Hair Jigs

[JHoss]

I want to start playing with hair jigs this year. I have a bunch of old fly tying stuff laying around I'll use at first. My big question is, what weight jig heads should I use? I suspect 90% of the time I'll be using them in 10-30' (with FFS if that matters). I've tied plenty of flies and saltwater bucktails in the past, so I'm assuming it will be very similar. 

 

Any other advice on tying or fishing hair jigs?

[Reel]

I use 1/8 oz mostly because I don't want them on the bottom.  I use Berkley heads (mushroom type).

I like marabout jigs in black or dark brown.  If you have good marabout, ( long stems) they are easy to tie.  I bring the jig back partly difting it, partly retreiving it so that it kinda floats at mid depth and the fish rise up to it.

[BlakeMolone]

1/8th marabou is my go to for bass, here’s one I tied on Sunday, olive on top, ginger on bottom with some hackle feathers sticking out to make a tail.

[BlakeMolone]

Also if your collars are messy at first or if they are longer than you would like them to be you can tie in a piece of saddle hackle, wrap it around the collar, pull the fibers back and then finish off the collar. It gives the jig “gills” and makes it look really cool as well as covering up your mess 😂 I’ve personally found the dang collar on a marabou jig very hard to master, it takes a special touch, luckily even the messiest of marabou jigs will catch giant trout, bass, walleye and everything else.

[JHoss]

On 2/17/2025 at 10:08 AM, Reel said:

I use 1/8 oz mostly because I don't want them on the bottom.  I use Berkley heads (mushroom type).

I like marabout jigs in black or dark brown.  If you have good marabout, ( long stems) they are easy to tie.  I bring the jig back partly difting it, partly retreiving it so that it kinda floats at mid depth and the fish rise up to it.

I think I'll need to keep them off the bottom for the most part. We don't have many lakes or rivers with much hard bottom, so I'm assuming they get fouled up or snagged if I let them sink all the way. Are you using them for smallies or largies? I assumed browns and blacks would be more Smallie colors imitating a craw, but was expecting to be imitating shad or some other baitfish.

 

1 hour ago, BlakeMolone said:

1/8th marabou is my go to for bass, here’s one I tied on Sunday, olive on top, ginger on bottom with some hackle feathers sticking out to make a tail.

I like the profile on that one. Are you using that color mostly for largies or smallies?

[Bass Junke]

Started tying hair and marabou jigs this year. Been tying lots of them. 1/8 and 1/4 have been my go to. A few 3/16 mixed in. 

I have been dressing lots of trebles and building inline spinners. 

Built a couple of full sized, 3/8oz, swim jigs dressed with hair/ marabou. 

Planning on doing some 3/8, 1/2oz football bucktail jigs. 

[BlakeMolone]

1 hour ago, JHoss said:

I think I'll need to keep them off the bottom for the most part. We don't have many lakes or rivers with much hard bottom, so I'm assuming they get fouled up or snagged if I let them sink all the way. Are you using them for smallies or largies? I assumed browns and blacks would be more Smallie colors imitating a craw, but was expecting to be imitating shad or some other baitfish.

 

I like the profile on that one. Are you using that color mostly for largies or smallies?

I use olive, white, black and whatever other random color or commotion of colors  I have on hand. They catch all the trout species, and all the bass species, I haven’t found a particular color that outshines the rest. One I really like though is a light brown top with a cream bottom, very natural and a fantastic fish catcher.  Cream is just an off white color, basically what we would call “bone” I like it better than straight up bright white in a lot of cases. Nimrods tackle on eBay has great prices on marabou.

[Reel]

I use them for smallmouth on the St Lawrence river

[bowhunter63]

I have absolutely no tying skills but I throw hair jigs a ton early spring in the rivers for Smallies. 1/8 ounce head Black or brown is my go to . Pick up a few spots on em too. 

