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Who all here fishes bucktail jigs? Does anyone prefer them? Just started tying jigs as kind of a hobby. What makes a good jig? Who makes a good one I can buy to use an example? I’ve tied some that look really good, and will tie one right after that looks like crap. Still having fun though.
I really hate "fishing" but I love ketchn .....
Jungle Jim ties a bad boy I like .....
he makes several sizes in that style of jig ....
quite likely some of the best of the best in my opinion ....
here is one that is tiny and lives large when it hits the water ....:highfive
I tie buck tails for bass and hybrid stripers but not panfish. Too many other great options for crappie and gills. For hair jigs I like fox hair and opossum. Mallard and gadwall feathers and marabou are excellent materials to tie with.
I tie most of my “hair” style jigs.
I don’t tie bucktail for crappies or pans as I think it’s too stiff in a small jig.
I prefer Estaz bodies with Maribou tails. Lots of movement. Crystal chenille works good too for a thinner profile.
ok ok ok then ....ducktail jig ....:RoflQuote:
Originally Posted by JUNGLEJIMJIGS
I’ve often thought that buck tail seemed a little stiff but I’ve always heard they work. I’ve used marabou but dang is it messy. I’ve never thought about using duck feathers. I guess I thought they’d be stiff too. But I’ll definitely try it. I’ll post some pics and y’all can tell me where I can improve on.
:popcorn
Make sure when using the duck feathers to use the flank feathers. They are smaller and not as stiff...Quote:
Originally Posted by Auston22688
Here ya go guys. I think the black/pink marabou is my best. It’s hard for me to judge what length it needs to be and how much hair is enough vs too much. Let me know what I need to do to improve.
Most of those look pretty good as far as length goes. As a general rule of thumb, no matter the size of hook, Keeping the tail about a hook shanks length is good. Much longer and you will have numerous short strikes and missed hook-up as the fish are getting nothing but tail no hook. Color options you have and amount of flash looks good to me, ut that is always a personal option. Some like no flash, while others want lots of flash...Good job.
When you say a hook shanks length, do you just to the bottom of the curve of the hook? I guess that’s why I asked who makes a good one I can use as an example. Thanks for the comment. I greatly appreciate it
This is one I tied up. Using a feather, but you get the idea. It's about a hooks shaft length from the back of the tie in point to the tip, or a hook shaft length exposed, even though the quil is wrapped to the hook shaft all the way back to the head of the jig. Then wrap the chenille back to the end of the thead. Hope I explained well enough you understand it. Attachment 492363
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Got it. Mind if I ask what kind of feather that was? Do you use specific sizes?
No I don't mind sharing at all. It's a Barred Maribou feather MFC brand. I picked it up at fin and feather fly shop in Springfield, Mo. But I'm sure you can find them from most fly shops. If not MFC brand I'm sure there are others. Size, we'll, I usually use what I need of the feather. Like if it's longer than I need, I'll measure what I need from the tip back, and try to only cut the center stem. That way, the barrels of the feather may be used on another fly/ jig by stripping them from the stem, and aligning them up before tying them on...Attachment 492365
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For example, the tail of this jig came from a portion of a feather this size. It would be a big waste if I only used that little bit and discarded the rest. So measure what you need, pulling the remainder back toward the thicker part of the stem and cut the center stem. That leaves the barrels on both sides for future use and saves you money. To help tame the feather, you can dampen your fingers and stroke the barrels away from the cutting area. Makes them a bit more fully and easier to contend with...
Hope I explained this well enough.Attachment 492366Attachment 492367Attachment 492368Attachment 492369
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I've been using marabou Road Runners for a LONG time. I've been trimming the marabou tail back for decades, snipping it off halfway between the curve of the hook and the longest strands. I started doing that when I was getting a lot of "nippers" that were just grabbing the end of the tail, most of which were small Bluegill, but some were Crappie (and not all of them were "small").
I have a Tiger Muskie on my wall that was caught (Crappie fishing) on a chartreuse marabou Road Runner that has the trimmed tail ... and it's still hanging out of the fish's mouth. The Muskie was caught in 1985. I haven't had many strikes on my "trimmed" Road Runners that didn't end up with a hooked fish.
