Favorite Hair Jig Colors/Patterns?

[RyanDR]

In most of my lakes around here in clear water I will throw green/grey and grey/chart. But depending on the lake I also like brown/white, perch pattern and black. Those are the basics I throw. My favorite kinds are basic bucktail, or combination of bucktail with feathers, flash or rabbit trailer. I haven't got much into marabou or synthetic jigs.  Also love throwing crappie style jigs as well. What about you guys? 

[RoLo]

 

My favorite jig dressing is "bucktail hair", but selecting the most hollow bucktail hairs

is more important than their color. Fly tiers will tell you that anglers are attracted

to the whitest bucktail hairs along the base of a deer's tail. However, those hairs

are the least resilient and tend to kink like straws. The highest floating and most active bucktail hairs

are the crinkly brown hairs along the top of the tail (farthest from the deer's body heat).

These are the hairs that give bucktail its natural unique bellowing action.

If I were restricted to one color, it would be 'black'.

 

Roger

[bowhunter63]

Hair has never stopped catching bass,One jig i really like for smaillies is Gapens Crawfish jig.It comes in serveal colors.I like colors that match Crawdads or shad or shiners.Sometimes hair will fire em up when nothing else will.

[smalljaw67]

It all depends on the situation and water temp but the last 2 years black/purple and brown/purple has really been good. we caught a mixed bag a week ago and a small spring fed lake, 4 chain pickerel, 3 largemouth and 7 smallmouth along with a 19" rainbow trout. Yes, a rainbow trout hit a 3/16oz black/purple hair jig with a tiny paca chunk trailer, go figure.

[Greekman58]

I have the greatest success with sythetic hair of deer tail hair. Colors.. straight black.. black/blue.. black/red with red flash. Or straight white. Works in lakes and rivers... this year i am expanding and gonna throw some other ckrs. I like in pa so i and gonna try brown and orange straight brown to mimic the crawls

[OnthePotomac]

On the Potomac it is black/blue and popular for cold water.  Hair seems to give way to the regular jig and pig as the water warms.

[roadwarrior]

Black

 

 

[A-Jay]

For on the bottom 'hair' presentations,

I like these . . 

 

For swimming the lightest of 'hair' jigs, it's almost always 

a Black Outkast Tackle Feider Fly Marabou Jig.

 

 

 

 

A-Jay

 

[roadwarrior]

P.S.

I only fish hair jigs in the winter for smalljaws, not green fish. The Siebert Outdoors

Grid IronG2 is a much better choice in my opinion. I especially like PBJ with a matching

Rage Tail Craw.

 

https://siebertoutdoors.com/products/ols/products/grid-iron-dock-rocker-jig

 

[Will Wetline]

 

1/4 oz. Poison Tails are a favorite to drag, pause and twitch along the bottom for clear water smallmouth when the water is 50º or lower.

 

 

1/8 oz. ball jigs in black and in white have produced well also. 

 

[Jig Man]

I swim my hair jigs.  My favorite day color is silver over red.  My favorite night color is purple over orange.

[papajoe222]

I tie two different patterns, shad and craw. For the shad pattern, brown/white or straight white are my favorites. For the craw pattern, I really don’t have a favorite. For pre to post spawn, I like something with orange on the underside. During the summer and fall, just about anything, but I tie a lot of black/brown and black/red, or chartreuse.

[basser27]

I don’t fish them but my buddy fishes 1/8oz ones early in the season. Clear water or dirty water it’s always straight black 

[WRB]

I have never understood the logic that hair jigs are only good in cold water and primarily used for smallmouth using small jigs.

I am also aware few if any good largemouth size hair jigs are commercially availble do to the above belief, it's a catch 22 issue.

Back in the early 70's when pork rind trailers were popular and pig & jig met a jig with pork trailer I started using more multiple color hair jigs with phenomial success.

My first and best combination was black back purple sides and brown belly. I did this not to replicate any crawdads but to match 1 of 3 color pork trailers I used; black, purple and brown. I could tie on 1 jig and change trailer colors to determine what the bass wanted at that time. This color combination was so universal I named it "anywhere anytime"because I caught bass all over the country plus Canada and Mexico.

Used my 7/16 oz jig with 5/0 hook, tied with bucktail hair about 3" long and full flared, not slim and tight.

I use anytime anywhere jig 80% of the time and caught 4 of my 5 giant bass with it.

My other colors are spring craw; dark redish brown back, green sides and light brown belly and caught 1 of my top 5 giant bass on that color. Shad is black and green back, white and chartreuse sides and white belly. Fritts; brown back with charteuse sides and belly with red mixed in the sides. Midnight; black back, blue sides black belly for night fishing.

5 colors is all I use with hair jigs.

Tom

[RyanDR]

Well seems this thread picked back up. As of posting 3 years ago my colors still stand, but add in a purple/black with flash. Some very productive days, especially this winter. 

[nmatthes]

A  couple productive colors I just tied up this morning.

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by nmatthes
bigger picture

[OkobojiEagle]

I tie a minnow pattern in firetiger colors that catches attention from the northern pike this time of year.   Otherwise I'm fishing black, khaki or yellow patterns... Did I mention black?

 

oe

[Deephaven]

For someone who has never thrown them for bass are there recommendations of ones to buy?  

[garroyo130]

35 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

For someone who has never thrown them for bass are there recommendations of ones to buy?  

 

As mentioned in another post, https://jimmydsriverbugs.com/shop/ was a pleasure to deal with and a good option to start might be to call him and ask him to tie some up for you based on @WRBs descriptions. 

[Rodney Smith]

WRB is the expert on this topic and I listen to everything he says on hair jigs. All the way down to his preferred 7/16 size. I had Brian’s Custom Tackle make me up some custom jigs. Brian was a great guy to deal with. 
https://www.brianscustomtackle.com/craw-jigs

[Mr. Aquarium]

Been tying my own.  It’s addicting. 
i love olive, black. And brown. Trying out some different color combos and different materials.  A rabbit zonker strip for trailer and a marabou body have been working well. Been tying on lead free bass jigs freestyle ball head and damiki head.  Also Been tying on a ned rig jig head.  

[OkobojiEagle]

Mr. Aquarium... I applaud the limited thread on your collars

 

oe

[Deleted account]

Some nice work there. 

I like a solid black marabou, a white/grey (with a hint of a black back) bucktail, and a forage colored (something that suggests gill, craw, or perch) hackle on a round, aspirin, or arkie 1/8-1/4 oz head. 

[Munkin]

On 4/14/2020 at 2:18 PM, A-Jay said:

For swimming the lightest of 'hair' jigs, it's almost always 

a Black Outkast Tackle Feider Fly Marabou Jig.

 

 

 

 

A-Jay

 

 

I am pouring 200 of those heads for someone right now.

 

Allen

[Mr. Aquarium]

23 hours ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Mr. Aquarium... I applaud the limited thread on your collars

 

oe

Thank you.  There’s a lot more thread there then what the eye and fish can see.

 

Always trying to learn and get better at tying.