First time hair jig tying

[jay bird1138]

Just started to tie some jigs to hopefully hook up to some large and smallies plus a few walleye maybe. Got my grandpas old vice and some of his old fly tying stuff. He made a rod too so he has some rod thread, could I use that for my hair jigs? I just have black and white marabou now, I’m going to order some buck tail in black white and probably some shade or green and or red. Made 3 so far, have pictures of 2. Couldn’t figure out the whip finish. I got his old whip finisher but it’s different than all the ones I saw online. Tried to find a tutorial with my hands but I still couldn’t figure it out. I think I may have got it and I put some of his old lacquer down too. 

Won’t let me add pics. I’ll try to put some in a reply

[Jig Man]

Once you learn how to use it your jig tying will be a lot more fun.  When I used to make a lot of buck tail jigs I could tie 2 dozen 2 to 3 color jigs with chenille in less than a hour.

[islandbass]

You’re in for a treat. I find it far easier to tie the whip finish with my own hands. I was clumsier with the tool. I bet there are good vids on you tube on how to do it by hand. Trust me, it’s easy to do by hand. 

 

These two vids show you step from varying angles.

 

 

 

[jay bird1138]

5 hours ago, islandbass said:

You’re in for a treat. I find it far easier to tie the whip finish with my own hands. I was clumsier with the tool. I bet there are good vids on you tube on how to do it by hand. Trust me, it’s easy to do by hand. 

 

These two vids show you step from varying angles.

 

 

 

Alright thanks a lot I’ll try that tonight

 

Is that pretty much what you would do to like tighten a rubber band? 

[Oregon Native]

6 hours ago, islandbass said:

You’re in for a treat. I find it far easier to tie the whip finish with my own hands. I was clumsier with the tool. I bet there are good vids on you tube on how to do it by hand. Trust me, it’s easy to do by hand. 

 

These two vids show you step from varying angles.

 

 

 

Yup...what he said...much easier with hands.

[tholmes]

9 hours ago, jay bird1138 said:

Just started to tie some jigs to hopefully hook up to some large and smallies plus a few walleye maybe. Got my grandpas old vice and some of his old fly tying stuff. He made a rod too so he has some rod thread, could I use that for my hair jigs? I just have black and white marabou now, I’m going to order some buck tail in black white and probably some shade or green and or red. Made 3 so far, have pictures of 2. Couldn’t figure out the whip finish. I got his old whip finisher but it’s different than all the ones I saw online. Tried to find a tutorial with my hands but I still couldn’t figure it out. I think I may have got it and I put some of his old lacquer down too. 

Won’t let me add pics. I’ll try to put some in a reply

I've used size D rod wrapping thread to tie everything from 1/80 oz. feather jigs to 1 oz. bucktail jigs for stripers for years. It works just fine.

Visit Jann's Netcraft to find tools and materials. If you don't already have one, a high quality pair of scissors is essential. I use embroidery scissors. Invest in a good bobbin also. 

And, like islandbass said, whip finishing is way easier to do by hand. 

Have fun!

 

Tom

[jay bird1138]

2 hours ago, tholmes said:

I've used size D rod wrapping thread to tie everything from 1/80 oz. feather jigs to 1 oz. bucktail jigs for stripers for years. It works just fine.

Visit Jann's Netcraft to find tools and materials. If you don't already have one, a high quality pair of scissors is essential. I use embroidery scissors. Invest in a good bobbin also. 

And, like islandbass said, whip finishing is way easier to do by hand. 

Have fun!

 

Tom

Yeah I actually made an account in jannsnetcraft last night. I’m in pa so I figured shipping from Ohio would be quick. How much would you say to spend on a bobbin? I bought mine for like 3.50 but saw some up to 34 at cabelas. I did buy way too small of thread I think I have size 72 in white and a little bigger in black, I’ll try the rod thread I have.

[tholmes]

1 hour ago, jay bird1138 said:

Yeah I actually made an account in jannsnetcraft last night. I’m in pa so I figured shipping from Ohio would be quick. How much would you say to spend on a bobbin? I bought mine for like 3.50 but saw some up to 34 at cabelas. I did buy way too small of thread I think I have size 72 in white and a little bigger in black, I’ll try the rod thread I have.

I like the ceramic tube bobbins as they won't fray the thread as easily as the steel tube ones. I use this one http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/fly-tying-bobbins/042044500009.aspx 

To save yourself a little aggravation, get a bobbin threader if you don't already have one.

 

Tom

[jay bird1138]

1 hour ago, tholmes said:

I like the ceramic tube bobbins as they won't fray the thread as easily as the steel tube ones. I use this one http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/fly-tying-bobbins/042044500009.aspx 

To save yourself a little aggravation, get a bobbin threader if you don't already have one.

 

Tom

Thanks I’ll look at getting them. 

If I buy jig heads with a weed guard from janns will the weed guard already be on? If it is then where can I get some that I have to install myself

[thinkingredneck]

If you can't figure out a whip finish, use a couple half hitches and glue.