[SC53]

I tie mainly 1/8 and 1/4 oz hair jigs.
Now the term “hair” in hair jigs  is typically referring to deer hair or bucktail.  Marabou is not hair per se ( it’s a feather, or part of a bird) but gets grouped in with the hair jigs.

But both, plus other materials have their place in “ bass jigs”.

I tie bucktail in a number of colors. Chartreuse over white, olive over white, sexy Shad ( blue over chartreuse over white) and blue or purple over black.

Bucktail is much stiffer than marabou. I use it when wanting to simulate a minnow profile mostly. 
Marabou flows and moves a lot more than bucktail in the water. 
For it I’ll do some whites, black and blue and olive combos.

Another good choice is a combination of marabou tails with chenille or Estaz bodies. 
They all have their place for bass.

I can share some pictures if you’d like of some I’ve tied. 
Blake ties some killer jigs. 

 

[Texas Flood]

I like to throw a 3/4oz in 20+ fow where I let it sink to the bottom and then reel in fast and then let it glide back down. 
 

 

The bass seem to hit that sucker hard when it’s burns past em too. 

[WRB]

All I use is my Viper head 7/16 oz (actual weight w/ hook)jig  since 1971 with tri colors buck tail hair and pork rind trailer. Every one of those 5 PB’s listed were caught on that jig.

Tom

 

[MickD]

To keep them off the bottom tie a "drop shot fly" instead of a hair jig and fish it drop shot.  It works.

[Mr. Aquarium]

I love fishing and tying on 1/4 ounce heads.  Slow retrieve basically bottom strolling. 
 

[JHoss]

15 hours ago, SC53 said:

I tie mainly 1/8 and 1/4 oz hair jigs.
Now the term “hair” in hair jigs  is typically referring to deer hair or bucktail.  Marabou is not hair per se ( it’s a feather, or part of a bird) but gets grouped in with the hair jigs.

But both, plus other materials have their place in “ bass jigs”.

I tie bucktail in a number of colors. Chartreuse over white, olive over white, sexy Shad ( blue over chartreuse over white) and blue or purple over black.

Bucktail is much stiffer than marabou. I use it when wanting to simulate a minnow profile mostly. 
Marabou flows and moves a lot more than bucktail in the water. 
For it I’ll do some whites, black and blue and olive combos.

Another good choice is a combination of marabou tails with chenille or Estaz bodies. 
They all have their place for bass.

I can share some pictures if you’d like of some I’ve tied. 
Blake ties some killer jigs. 

 

I'd love to see some. When I used to do some fly tying, there were patterns to follow. I haven't found anything like that for hair jigs, so I reckon I'll pick some that look good and try to replicate them. Seems like a combination of bucktail and feathers seems popular and has good action from what I hear. 

 

13 hours ago, Texas Flood said:

I like to throw a 3/4oz in 20+ fow where I let it sink to the bottom and then reel in fast and then let it glide back down. 
 

 

The bass seem to hit that sucker hard when it’s burns past em too. 

This is what I've mostly seen pros do on TV and how I expect to fish them. Seems like a bait I'll use primarily with LiveScope targeting fish/bait or working over submerged cover. 

 

12 hours ago, WRB said:

All I use is my Viper head 7/16 oz (actual weight w/ hook)jig  since 1971 with tri colors buck tail hair and pork rind trailer. Every one of those 5 PB’s listed were caught on that jig.

Tom

 

What are the three colors in the tri color? 

 

2 hours ago, MickD said:

To keep them off the bottom tie a "drop shot fly" instead of a hair jig and fish it drop shot.  It works.

Interesting concept. I've always seen them fished pretty quickly and that's what I'm envisioning- another option to throwing a minnow at them with Scope. 

 

10 minutes ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

I love fishing and tying on 1/4 ounce heads.  Slow retrieve basically bottom strolling. 

That looks good. Is that the VMC Mooneye Jighead you're tying on? When you bottom stroll, are you watching your bait with scope or just feeling it along?

