Holiday Tying

My, I need to visit here more often... ;)

Christmas brought me some very nice, new craft fur that I've been experimenting with.  Also, some new Sulky Holoshimmer, Gütermann, and Kreinik threads.  Here are a few recent ties.

Lots of fun. :)

Recent Ties

Some recent hair jig ties.  Used ball heads listed at 1/8 and 1/16 of an ounce with craft fur.

My Favorite Threads

Which do you like to use?  These are the ones that I use most often.

• UTC Ultra Thread - A very good flat-waxed, nylon thread.  Like the situation where a well-fitting suit makes a person look good, it makes a good tyer an even better one and an average tyer seem pretty good.  Best for collared jigs in my opinion.
• Round Nylon - I purchased a box of several spools of old Gudebrod Gude-Wind Nylon thread which I like a lot.  I use it on jigs without collars weighing 1/8 of an ounce or more.
• Trilobal Polyester -  The 40-wt embroidery threads work well for applications involving jigs without collars.  Their color selections rival those of the fly tying thread manufacturers.  Coats & Clark makes very good ones.
• Nylon or Polyester Monofilament - I really don't know why I like it so much.  Monofilament has memory that can sometimes spring its wraps away from a hook shank.  Maintain its tension and it will stay controllable.  I like the clear and smoke-colored ones measuring  0.004 of an inch in diameter.  Coats & Clark makes both types which are readily available at most fabric, craft, and department stores.

Note:

• Rayon is used in decorative sewing thread.  It seems weak to me, so I stay away from it.  Be sure to read the spool's label when choosing a sewing thread to tie jigs. 

Hair Jigs: Crappie.com Jig Swap Submission

Painted some heads and used them to tie these for a crappie jig swap in progress at Crappie.com.

I call each of them a Fireball "Half & Half".  Each measures approximately 2" long.

Materials:

• 1/16-oz. ball head (collared) with a #4 rounded-bend hook.
• White and black acrylic paint for basecoat and eyes.
• Plasti-Kote B27 Orange Glow Enamel.
• Devcon 2T Epoxy for topcoats.
• UTC Ultra Thread (gray brown) - 70 denier.
• White and fawn-colored (cream) craft fur.
• Silver holographic tinsel.

This type of jig might work for Float-N-Fly fishing smallmouth bass if it doesn't work well for crappie.

Plan B Jig & Nothing Fancy Jigs

Tied this one over the weekend. Attempted a chenille body that wasn't going to work, so I broke out some Holoshimmer to finish up.  Here's my "Plan B" jig.

Materials:

• 1/16-oz. minnow head jig with #4 hook.
• Turkey feathers - bright yellow.
• UTC Ultra Thread (olive) - 140 denier.
• Sulky Holoshimmer - sliver metallic.
• White acrylic paint for eyes and basecoat.
• Black acrylic paint for eyes.
• Maybelline Nail Polish for head paint - Go Go Green.
• Devcon 2T Epoxy for topcoat.
• Flymasters (Wapsi) Flashabou Accent - fluorescent chartreuse/pearl.

I've seen so many good-looking jigs being tied lately, that I thought I'd post a couple of dull ones. :) These are my "Nothing Fancy" jigs.



I think that the one to the left might be worth trying on dark, cloudy days. The one to the right might be a little bit too "rusty" (as in...rusty crayfish). Maybe, a brown bass getter?

Both do have a bit of flash in the back end and each weighs 1/16 of an ounce. Hook size is #4.

Insert Heads - Not just for tube baits anymore...

Thought I'd tie up a hair jig for walleye (and largemouth bass) last night.

 
The pattern requires an orange head, purple/violet nylon thread, and violet over orange craft hair. Tied on a 1/4-oz. insert head with 2/0 hook.

Bit O' Everything

Bit O' Everything

Materials:

• 1/16-oz. ball head jig (collared) with #6 hook.
• Fluorescent yellow and lavender craft fur.
• UTC Ultra Thread (70 denier) - red.
• Flymasters (Wapsi) Flashabou Accent - red.
• Revlon Nail Enamel for head paint - deep berry.
• Black and yellow acrylic craft paints for eyes.
• Devcon 2T Epoxy for topcoat.

I catch a little bit of everything on this one.