best every day.
Just remember bream eat bugs so stick with colors that bugs have and you should do well. So the Black or Brown head is a good start. Maybe some buggy chenille for a body so it's fuzzy and maybe some rubber/silicone legs.
I use a custom PP color. Mix copper , Galaxy black and Clear coat. 4 parts copper 1 part black and 1 part clear. Then tie on Rye color squirrel tail with Flo. Orange thread nothing better here on our lake. If you are using fox squirrel that will work too. Think that it may look like a small crayfish to the bream. These are tied best on a 1/80 round head and a #10 sickle hook.
Redman
Here's one with black head and gray squirrel tail on a 1/32nd head with #10 hook
[IMG]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...s/100_2722.jpg[/IMG]
and a 1/32nd #10 hook with red squirrel tail - the head paint is new penny with a clear coat with orange glitter in it this has turned into one of my favorite colors
[IMG]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...s/100_2702.jpg[/IMG]
I tied this'n with some Cat Squirrel tail and it turned out ok for my 1st attempt. http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps574006c3.jpg One thing though, after it dried I did a little "pull test" and the fur just slid out of the thread wrap. I found out later that Squirrel fur is known to be especially slippery and that I should 1st use a dab of super glue on the thread before adding the fur, 2nd, another drop of glue on the fur itself and 3rd, use more thread wraps than usual. I'll try these tips on the next one.
pepop try pulling your thread through some wax I used to do this with beeswax it is a little bit more stickier it will definitely grab a hold real good . also you might want to try uni-thread 3/0 it does a real good job for me.
Fatman tie that bottom pattern with a orange thread and you will have a killer pattern. Like the paint new penny might have to pick up of of that. Looks almost identical to the custom stuff that I have to mix. NICE TIES.
Redman
Thanks Redman -
Pepop - Make a nice even thread base and then use this type technique when tying in your hair. A Fly Tying Workshop and Instruction Tie1On.Net go to the animation "start your thread", do the first part over the top of your thread base. When you put your hair on the hook you want to X over and cinch down a bit. What this does is lock the hair down by each of the crossed over threads and you shouldn't have any hairs pull out.
The animation is as close as I can come to explaining it. If it's still not clear let me know and I'll try something else to help you out.
Nice link Fatman, but I do the same thing for a thread base, but different because I start at the head and go out to the bend and back to the head. Not sure if there is any real difference.
On your New Penny Paint, is it a Transparent color and someone just gave it the name new Penny? I have a transparent Copper, but was not called New Penny?? Curious if it's the same with just a different name.
Skip - that's it's name, it's a ProTec Color
Don't know how I missed it because I have looked at their colors soapy times. Heck I have most except for their glow colors because I just was not impressed with them and my glow heads are much brighter when glowing. Darn New Penny was a miss, I guess it must be like strike 50 times I had to miss it, LOL!
Thanks Fatman!
No problem!!LOL we all do it.
On the tie in it wasn't so much for tying the thread on as it was showing the open wraps to tie in squirrel hair then crossing back over it to cinch it down. doing it the way I do the hair gets locked in at more than one point and I don't have to use any sticky wax or super glue.
I tie a lot with squirrel tails and the biggest seller for me is a chart head and black tail. I don't have a probled with taill pulling out, like skip said I start at head and wrap a base to around bend, then wrap back. Then I tie in my tree art tail. I use 210 thread and seal thread when done. The most I have caught on one jig was aroud 100, but most seem to get "lost" before I can get that near that amount.