hair jigs

[wareagledc]

I have been looking for some hair jigs and was wordering if the type mattered? Rabbit hair or something else? and has anyone tried these
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-8-OZ-HAIR-JIGS...1%7C240%3A1318

[pig n jig]

I am not exactly sure but I think they are what I have tried in the past.I personally do not like a weedguard on my hair jigs.In saying that, I am targeting smallmouth in deep water when using hair jigs.There is little or no weeds that deep.Ivan

[zooker]

deer hair it is hollow and floats in water rabbit hair is ok but don't float and normally likes to wad up..

zooker

[pig n jig]

As for type of hair jig, I haven't noticed one type to work or hold up better than the rest but I am not always correct.

Mac would be one to ask.He has made some very nice jigs. Ivan

[Mac2]

Rabbit hair jigs have a lot of movement. Great for winter and smallmouth in particular...also good in winter for largemouth. They can be tipped with trailers, but also catch well without trailers. I make the tail with zonker strip (rabbit hair on hide with the hair pointing the same direction as the strip itself) and then tie the front part, the body or collar with crosscut zonker strips.....the hair shooting off to one side of the strip....great for wrapping and making a thickness to the body.

Bucktail jigs don't have much movement...made with deer tail hair.....good for float and fly in winter when minnows they are imitating don't move much. Jigs tipped with minnows are good for smallmouth. A lot of fellows also use bucktails for walleye.

Bear hair jigs move well also, as well as fox and certain artificial materials.

The jigs shown in your ebay picture look like a combination of marabou and feathers....very action prone concerning movement.....fluffy in appearance and thin out as the strands spread apart in water. Rabbit keeps it's shape a little better...doesn't fluff out so far, but undulates well with little or slow movements.

[zooker]

i never seen the fluffy part mac. i always had it wad up around the jig head i almost never used rabbit hair cause of it..

zooker

[wareagledc]

thanks for the info. we don't have smallies around here so i'll probably stick to the ol faithful silicone.

[Mac2]

Zooker,

I know what you mean, but the way I've been taught to tie, it's not happening with mine. When tying on the tail, actually the face piece of the craw, I don't make it very long beyond the hook, and also puncture through the face piece with the hook itself and then tie it on toward the jighead, leaving a space to wrap on the collar up to the leadhead. I also add 4 strands of silicone starflash which rest on top of the entire body and go a little past the tail face piece....such as being mini trailers. I think the feelers lay on top of the tailpiece and may actually help it to keep from wrapping. I don't add claws, but do add a touch of a contrasting color near the hook, just for interest. In short, the tailpiece is kept short and the body wrap isn't long enough to mat against the hook....

Wareagledc

I've stressed smallies in my post, but these are excellent baits for largemouth, especially in the colder waters of winter. The black ones I make emulate craws, and if swimming slowly near bottom, leeches. The others in the craw patterns are olive green and rusty brown. I tie white ones with just two strands of blue silicone for minnows....learned that from Pig n Jig on this thread.... I tip my jigs with Paca Tiny Chunks when fishing largemouth. They are a small, solid bodied soft plastic craw and so far I've had good luck using the green pumpkin on olive jigs. I mentioned putting a contrasting color near the hook.......I've heard you can target the hook by doing this and it also adds color to the jig. On a black jig, I use a spot of blue hair. I also use black feelers with blue glitter on the blackjigs. Olive jigs get two darker green feelers and 2 light chartreuse green with a goldish olive spot near the hook. The brown jigs get two amber feelers and two orange with an orange target spot. The minnows only get the two light blue silicone strips, one on each side, but I also add a holographic silver or gold strands over the body for shine and sparkle.

What ever you decide to use in the way of jigs, and you may already know this, fish them slowly in general in cold waters. I personally add a tremor now and again, but most of the time the jig is crawled slowly with many pauses. Hope this helps, Good Fishing, Mac

[wareagledc]

I also like to add a small piece of plastic worm in between the leadhead and the chunk to keep it from sliding out of place. do you sell these hand made jigs of yours? i would like to find someone who knows what to do and can do custome colors. if you don't do you know any good sites?

[wareagledc]

sorry i ment mac2

[Mac2]

wareagledc, I've emailed you about this. Thanks, Mac

[Fish2win]

I have fished Hair igs for bass for years. If I am trowing a jig and eel /fly and rind I only use Buck tail. It falls slower like Zook says and does not mat up when wet. It also holds scents better. Because of its bouyancy it works great in winter time. Fish2win

[Bryan]

Like Mac said, the jigs in the picture look like spun bucktail and marabou, with some hackle feathers tied in for a "trailer".

Personally I like to tie my hair jigs tied much more sparingly than those, and either with no weedguard or one made from light wire. I think when you put too much material on a hair jig you're getting away from the profile and fluid motion that makes them so effective in the first place. If I'm looking for a larger profile jig I'll use a regular silicone model with a trailer.

[Fish2win]

Thinner jigs work better in clear water and fat jigs work best in stained. If you spray the jig with a scent it will often give the jig a sheen like the slim coat on a minnow. This is something you do not get with a rubber jig, Fish2win

[JB]

good point fish2win

the hair jigs I've used for 20 years are about 1/3 the amount of hair than these
I use mostly hair jigs on the river tho, smaller profile
these ones below are bigger than I've seen but very nicely done IMO

[pig n jig]

They thin out as you keep using them.

[abu4600]

Do yall fish these jigs on the bottom or do you swim them more? Are they good lures for river fishing for spotted bass in the winter?

[pig n jig]

Originally Posted by abu4600

Do yall fish these jigs on the bottom or do you swim them more? Are they good lures for river fishing for spotted bass in the winter?

Fish them on bottom and yes they would be good for spotted bass.Not that we have spotted bass here to know. I just know they will catch most any fish that eats minnows or crayfish.

[Fish2win]

They are great for spots and smallmouth especially tipped with pork like a number 101 Uncle Josh. I usually fish then on the bottom but often the fish will hit them on the fall. I have also had some fish nearly rip my arm off when I was reeling in. I dont know if there is a bad way to work them . Just pay closs attention tp what ypu were doing when a fish hit and try to replicate that action and location. Late fall when the shad start to die off a white hair jig with red thread can be killer jigged off the bottom like a spoon.
Fish2win

[hookup]

Hair jigs work when the water's wet.

I know Mac2's jigs well.

Here's some of the ones I tie ...

[Bryan]

Pretty jigs hookup! Rabbit and fox?

[hookup]

Rabbit.

And I suck at taking close up pix. Need to work on that.

These jigs I either swim or drop into a hole and slowly crawl them over the bottom quivering the rod for action. I do not add a pig to these.

Also build silicon hair jigs that I use pigs for.

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by hookup

Rabbit.

And I suck at taking close up pix. Need to work on that.

These jigs I either swim or drop into a hole and slowly crawl them over the bottom quivering the rod for action. I do not add a pig to these.

Also build silicon hair jigs that I use pigs for.

Oh ok, the "body" hair looked a little long for rabbit but I may have been overestimating the size of the jigs.

I fish mine the same way.

[hookup]

Jigs are on 1/0 Matzuo sickle hooks. Head's are 1/8oz.

I try to find the 'longest' hair rabbit hair strips (zonker and crosscut) I can.

[bigbasser]

For some of the best hair jigs go to ( www.wackyworm.com ) they're the best. bigbasser