 

You need strong scissors for hard materials and fine scissors for thread.  A ceramic tube bobbin and a hair stacker.  I like to use a good waterproof glue, like lock-tite.  You can also use clear finger nail polish.  Sally Hansen "hard as nails" is what many salt water fly tyers use.  Your vice has to be able to hold the hook while you pull hard.  Always pull thread tight.  Tie tight.  Oh yeah, you need a good lamp or light source.  I use a goose neck lamp.  Take a fly tying class, if possible.

[AllDayBASSIN]

also Lurepartsonline has some great tying tools and materials! I use them for other fishing parts.  Cant wait to see some of these jigs!!!

[jay bird1138]

15 hours ago, thinkingredneck said:

If you can't figure out a whip finish, use a couple half hitches and glue.

 

You need strong scissors for hard materials and fine scissors for thread.  A ceramic tube bobbin and a hair stacker.  I like to use a good waterproof glue, like lock-tite.  You can also use clear finger nail polish.  Sally Hansen "hard as nails" is what many salt water fly tyers use.  Your vice has to be able to hold the hook while you pull hard.  Always pull thread tight.  Tie tight.  Oh yeah, you need a good lamp or light source.  I use a goose neck lamp.  Take a fly tying class, if possible.

I figured out the whip finish. I did that and put some old lacquer my Grandpa had for flys. My vice is working for now. I’ll get a new one if I like doing this sometime in the future. I’ll get some new glue and the hard as nails, I’m probably going to FL in a couple weeks by Tampa so I’ll tie some saltwater jigs

[jay bird1138]

How about weedless jig heads? Do the guards come attached?

[OkobojiEagle]

On 11/1/2017 at 2:05 PM, jay bird1138 said:

How about weedless jig heads? Do the guards come attached?

Find a jighead you like with a light wire guard.  I think they inhibit the hook set less and you can bend them out of the way while you tie...

 

oe

[frogflogger]

You're in for some fun - also black and white marabou will catch you an amazing number of fish - all we use to carry was a bag of white marabou jigs and a bag of black - they still catch fish.

[jay bird1138]

Got some buck tail and stuff to paint jig heads. It’s working out pretty good not perfectly. When I’m curing my jig heads in the oven the paint forms a drop at the top of the jig head (hanging upside down) and sometimes drips. Am I putting on too much paint? How can I upload pictures? It says file size is too big 

[ra24515]

Have you guys tried using rabbit skin w/ the fur on? trout ppl use it but i think it would be deadly too on bass fishing

[kickerfish1]

If smalljaw67 sees this post he could offer some expertise otherwise checkout his vids on YouTube. He does legit work!

[OkobojiEagle]

Rabbit zonkers have been used dressing bass/walleye/pike jigs for years... both commercially and by those tying for themselves.  

 

oe

[frogflogger]

An aside to this - I've tied hair jigs (sometimes commercially) for 60+ yrs. and for my own use I've never bothered to paint the heads. I believe oxidized lead is a neutral color and actually makes most jigs more effective.

[MickD]

I would replace his old "lacquer" with new.  I really like UV curing epoxy-you need a UV light and the epoxy (do a web search and you'll find a number of offerings  - I've used solarez).  You can do your own weed guards from 30# hard mono leader material.  If you're making a minnow imitation, you can get stick-on eyes, too.  But you should cover them with epoxy or some other head cement or they will fall off.  Again, UV cure works well.  I like it because it hardens in 15-20 seconds and is crystal clear.  Another fast drying option that is easy to find is the hard clear topcoat for fingernails. 

[jay bird1138]

On 12/17/2017 at 8:43 AM, frogflogger said:

An aside to this - I've tied hair jigs (sometimes commercially) for 60+ yrs. and for my own use I've never bothered to paint the heads. I believe oxidized lead is a neutral color and actually makes most jigs more effective.

Interesting. I’ll try making some without paint. 

On 12/17/2017 at 9:28 AM, MickD said:

I would replace his old "lacquer" with new.  I really like UV curing epoxy-you need a UV light and the epoxy (do a web search and you'll find a number of offerings  - I've used solarez).  You can do your own weed guards from 30# hard mono leader material.  If you're making a minnow imitation, you can get stick-on eyes, too.  But you should cover them with epoxy or some other head cement or they will fall off.  Again, UV cure works well.  I like it because it hardens in 15-20 seconds and is crystal clear.  Another fast drying option that is easy to find is the hard clear topcoat for fingernails. 

It’s been a while since I posted here but I did get some new head cement

 

i made some for a thanksgiving Florida trip. I made them too heavy for where I was fishing so I didn’t get to use them much and didn’t catch anything. As soon as I started making these it started getting cold and I haven’t been able to get out since then, so I still haven’t caught anything on them. I sold a few to my cousin who lives in FL to try for cheap and I just sold a few to my uncle who is giving them to a customer of his. I think my cousin is in a similar situation to what I was in, he fished from docks and inshore piers so he doesn’t have a lot of open water. I only sent him .75 oz and up jigs, maybe I’ll send a few smaller ones for Christmas.