hair jigs

I've been reading alot of testimonials on crappie keiths website, and it got me to downsizing some jigs. I tied some 1/32 oz. ball head jigs with little size 8 hooks. Tied alot of different color combos with kiptail hair. To make a long story short, they were good producers, under a bobber on 4lb. test line. But the real revelation came when I tried a chartruese head with a mousy grey hair, and chartruese thread. It is like ck's jigs except with no eyes. It was a great producer in a crystal clear pond by my house, where the crappie are pretty finicky. Caught about ten crappie I reckon in 1/2 hour. standing on the bank. So I went home and tied some more just like it, and also a few with an orange head, because the old falls bait minnow jig is that color and It used to be real good on crappie. I'm always excited to discover something new that works well, and in this case it was grey kiptail hair from barlows. Just wanted to give a heads up on this color to those jig makers who may not have tried it. And thanks to ck for his website pushing the tiny jigs effectiveness, I now have a new weapon. I can see a few new jighead molds in the near future, Maybe 1/64 and 1/80 oz.

I also like hair jigs. Once you get down there in the 1/80 oz. w/#8 hook you'll start siphoning off the larger bluegill also .
Not sure I have the actuall grey tied up or not. Mine is more of a light blue-grey.
I haven't tried the heads without the eyes just cause I like them, but when an eye slips off, they seem to do fine blind.;) lol Mike

Grey hair or feathers are the basis for a few of my secret patterns..lol. One of my go-to patterns is a simple no-frills plain grey jig with a plain jig head with a custom eye job that makes the whole thing work. I have tried it several different ways but they like this pattern the best. So when in doubt pull out the Grey ghost...:cool:

I got the tail from barlows and it's kinda light in shade, will be ordering more with the next purchase. Also I was putting some scent oil on the hair, it was smelly jelly liquid, in the crawfish-anise flavor. Grousefly, you have me curious about your grey jig. What color thread is the neck made of? And what color eyes do you put on it? come clean man! lol I would like to try your version too. One thing I've noticed about hair is, you must gather just the right size bunch, and pull the stray hairs out, and cut the bunch at the right length, and get it on the hook behind the head, while getting good coverage around the hook, while getting tight tension on the thread wraps, without getting too close to the end of the hair bunch, or the hairs will shoot out backwards, oh yeah, a drop of glue before covering the entire neck of the jig. It really takes some getting used to.

lol...Hey Red, what's the point in having a secret jig if you are going to tell how to make it...lol...But I will help yea all I can...I use grey thread to tie it with. But when it comes to paint..lol..that's where you may have trouble. It's a custom color that I mix myself, but I will tell you this, it a shade of yellow. It took ALOT of T&E to come up with it...BUT IT WORKS!!!!

Tied my first Kiptail jigs last winter,''black head,black body'' after reading about them. Tried them thru the ice, and the gills loved them. Used them this spring/ summer and the gills still loved them. Tied some with a pink head, and white body for crappie, and they liked them to.
All my jigs were tied on either a 1/80 or 1/64 oz. head. I like to use the head that has the little spur on the body, and just mash the spur down. Seems to give the jig a fuller look.

Dont have any of the gray hair, but will next time i place an order.

THANKS for the tip.

Sounds like Redear has a new WMCD (Weapon of Mass Crappie Destruction) and some slabs are gonna be targeted for dinner tonight. The real fun is nailing them on something you created yourself. Grousefly, individuals are always getting a "Secret" tip or two from me too. That is my contribution to growing this sport we love. Congratulations.

Pics?

I also read about Keiths jigs and that is why i started tying. his hair jigs work great. I usally use1/64oz in summer and 1/80 oz in winter. I tie them in many colors and all seem to work great. here is a pic of one of the 1/80

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...igs002-1-1.jpg

Joe

thanks grousefly,
I'll do a little experimentin, I went out this evening with the same jig, and caught a nice flier on it, he barely moved the bobber. Then the wife showed up and told me I had to go with her to a back to school meeting where ya meet the teachers, my boy's in 8th grade. I've been using a smaller rod too, it's 5 1/2 foot and 1-4lb. line. Man ya can fish a long time and your arm does not get tired, plus the fight is great, I have nitemares of big shellcrackers wrapping it around my neck lol.

Hey Red, I HEAR YEA ON THE CRACKERS!!!! I had rather catch those things then eat when I am hungry...lol. Stumbled on a couple of good patterns for them this year...lol. But will save that for another day...lol. There is just some things a man can't tell...lol. Good Fishin'....GF

grousefly'
yur killin me, I'll never get to sleep tonight! The art of gettin a guy to come clean with the info, is something I gotta work on. lol
On a serious note tho, I love this jig tying thing, it is a great hobbie, and it allows you to exersize yur creativity. I'm not on the level of some of ya'll pros but have been tying since 1968, at the age of around 8.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redear

grousefly'
yur killin me, I'll never get to sleep tonight! The art of gettin a guy to come clean with the info, is something I gotta work on. lol
On a serious note tho, I love this jig tying thing, it is a great hobbie, and it allows you to exersize yur creativity. I'm not on the level of some of ya'll pros but have been tying since 1968, at the age of around 8.

---

Dang man, you are older than baseball. In 68, I was 5...lol....but I still have 20+ years of pourin' and tyin' under my belt. And I can still remember the first fish I caught on one of my jigs. I took one jig to a little pond to try it and 52 crappie later I was HOOKED FOR LIFE!!!! The boys that was with me almost pushed me in until I shared the secret with them..lol. IT"S ADDICTIVE!!!!!

yeah, most of those years were tying flies. started buying plain ballhead jigheads without the collar about ten years ago, and found out that the jig making is even more fun than the flies for me anyway. Then about three years ago I bought a lee pot and about six molds, it's been a blast.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GrouseFly

Dang man, you are older than baseball. In 68, I was 5...lol

---

Well some of old coots actually sewed up that baseball! In 1968 I was 23 and serving as a Captain in the USAF. You are right, some secrets you keep and others you share. Some are available for a price. Either way, tying is fun and rewards you with every fish you catch on a jig you created.

If you really want a cool gray color that's gray and blue mixed find some pieces of hair dyed DUN, it makes some nice jigs I'll have to try with the chartruese head and thread though.

Thanks. Ya know the snowy season isn't far away up here in Vermont and tying up jigs and flies, and making lures takes away the boredom. Think I'll be pouring alot of jigs this winter.

Fatman

the grey hair jig worked well in the little pond today too, only this time it was an orange headed one with orange thread. the head was actually blaze orange with little black eyes. 1/32 oz. with a size 8 hook. little bass like it too.