Twin Spin On A Whim

Development mode shifted into high gear today after what has been the coldest and snowiest winter I've had to endure in some time.  Sat down at the bench and decided not to paint any jig heads.  Rather, I wanted to design and tie a spinnerbait, namely a twin spin.

Materials:

• Eagle Claw  249WA-3/0 Weedless Hook
• Yellow craft fur from bolt
• Herrschners Bulky Chenille #5 - purple
• Feathercraft 7/32" Painted Lead Dumbbell Eyes - yellow/black
• Michaels Bright Wonder Beads - fuschia/violet
• Two hammered #1 Colorado blades - gold
• Cousins Basics Coated Beading Wire 0.3mm, 7 strand - silver
• Barrel swivels and split rings (2 of each)
• Bullet Weights 1/8-oz. Rubber Grip Sinker
• Coats & Clark Trilobal Polyester Embroidery Thread 40-wt. - electric violet
• Danville Flymaster Plus Thread (140 denier) - fluorescent yellow

The spinnerbait's arms will bend back when the lure is retrieved.  The entire blade assembly spins beyond the hook bend.  Hopefully, this lure and similar future ties will cast and retrieve well with very light bait casting tackle.  This one is fine for light spinning as is.

Black Neon River Bass Jigs

Tied two pairs of jigs for the smallmouth bass in my local river.  Each features "Merry" eyelash yarn from Premier Yarns.

Materials:

• Harbor Freight Powder Paint - matte black
• Southern Pro Tackle, Inc. Unpainted  Wide Gap Crappie Jig - 1/8 of an ounce
• Orbit Powder Paint (clear) with extra-fine red glitter mixture
• Premier Merry Eyelash Yarn -  red globes, black ice
• Danville Flat Wax Nylon Thread (140 denier) - black
• Darice Craft Fur - black
• Hareline Dubbin, Inc. Crazy Legs - black/red tipped
• Tandy Leather Factory Suede Remnant- black

Lemon-Lime Jigs

Materials:

• Southern Pro Tackle, Inc. Unpainted  Wide Gap Crappie Jig - 1/8 of an ounce
• Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy for topcoat
• Black and white acrylic paints for eyes
• Harbor Freight Powder Paint - red
• Coats & Clark Trilobal Polyester Thread (40-wt.) - electric green, electric yellow
• Colorado blade #1 - silver
• Swivel and small split ring - silver
• Card Basics Coated Beading Wire (7 Strand, 0.3mm) - silver
• Lion Brand Fun Fur - neon green, neon yellow
• Michaels Craft Beads - coated lime
• Tandy Leather Factory Suede Remnant - black

Crawford-Style Bass Minnow Ties - Silver/White/Black

Materials:

• Southern Pro Tackle, Inc. Unpainted  Wide Gap Crappie Jig - 1/8 of an ounce
• Original Buffalo Hay 'Hay-Lites' - black
• Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy for topcoat
• Black and white acrylic paints for eyes
• Rosey's Powder Coating - silver sand metallic
• Gudebrod 6/0 BCS Thread - black
• Mangelsen's Craft Fur - silver and white
• Two chinchilla grizzly hackles (one per side)
• Two white saddle hackles (one per side)
• Danville Flat Waxed Nylon Thread (210 denier) - black

 Each jig is designed with a reverse countershading pattern.

The Binkelman Jig - My Version

A jig produced by Gapen's back in the 1970s.  This is my version of the red-tailed chub.  Its name is a bit of a misnomer, as it would appear that the red fur is attached to the collar (or throat) of the jig.  To me, this wasn't exactly a fun tie.  Wrapping and trimming folds of Mylar (Flashabou) around the circumference of its collar became tedious to me.

Materials:

• Silver Flashabou or Christmas tinsel
• Westrim Craft Fur - red
• Blue craft fur with silver flash from a bolt (Jo Ann Fabrics)
• Two chinchilla grizzly hackles (one per side)
• Gudebrod 6/0 BCS Thread - black
• Danville Flymaster Plus Thread (140 denier) - blue
• Black and white acrylic paints for eyes
• Harbor Freight Powder Paint - red
• Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy for topcoat
• Southern Pro Tackle, Inc. Unpainted  Wide Gap Crappie Jig - 1/8 of an ounce

Kelly Craws

My latest Crawford-style jigs.  Each weighs about 1/8 of an ounce and has an approximated 1/0 hook gap.

Materials:

•  Darice Craft Fur - kelly green and brown
•  Black and white acrylic paints for eyes
•  Harbor Freight Powder Paint Mixture - black/red (1:1 ratio)
•  UNI Thread 6/0 - dk. brown
•  Orbit Clear Powder Paint mixed with emerald green glitter (extra fine)
•  Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy for topcoat
•  Barred saddle hackles - green and brown (2 of each)
•  Original Buffalo Hay 'Hay-Lites' - orange
•  Southern Pro Tackle, Inc. Unpainted  Wide Gap Crappie Jigs - 1/8 of an ounce

'Hay-Lites' is a decorative product that I've substituted for Flashabou. It's comprised of 100 percent polyester, so it's a Mylar film.  Looks great on the vise.  I sure hope it looks and moves well under water.  The wide gap jigs are new to me as well.  Scorpion tails with stingers! :)

Float-N-Fly Minnows

Tied a group of float-n-fly minnows this week.  I plan to fish them in the local river this winter.

My favorite sage green craft fur forms the back of each jig.  Barred-brown, grayish-white, and sparkling-tan fur comprises the bellies.  Pearl, pearl red, or fluorescent fire orange krystal flash adds sparkle laterally along the sides of the jigs.

I wanted natural-looking minnows, so chose subdued colors with somewhat earthen tones.  All jigs are tied on 1/16-ounce ball head jigs with #4 black nickel sickle hooks.