My trim job makes the length of the marabou, past the bend of the hook, about the same length as the bend of the hook to the point of the hook, more or less. :twocents
So your sayin', if I'm following right, your trimmed tails are about as long as the Gap of the hook point. Distance from the point straight accross to the shank of the hook?Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
No ... I said my trimmed tails are about as long PAST the bend of the hook as the point of the hook is from the bend of the hook. But, that was from fuzzy memory and me just eyeballin' it back then.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamesdean
I took the Muskie's RR out of his mouth and measured the tail, and it's 1/2 inch long (past the hook bend). That makes the length of the whole 1/16oz Road Runner about 1.5 inches long.
(note: the gap between the hook point & hook shaft is only about 3/8 inches)
Again, I'm just eyeballin' the halfway point of the marabou tail past the hook bend when cutting the tail down, so actual lengths may vary a skosh.
OK thank you for the clarification C.P. Sometimes my mind gets a bit foggy, So I ask to get my mind wrapped around the right things, and get it all aligned and straightened out and going in the right direction, I hope...1/2 inch past the bend of the hook. Kool, and thank you.
Just for giggles I measured hat jig I showed and it's just 5/8 inched past the bend of that sickle hook, so it's close. About what all mine are these days as I primarily use size 4 and 6 hooks on my jigs.Attachment 492399
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I’ve used bucktail jigs a lot over the years for white bass and they always caught crappie. The main thing to remember is to tie the tail sparse. If you put a lot of bulk in a bucktail jig it kills the action. By sparse, I’m talking 15 to 20 hairs.
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I think I’ve been using way too much hair. But a fluffy tail sure is prettier than a thin one. lol
Bucktail is one of my favorite materials for crappie. I think it gets a bad wrap with crappie jigs as it's not as pretty as feathers. I'm a firm believer in less is best and don't like a bulky tail. Here are some of ones I've made in the past.
Attachment 492493
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Yeah. I’m definitely using too much. Do you feel that a chenille body is needed? I think just wrapping the neck with thread is somewhat more of a finessy approach.
No it’s not. At times I wrap with various material or just thread. Here is some for when the bite is super finicky.Quote:
Originally Posted by Auston22688
Attachment 492503
Do y’all pour your own jig heads or buy them? I’ve been using some plain ball head jigs from Barlows and they seem to be good hooks. But I’ve not enough experience to say what makes a good jig head and what doesn’t. My uncle has some 1/32 jig heads with what looks like a #8 hook that is small I’d love to find to tie some small jigs with. But all I can find is the bigger hooks
I generally use two sources, well three sources for my jigs. Simply Crappie, (Bugman here on crappie.com), JungleJimJigs for the xtra-small jigs, and Jason Brummell, (Jasons Jigs and More), Who I believe is also a member here, or at least I was led to believe he was.
I personally prefer kip-tail (calf tail) to buck tail. Also like to use the streamer hair (artificial hair).
I pour my own heads. I prefer a little antimony with my lead to make it harder and then Mustad 32746 Ultra Point hooks.
Action is over rated MOST of the time. This is coming from someone that has 50-60ish bags of marabou, which is the king of action. Bucktail is just fine for a jig. I agree with DrNip though. Thick tails are for the fisherman, not the fish.
I’m going to invest in livescope so I can see how they react. This jig tying stuff has brought on a new fascination to see if I can make something they’ll eat. This will be another rabbit hole for me to go down
You'll learn a ton. You'll find that less is often more, both to built in jig action, and action that you put forth.Quote:
Originally Posted by Auston22688
Im excited. Another you to play with and one the wife actually signed off on cause she’s tired of not catching fish. Atleast now I can show her the fish are there, and it’s not my fault they ain’t biting.
I like bucktail jigs but not for crappie. I'd use kip, fox, raccoon or other soft tailed hairs or feathers!! But bass or bigger I'll tie bucktails. Years ago people gave up on hair jigs of any kind but smart ones kept fishing them and catching.
Sounds like I’ve got to broaden my arsenal of materials. I honestly don’t know how I settled on trying bucktail as my first jig material. I think I watched a YouTube video. I didn’t know there were so many different types of hair used
Another one is Opossum hair. The one thing to remember is don't load up on to much hair in the tail. To much and it restricts the movement o the hair.