Replacing Jig Skirts And Collars

[Sherlock 60]

Finally have some jigs where the collars and skirts have fallen off.

No way my Spinnerbait collars will fit on a jig, so what do I use? I presume that there are replacement skirts and collars for jigs on the market.

What do you use? Or do you all just get new jigs? (Bait Monkey Alert!!!)

[rippin-lips]

You can buy replacement skirts from a bunch of different places.

[Catt]

Tiny Zip Ties

[paul.]

A lot of folks would love to make their own jigs but think it costs too much or requires special tools or techniques.  Not true!  Making your own stuff is incredibly easy and will SAVE you money.  When you do the math, you can buy premium jigs for about $4.00 each, or make your own for about $2.00 each.  So if you are a tinkerer and you like the satisfaction of creating your own stuff, here’s all you need. 

An old ball point pen.  Remove the ink tube.  Keep the tip and cut the barrel down to about 2 or 3”.
A paper clip or a bobby pin.
Your favorite jig heads.
Skirt material bars and collars (you can find this stuff super cheap at multiple online tackle stores).

Step 1 - Start by rolling a collar onto the barrel of the ink pen.  You can roll several on there if you want to make several skirts at once.  Remove the tip of the ink pen leaving just the collars on the barrel of the pen. 
Step 2 – hang your skirt material on your paper clip or bobby pin.  It takes 2 bars of skirt material to make a full skirt.  Use a little more for a thicker skirt.  Use a little less for a thinner one.  I won’t go into the subtleties of how to mix multiple colors evenly.  That’s easy to figure out and part of the joy of discovering all the cool things you can do.
Step 3 – use the bobby pin to pull the skirt material about halfway through the ink pen barrel.  Roll a collar off the barrel of the ink pen onto the skirt and finish pulling it through.
Step 4 – just cut the ends of the skirt material where it is joined together.  You’ve just created your own jig skirt.
Step 5 – put your skirts on your favorite jig heads, add your favorite trailers, and load the boat with all the big bass you fool using color creations they’ve never seen before.

Here’s some pics to illustrate.  We’ll make one of my faves – purple/blue and whiskey/green.  It’s a great combo on any lake where bluegills or other sunfish are a primary food source.  If you have a lot of readears, you can throw in a few red strands thrown in just for kicks.  I call it thrilla in bluegilla.

[WRB]

Barlow's Tackle online store.

Tom

[RB 77]

Do yourself a favor and pick up a Naked Baits skirt making tool and some skirt tabs and collars. The tool is the bees knees and once you start making your own skirts with cutom color combibnantions you will never look back...

[Sherlock 60]

Thanks! I'll look into making some of my own as well as picking up replacement skirts.

[kickerfish1]

^^ Nice insightful post Paul ^^

[Catt]

K.I.S.S.!

Before your collar breaks or when ya get a new bait with a skirt...zip tie it!

Problem solved

[Munkin]

A lot of folks would love to make their own jigs but think it costs too much or requires special tools or techniques.  Not true!  Making your own stuff is incredibly easy and will SAVE you money.  When you do the math, you can buy premium jigs for about $4.00 each, or make your own for about $2.00 each.  So if you are a tinkerer and you like the satisfaction of creating your own stuff, here’s all you need. 

An old ball point pen.  Remove the ink tube.  Keep the tip and cut the barrel down to about 2 or 3”.

A paper clip or a bobby pin.

Your favorite jig heads.

Skirt material bars and collars (you can find this stuff super cheap at multiple online tackle stores).

Step 1 - Start by rolling a collar onto the barrel of the ink pen.  You can roll several on there if you want to make several skirts at once.  Remove the tip of the ink pen leaving just the collars on the barrel of the pen. 

Step 2 – hang your skirt material on your paper clip or bobby pin.  It takes 2 bars of skirt material to make a full skirt.  Use a little more for a thicker skirt.  Use a little less for a thinner one.  I won’t go into the subtleties of how to mix multiple colors evenly.  That’s easy to figure out and part of the joy of discovering all the cool things you can do.

Step 3 – use the bobby pin to pull the skirt material about halfway through the ink pen barrel.  Roll a collar off the barrel of the ink pen onto the skirt and finish pulling it through.

Step 4 – just cut the ends of the skirt material where it is joined together.  You’ve just created your own jig skirt.

Step 5 – put your skirts on your favorite jig heads, add your favorite trailers, and load the boat with all the big bass you fool using color creations they’ve never seen before.

Here’s some pics to illustrate.  We’ll make one of my faves – purple/blue and whiskey/green.  It’s a great combo on any lake where bluegills or other sunfish are a primary food source.  If you have a lot of readears, you can throw in a few red strands thrown in just for kicks.  I call it thrilla in bluegilla.

 

This should be a kept at the top! The only thing I can add is that the amber collars dry rot quicker than any other color.

 

Allen

[Choporoz]

I use zip ties for some and 22 or 24 gauge wire from Home Depot for others.  Both work well.  I prefer the wire generally, but it a little harder to make a neat wrap/twist.  All you need are skirs, wire, two needle nose pliers and pair of dikes. 

[ClackerBuzz]

i've had bad luck with the rubber bands rotting.  I use old braid or sewing thread.  never had one come loose