Just joined forum and am looking for advice on how to make bead bodied steelhead jigs. Trip to Situk River in Yakutat AK past April showed them to be best way to catch some pretty nice steelhead. Using Gamakatsu hooks and have several dozen round head jigs poured. Going to use powder paint and marabou or rabbit. Haven't figured out how to get 5-6mm beads on the shank. Have considered drilling out hole, but if there is easier way would sure appreciate hearing it. All advice greatly welcomed!
Hawkeye

start by clippling the barb

Hawkeye, I sent you a PM on this subject.

There was a very detailed artilce on the subject, with lot of pictures, in STS about a year ago. Maybe your library has back issues?`

Dave: You need to get out more often. Just saw the hatchery fish you're holding in your pink worm article in this December's STS. I've seen bigger fish split down the middle and tied to a K-15.

Nick mentioned it might of been a hand-off as well.

Hawkeye - Here is the best description for tying steelhead jigs that I've ever seen. It's on the IFish BB under the "Tips" section. It's by Willow Drifter and it's called Tying Steelhead Jigs (or something like that...). There are lots of great pictures. The person who wrote it really knows his/her stuff.

The link is:

http://www.ifish.net/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=513553&page=2&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Good luck.

By the way, don't feel bad if you can't get your jigs to look like Willow Drifters. I can't either.

Those jigs are awesome.

How cost effective is it to tie up your own jigs?

Aaron

Aaron-- First, are you related to Terry from Shelton?

Second, if you discount the cost of the melting device and tools, you can pour/tie jigs for less than a dime. If you opt for high-quality hooks, you can tie a jig for less than a quarter-- a lot less.

Keith

No. As far as I know, I'm not related to Terry.

Wow, that's a huge savings! Is there any place in particular you recommend for materials - hooks, jig heads, maribou, chenelle, etc.

Aaron

Sol:


I haven’t seen the article yet, but suspect Nick maybe getting even for some stuff I did to him. A few years ago I used a photo of him with a three-pound steelhead and a caption saying it was the biggest steelhead he ever caught. It ran that way.

Bill and I have also sneaked in some pretty unusual, even obscene, stuff in our articles just to se if we could get them past Nick. Maybe it's pay back time.

I think the ol' boy got ya, Dave.

And I'm just havin' fun with ya to.

Aaron-- While I haven't tied many steelhead jigs (just starting), I've cast thousands of leadheads for walleyes and bass, and I've been a fly tier for decades.

Many of the materials you want to use are to be found in fly shops, that's also probably the most expensive place. For jig hooks, you'll probably want to shop the internet-- Cabela's comes to mind-- and that source can provide you with other materials as well.

However, a lot of what you'll want, notably chenille and marabou, can be had in craft stores such as JoAnn's, the craft section of WalMart, and other places. The savings are significant; for instance, I just bought a pack of four colors of chenille for $2 that would have cost something like $12 in a fly shop. The caveat is that many of these stores won't have the colors (or materials) you're wanting when you want them. Craft stores can be a hit-and-miss proposition.
Another option is to head for someplace like Sportsman's Warehouse and check out the fly section there. You can usually find jig heads in the store as well, but the cost of those is generally higher than what I said earlier. While you are shopping take a look at Jack's Jigs... they don't cast heads but use a lead barbell for the head. The lead barbells can be had in fly shops in a lot of different weights.

Just be aware that tying, whether it's flies or jigs, can be addictive. But it's a rewarding hobby and one that can keep you occupied when the rivers are out.

Have fun,

Keith

Keith,

Thanks for the great info! I wouldn't have thought to go to a crafts store for some of that stuff.

Aaron