Lovely,

I have a great three day weekend only to come down with the flu, then my 3 year old gets it too. I finally feel well enough to do something, but Ryan was still down and out.

I reviewed my gear, and all reels have fresh line, I have about 200 leaders tied up, but I was running low on jigs, so I tied up a few this morning in my favorite colors. I also have gotten into the habit of pre-tying the terminal gear with about 18" of fluorocarbon leader and adding a barrel swivel for quick changes when fishing.


Can you tell that I'm bored? Man can only take so many games of "Chutes and Ladders" and "Cariboo". Anyway, the downtime was good for something.

How come I don't see any marabou for tails on those jigs??

Guess it's true, once a yarn type, always a yarn type.

Way to go! Very constructive.

Hey Dogfish,

Let me guess what your most favorite colors are!

Looks a lot my mind own colors

Cowlitzfisherman

Yeah, I have some maribou patterns, but I have caught more fish on these color variations than any other style.

The WDFW stocked a local kids fishing lake the other day, so I may take the kids out to see how the trout respond to these. These are all tied on #4 hooks and have caught Silvers, Chums, 1 King, Cutthroat, Dolly's, and about 20 steelhead this year, give or take.

It's "chenile", not yarn. One thing about getting into these jigs means that I have more shades of nailpolish than my wife.

I want some

Dogfish,

That fingernail polish really works great on jig heads

You can match just about any color that you want to with fingernail polish!

I have about 120 bottles of it !

My wife has "0"


Cowlitzfisherman

dogfish- have you found that the nail polish holds up and resists chipping better than the traditonal paints found at tackle shops??

Most jigs have a fishing life of about 2 hours, if you are lucky, so I haven't been too concerned about the lifespan of the jighead coating. I also adjust the depth for every run, trying to get in the 2-12 inch range above the riverbed, this reduces wear. I have lost three jigs in three casts before, so if each one took me an hour to make I'd be pretty pissed. The "Testors" type paint wears quicker than fingernail polish and there is less color selection.

One trick I learned after painting 5 jig heads with that tiny brush was to take a glass candlestick holder, pour in the nail polish, then dip the heads. Using a brush takes way too long. The little cavity in the candlestick holder is the perfect size and because it is glass, it is easy to clean afterwards. Let the excess drip off into the candlestick well, then hook into a piece of styrofoam. After 30 seconds or 5 jigs I take that tiny brush and catch the little excess drips on the jigheads, conserving the nail polish. Let it dry for an hour or so, then dip again.

I spend about one to two minutes total on each jig, including the jig head painting. They are really easy to tie, and the ones pictured range from about 8-12 cents a piece my cost, without the time factor. The bigger bulk packs for your hooks have a big effect on the total cost. I'll be ordering a few 1,000 packs of Eagle Claw #630's in size 2 and 4 next time.

You do need some equipment, like a lead melting pot, (I would suggest the Lee production pot), a jig mold (available at Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas, a fly vise and basic fly tying kit (go for a better fly vise with a quick release jaw and rotation option), and a bullet ladle for transferring lead to the mold from the pot. Always work outside with molten lead, preferably on concrete.

The satisfaction comes from catching your first fish on a jig you tied, then your biggest fish. If you check the pictures of fish I have caught and posted pick of, you will see a lot of fish with the jigs pictured above.

Lastly, I add a drop or so of Smelly Jelly Shrimp Oil to the body of the jig.

Hey, anybody see my float??????

If you fished 'em today, you might want to look out at the end of the Jetty somwehere ... made it there in about 45 seconds too

Very nice jigs grasshopper.

Just like an old pro!

I had a few good examples to go from, then went from there, thanks FJ!

Bob, I sure wish I could have gotten out today, but even my zippers were puking mud and whole trees. I was well enough to fish, heck, I went duck hunting with pneumonia before, but I couldn't see dragging a sick little one out there.

I might take my older boy on a trip to the local kid's pond tomorrow, it is freshly stocked! I'll let you know how the jigs did.

Jigs look good. How do you like that fluorocarbon line? I bought one a few years back and the knot would not hold. Lost a few reds before I stopped using it. If I go where I am thinking I should make sure I have a few. So the body is chenile and tail is yarn or wool?

Three key things I do. Wet the knot as you snug it down, and make sure you snug it down with your nail AND put pressure from the mainline and terminal ends as you compress the knot slowly, not a quick jerk. Finally, I leave a longer than normal tag end, usually about 1/4". The fish supposedly can't see it, and if they get close enough to feel it, it s too late.

May be that was my problem. I could feeeeel the knot coming off I still have the spool. I should give it another try. If I loose my 30.1 lbs steely next week ... <img border="0" alt="[eat]" title="" src="graemlins/eat.gif" />

Jig fishing,

I yousto try and get as close to the bottom as possible but I found that its not really that important.

In 8 feet or less I try to be withing 3 feet of the bottom. In bottomless pits I go 5 or 6 feet.

If they want it the fish will come up and instead of loosing 5 or 6 jigs a day I might loose one or none. Havent notticed that I catch less fish either on jigs.

Just curious if you think the paint on the head is better at catching fish or fisherman.
Had a buddy that builds jigs,and catches a lot of fish with them tell me that the paint on the head aint that important.It comes off pretty quik anyhow.
I've cought fish on jigs where there is hardly any paint left on them.Seems to me that the fish will more likely see the tail and body and bite before they see the head.
Just curious about what you guys think about this.
If your making them for yourself your obviously not trying to catch fisherman.