[BlakeMolone]

16 hours ago, SC53 said:

I tie mainly 1/8 and 1/4 oz hair jigs.
Now the term “hair” in hair jigs  is typically referring to deer hair or bucktail.  Marabou is not hair per se ( it’s a feather, or part of a bird) but gets grouped in with the hair jigs.

But both, plus other materials have their place in “ bass jigs”.

I tie bucktail in a number of colors. Chartreuse over white, olive over white, sexy Shad ( blue over chartreuse over white) and blue or purple over black.

Bucktail is much stiffer than marabou. I use it when wanting to simulate a minnow profile mostly. 
Marabou flows and moves a lot more than bucktail in the water. 
For it I’ll do some whites, black and blue and olive combos.

Another good choice is a combination of marabou tails with chenille or Estaz bodies. 
They all have their place for bass.

I can share some pictures if you’d like of some I’ve tied. 
Blake ties some killer jigs. 

 

I appreciate the kind words, I’m a newb though and only post the ones that turn out decent 😂 There are some great tiers and bait makers here though!

[Mr. Aquarium]

1 hour ago, JHoss said:

I'd love to see some. When I used to do some fly tying, there were patterns to follow. I haven't found anything like that for hair jigs, so I reckon I'll pick some that look good and try to replicate them. Seems like a combination of bucktail and feathers seems popular and has good action from what I hear. 

 

This is what I've mostly seen pros do on TV and how I expect to fish them. Seems like a bait I'll use primarily with LiveScope targeting fish/bait or working over submerged cover. 

 

What are the three colors in the tri color? 

 

Interesting concept. I've always seen them fished pretty quickly and that's what I'm envisioning- another option to throwing a minnow at them with Scope. 

 

That looks good. Is that the VMC Mooneye Jighead you're tying on? When you bottom stroll, are you watching your bait with scope or just feeling it along?

I buy my jigs from lead free bass jigs these are damiki and free style ball head.  I have bare minimum for electronics.  I cast out let it hit bottom, then slow real and twitch it back. Sometimes I’ll pause it to get back to the bottom. I fish it a few different ways.   Rip it through the bottom grass. Slow crawl, or fish it like a regular jig.  It’s crushes fish though. 
I have a video of a bass coming up and eating one of my jigs. 

[Jig Man]

I used to make lots of hair jigs in several sizes.  I rarely used larger than a 90° 1/0 hook because it was finesse fishing with light line and thin smaller hooks penetrated easier.

 

I opted for color combinations that the fish had never seen.  You might be surprised what combinations work.

 

[Bdnoble84]

Depends on what you are trying to do. If you are going marabou i go 1/16 to 1/8. For bucktail i have two different thoughts. For bucktail i will go with 1/16 to 1/8 when fishing shallow/ looking for a natural slow fall. For deeper than 10ft i am starting at 1/4 oz i will go heavier as conditions dictate or if i am snap jigging.

[1984isNOW]

On 2/18/2025 at 7:58 PM, WRB said:

k)j

Do you mean prok rind like from the super market?

 

Got a Pic to share?

[WRB]

PM email and will send you photo’s and how to make pork rind for jig trailers.

Out of the country at the moment it will a few days to respond.

Tom

[1984isNOW]

10 hours ago, WRB said:

d w

PM sent, thanks!

[Bdnoble84]

Another suggestion… Tie Sparse. Les is more in most situations. It can be hard to keep them thin. I add multiple layers to comp

Combat this

[JHoss]

22 hours ago, Bdnoble84 said:

Another suggestion… Tie Sparse. Les is more in most situations. It can be hard to keep them thin. I add multiple layers to comp

Combat this

Makes sense. I remember this being a thing when I did some fly tying in my youth. And some guys swear by this for traditional jigs, spinners, and buzzbaits so that tracks in the bass world too. 

[OkobojiEagle]

Sparse is relative and can be material specific...

 

Walleye and smallmouth are aggressive and usually less discerning than the tier is.