Printable View
Im kinda playing around with the idea of tieing my own jigs for both crappie and bream. Just wanting to hear your side of the story when it comes to saving money. I have done a little math on it and it doesnt seam like you save that much money. It seems to me to be alot like re-loading your own shotgun shells. You do it more for enjoyment. Not to save money. Let me know if you guys are really saving that much money.
Thanks, Ryan
Not a bunch but you can become color specific to what the fish want and have better results.
Home made stuff usually cost more in the long run for the average joe. The benefit is in getting what you want, and variations or oddball items. If you are doing it purely from the standpoint of saving $$$, you wont. Also all of our time is worth something.
You can save money if you fish a lot and go through a lot of jigs and only tie a few different patterns. But most do it for the enjoyment and part of it is blowing a lot of money on new materials. :D
Not saving money on lite stuff - maybe big stuff and saltwater. You can't put a price on;
Making jigs that nobody else can get.
The feeling you get when you catch a fish on something you made.
Teaching a kid to tie.
Also you determine the quality of materials and the jigs you make are made in America.
Flatfish is correct, you can be selective about color.....but also can be selective as to profile, exact sizes and action. Some materials move more than others. Some winter fishermen use stiffer materials such as bucktail that doesn't have so much action as mararou as the minnows are not moving as much in the colder waters. You also will have control over sheen and shine as well....just to mention a few of the positives.
Aside from spending a very pleasant time at the tyer's vise and helping you to pass the winters, it's a rewarding feeling every time you catch a nice on on your own creativity.
It's also a great way to boost your carma, when you send a friend a couple homemade jigs that work so well.
After you tie and go through about a hundred, it becomes cost efficient. I would start with a couple of key colors that work well for you at first. Just like anything initial investment is the biggie
I started tieing my own jigs, because I had purchased some jigs from a guy who was selling them for a $1.50 a pop, and I thought I can do that and save some $ too. That was the summer of 2006. And I won't say mine are as good as the tier I purchased from - but they are getting better and I am catching fish on what I tie.
But saving money? Hah!!!! Any money I hoped to save has long since been chewed up by the purchase of tools, molds, hooks, fur, feathers, tinsel, paint, etc.
The best part of tieing your own is when you are in a boat w/ some guys, and you are catching fish on jigs that only you have!
The worst part of tieing your own is when you are in a boat w/ some guys, and the fish are ignoring the stuff you spent time and money on, and you have to cry "uncle" and put on a store bought jig that any one can buy, cause that is what the fish want that day.
Been there - done that on both counts - as I'm sure all the other guys here have done/experienced.
UG
IMHO you will never save money tying jigs as you will spend more in materials that you ever would just buying jigs so you better love tying because that is all you will get is an addiction and more money spent than you would ever suspect.
Skip
I knew soon as this thread started, the consensus would be the same overall. You don't and won't save money. If you only use an average angler's quantity of jigs, it will be way more cost efficient to buy them any place of ur choice. It would be like trying to save money on fresh fish by catching them as opposed to buying them at the market. It is a chore to do out of passion, desire, and challenge and have the flexibility to have the color selection and sizes/shapes/, etc. that you require in your time on the water.imho.Quote:
Originally Posted by skiptomylu
Brother if you want to save money by tying your own it ain't gonna work!!!! LOL as you've been told. Fly tyers have long thought the same thing but if you really want to do it that's up to you, but it's your hide with the wife LOL
Have fun and let us know!!!!!!
Fatman
My wife asked me the orther day how I was saving money and why i need 600 jig heads. lol But I lose to many jigs in stucture and it sure is nice to just break it off when it gets hung.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fatman
well so far i have spent about $200-$250 on stuff.
melter,mold,500 hooks,bobbin,vise, scissors,thread,various tying materials, shears for cutting lead and 4-5 colors of power paint and other odd stuff.
so far i have only tied about 30 jigs. guess i'm in the hole for now. But at least they will be my own jigs when done and will probably catch as many as store bought ones.
dad tied probably a 1000 when i was a boy. nothing fancy by any means. poured his own jig heads. all jig heads were painted red or white with the cheapest paint walmart sold. and tied them up from tails of green,blue,yellow,chartreuse,pink, white and various other colors. cheap thread from walmart. No bobbin ,no vise,no power paint,no chenelle,no maribou ,just solid colors .
Always caught fish. Had crappie for supper 52 weeks a year. LOL
I guess im doing it to pass the time this winter and have the satisfaction that there my jigs.:cool:
Well I can't speak too much about crappie jigs and saving money but I will say that I have saved a lot of money tying my own steelhead and salmon jigs. At $2-4 a pop I saved $200 one year. For crappie jigs, I doubt I will save much money but I got a ton of stuff for real cheap when Ebay was still an auction site.
I can say though there is the added point of the jig lasting longer, maybe a lot longer than a store bought jig. I think that having a jig catch 3-4 fish and only having to replace it when you lose it is worth something. Especially when the fish are hitting and you need the jig to last a while instead of coming apart.
Fat, thin or crochet bodies. Wings in different materials. Color matching the bait fish. Always having the right size and weight when the store is out. And many more reasons is why I tie them. That and like many others have said, I tied it, I caught a fish on it, and no one can have it unless I show them the pattern.
My dad (city sewer project estimator) figured out how much he spent in a season to catch perch from his boat on Lake Erie compared to how many pounds of fish he put in the fridge. Added in everything, gas, minnows, and lost tackle. He ended up with over $30 a pound for his fish. :cool: Ain't that riding high on the hog? :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by wardsmit
I'd expect similar, maybe not so steep, penalties for getting into this habit. But gosh darn, can't beat catching something on what was a pile of lead and feathers on your bench. :D
And don't worry, you will have friends right here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
save money???? you have got to be kidding.....before I started tying my own I only bought 2 sizes of jigs and a hundred plastic jig bodies would last me forever. I fished solid chart and chart and red bodies on white or chart heads. Now I think I have to have every size between 1/100 oz to 5 pounds. I have spent so much on jig materials I just gave up on keeping up with it. My girlfriend says she is a jig widow now because I spend so much time tying and trying to come up with new patterns to try. I look at it this way though...I have met some wonderfull people in here...I wouldn't trade the time I have had talking to them for anything...there is no price on a friend. Thanks everybody for not making it about money but a way to make a life more complete. I love this stuff.............brim
I guess jigs are cheap. Funny though, painted jig heads cost more than chenille/marabou jigs tied.
You don't save money, in fact you'll probably spend a little more at flea markets and craft shops as you look for different materials. The joy of creating your own and then having a fish bite it is just priceless...plus it gives you something to do on those days you can't go fishin.
I sell some of my jigs to offset the cost plus it puts some gas in the tank so I can go fishin.
I thought i would save money to when i started now i spend way to much money on it probably not compared to alot of the people on here but its addicting catching fish on something that you made I do seem to save money making my own muskie lures though...
wardsmit said "I knew soon as this thread started, the consensus would be the same overall. You don't and won't save money. If you only use an average angler's quantity of jigs, it will be way more cost efficient to buy them any place of ur choice. It would be like trying to save money on fresh fish by catching them as opposed to buying them at the market. It is a chore to do out of passion, desire, and challenge and have the flexibility to have the color selection and sizes/shapes/, etc. that you require in your time on the water.imho."
That says it all!
You can save a little some times, but nothing to take to the bank, Well at least you know who made them.