Hair today gone Tomorrow

Hey you hair jig experts out there, I need your help …

I think I’m off to a shaky start. I saw someone tying

hair jigs at the walleye expo at Canterbury last

month and thought I’d give it shot. I bought some

bucktail, thread and a bobbin (sp) and thought I’d give it a whirl.

After answering my teenage daughter’s question regarding

the “thing laying on the table” was a piece of deer tail and grossing her out and telling my wife that the nice shiny sissors on the table full of deer hair was hers (ya, the one she uses to cut food with), I managed to hack out a somewhat respectable replica of a hair jig. (I actually had time to tie two). The only fitting finish to such a fine virgin effort and experience (It took me ten minutes to clean the hair off the floor under the watchfull eye of my beloved) would be to tie it on some flimsy mono and get it stuck on a rock.

Someone, I’m sure has some 1.2.3 tips to make this an easier task. I’m up for tying them when my wife is gone from the house, but I gotta keep my wife. At my age, nobody else would have me. I asked my daughter for some of her glitter nail polish to finish off the wraps and seal the knot and I got that look again. I think she thinks I’m going off the deep end.

What are your tips for “tieing hair jigs”?

I could also use some advice on where I could buy a nice pair of sissors, I guess her pair is mine now.

thanks

Use of the wife’s assets in fishing related endevours is always a touchy subject at best… hope you have an insulated doghouse with a furnace of some kind.

I ended up getting my own pair of ‘meat scissors’ just for fishing. I keep them in my tacke box and no longer carry a knife. They’re large, stainless, and have a notch in the bottom blade for fast bone-breaking effort. They work great for cutting bait, tag ends, yadda yadda. Kitchen Works or some similair store should have a good set.

For jig tying, practice makes perfect. Head to the ‘brary and check out some books on fly-tying. All the same rules apply, and typically jigs are a lot less complex. A jig is basically a streamer with a weighted head. I’ve been tying on and off for about 14 years now, and the only thing that I can tell you is that practice is number one way to improve your tying. Invest in a tying vice – a decent one costs about $20 and will last forever if you don’t lose it.

The two most helpful tips I could offer here would be:

1. Double wrap the shank with thread before you start applying material.

2. Add the bucktail/marabou/whatever a little at a time, trying to do it all at once will turn into a nightmare. Hold some on the shank with your fingers and loose-loop twice, then pull tight to keep it from twisting around the hook.

Don’t get too frustrated. 10 minutes doesn’t sound like that much time to me. Tying isn’t something you do because it’s cheaper, faster, or easier than buying. I started because there’s times when I just can’t be out fishing and didn’t like rotting my noggin in front of the TV. I kept it up because I could experiment and generate franken-jigs that no respectable bait company would ever put out.

a couple of things that may help you in your “hairjig” tying ventures.first off a good vice like Gianni mentioned,secondly small pointed manicuring sissors are just the ticket for “fine” work in tight spots or close trimming.You can either tie hair on a ball collar (more bulk”) or directly to the shank of the hook. on the ball collar a couple wraps and half hitches will anchor your thread (which should be “A” size) If you want a more streamlined hairjig, tie a couple wraps up and down the hook shank where the hair will connect Now comes the important part:select your color of hair , gather the hair between your thumb and forefinger, keep the amount of hair you use sparse,after cutting it off the deertail put it next to the jig in your vise, compare the length of your jig hook to the length of the hair you’ve cut if the hair exceeds the back of the hook bend by more than 11/2″ than trim the hair before applying, however (trim from the side you cut off the tail not the natural looking different length of hairs side)after trimming your ready to place the hair on the shank ,with the hair still in between your thumb and forefinger place on the shank give approx. 5-6 loose wraps enough to keep hair in place, then with thumb &forefinger gently roll hair back and forth on the shank this will even out your hair so its not all bunched on one side of the jig, after the results are to your liking, wrap the hair w/ maybe 20-30 turns. Then if your so inclined and want to dress up the jig a bit add approx. 10-12 strands of contrasting (flashabou) example: blackhair -elec. blue flashabou.Follow the same procedure for evening out the (flash) as you did with the hair ,then wrap,tie your half hitches 2-3 and cut thread from bobbin.If all looks well you should have a sparse ,natural looking, contrasted jig. now a drop of super-glue where you finished your half hitches will do the trick. now you’re ready to (field test)..sorry for the long orientation. LOL mike”hairjig” mulqueen

Just a thought, but someone should get some digi pics of Hairjig doing his magic. It sounds like he can walk the walk! It would make a nice EFN article.

Tuck

Tuck, I already ran the same idea past James and Hougie about doin’ a series of mpegs going through the steps of tying a jig. It’s alot easier to comprehend when you can see it in action. It’s actually really easy after you practice on about 1,000 of them.

Beav

Maybe a 1001 just to be sure you’ve got it right!! hairjig

I first started out with nylon thread and no vise, it worked but it took more time. I now use waxed thread, a vise, and a bobbin. My best advice is to put your jig in the vise, put a small amount of head cement on the collar and then make two or three wraps that cross each other about 1/8 of an inch from the head. Cut the hair that you need, less is better than too much. Put it up next to the head and put 2 or 3 loose wraps around that. Then spread the hair all the way around the collar and finish with how many wraps you need to make it look good and hold the hair. There is no easy way to explain this. It takes practice,practice,practice,practice, and more practice. Good Luck!!!!

How I remember the early days when I started tying my own jigs. The great expectations I use to have until the bucktail worked loose. Live and learn. I think thats a great idea to have a jig tying article for people to learn how its done. It would surely add to the other educational information on this site.

There is no better feeling then catching a big old eye on a jig u made all by yourself…

Some really great tips. If I could add my 2 cents worth I would advise to trim the hair everytime after cutting from the tail. I like to make sure that the hair is as square cut as possible for a better fit near the jig head. Another note and this can get alittle picky for a beginner is to search for the softer hair on the tail until one is more proficent at tying these things. Some hair is unmanageable as it is to large in diameter and very stiff. Also I would use a larger thread to get started. I also put a small drop of clear finger nail polish on the thread when first wrapped to the shank. It sets up while I am cutting my bucktail and helps to anchor the thread to the shank. Also another tip to help in the boat is to clean the hook eye so you don’t have to do it in the boat. Much better to do it in the comfort of home than when the fish are biting on those beauitful creations !!! One last note I bought a small sissors made by Fishcars really works on cutting bucktail and stays sharp.

Thanks guys. Some real nice advice. I’m going to Cabelas or Gander Mountain for some “equipment” and give it a go again. I’ll post a picture and ya can tell me how I did. Thanks again ….

I started to tie hair jigs last year and got a bit carried away. I think I created some of the ugliest hair jigs the fish have ever seen. Some of my jigs actually sacred smaller fish away, but the bigger fish attacked them out of fear for their own lives:) How about an ugly hair jig contest — we could all submit pictures of our ugliest home made jig and vote on them? Cabin fever must be at it’s all time high!

Dave Gulczinski

If you want to tip your jigs with minnows, leave the hair short enough for the minnow to be visible. Tie on a jighead with a collar to open up a ‘hole’ for the minnow to lay in.

Bare hair jigs should be tied on the shank of the hook and should resemble a streamer fly.

See attachment. Beav

Cabelas has all the suplies you need for tying jigs or streamers,and the personel they have will answer all your ???? s Have someone show you how and what, to get you on the right track

Hey Guy’s, Here’s my tips:

Use a jig with a coller.

Use a jig vise.

use a bobbin.

I use mine mostly for crappies with a tiny jighead and oversized hook. Deer hair is hollow so you can make a slow falling bulky jig. Instead of just butting the hair up against the jig for a straight jig, I overlap the jighead and do a couple loose wraps then cinch it down. It kind of makes another head that you trim up round like a porcipine?

I mean the front hair is perpendicular (90 deg.) to the jig and the back hair sticks out like normal. like this )))))((0 where the ) is the tail and the ( is just behind the head 0.

I’ll see if I can get a pic of it. A Pic is worth 1000 words.

Lastly I just use black normal sewing thread and don’t bother with sealing the wrap. The only time you have a problem is when your catching lots of fish and thats a good problem!

Oh yeah if you use your own buck tail make sure and shampoo it to get the oil off of it that seemed to work the best for me. Gander Mtn. and Galyons have colored buck tails also.

#1 tip for you is do it down stairs or in the garage so your family isn’t upset.

Good Luck,

Ferny.

If you have a reputable fly fishing shop in the area check with them. I know when I see a fly I like, I buy one for pattern and then if can not figure out how to tie, I go to local shop and the owners usually are more than happy to show you how to tie it. Plus when I am there I buy some supplies to “pay” for their advice. What about hair stackers men, didnt see mention of this tool. I “stack” my hair so the ends all line up, pull out of stacker then trim butt ends so that they are squared and easier to start the tieing procedure. Good vice, thompsons AA bout $20 bucks, i use waxed mono thread, and a good bobbin. I have about 6 bobbins with diff color thread so I dont have to mess with switching threads…worth the few bucks apiece for less hassle. PM if you have ?, but some qualified “tiers” here on the board.

alls i gotta say is it took me alot of PRACTICE to get my bucktails to look nice and neat but hey i kinda like the slopy look.. i think it gives it a more natural look well just keep practicing and you will get better and you will see the difference

I couldn’t agree more. Who’s heard of a “bug” with a comb in his back pocket? I got my vise this past weekend at Gander. The roads were too slick to run down to Cabelas. I think I’m all set. I’ve seen allot of different colors of thread out there. Is there a “preferred” type for hair (like a little extra tough) so it doesn’t break off in the bobbin when you wrap it?

well idk i have that problem some times with the thread breakin of the bobin.um when i try i have two colors of thread black and yellow. black for the darker colors and yellow for the lighter colors. i don’t really try to match the color of thread to the hair. i don’t think it really makes a difference…