Camera Test - More Chart Toppers and a Bass Jig

I purchased a new camera recently.  It's an inexpensive German-made device with 12 MP resolution.  Thought I'd try it out and post a photo of more of my favorite crappie jigs to tie.  I hope that you're not tired of seeing these. ;)

The center jig is a 1/8-ounce bass jig that I tie.  It's a typical chenille-bodied jig with an eyelash yarn tail.  Its profile is designed to be similar to a 2.5-inch plastic tube jig that might be fished for bass.

The "Chart Toppers" weigh about 1/16 of an ounce and have #4 hooks.

My Latest Chart Toppers

Chart Topper

Materials:

• 1/16-ounce ball head jig with #4 rounded-bend hook.
• Fl. yellow and limetreuse craft fur.
• Flat-waxed Nylon thread, 70 denier - fl. fire orange.
• White, black, and orange acrylic paint.
• Yl. chartreuse nail polish.
• Clear nail polish.
• Fl. chartreuse/pearl flashabou accent.
• Two-part epoxy topcoat.

Eyelets to be drilled out before fishing them.

Brush Clean Up After Epoxy Coating Jig Heads

I use two-part epoxy to coat jig heads quite frequently.  My glue brush requires immediate cleaning in order to avoid stiffness from leftover glue.  So, I add isopropyl alcohol (91%) to an empty glass jar and work the fluid into the brush bristles immediately after I finish coating my jigs.  Then, I rinse the brush in hot water to remove any residual glue from the bristles.

Try this sometime to see if it works for you.  Your brush bristles should remain soft, flexible, and last much longer.

Bass Kreatures

Tied a few bass kreatures recently while experimenting with different combinations of hair and chenille.  Silicone skirt tabs are new to my style of tying, as are football head jigs.

A fun way to spend cold winter evenings.

Wool

Tied a couple of jigs with natural wool.  The blue backs are formed with streamer hair, which is Icelandic sheep wool.  The white bellies are tied with lamb's wool.  To me, this is a good-looking material combination.  I hope that the fish like it too.

Materials:

• One-sixteenth ounce ball head jigs with #4 VMC rounded-bend hooks.
• UTC Ultra Thread (white) - 140 denier.
• Saltwater blue streamer hair.
• White lamb's wool.
• Copenhagen blue acrylic paint.
• Black and white acrylic paint for jig eyes.
• Two-part epoxy for clearcoat.
• Krystal Flash - light blue/pearl.

A note on wool.  It absorbs water, which makes the wet material weight a concern to fly fishermen.  Not so for jig fishermen.  The heavier, the better for casting purposes.

Holoshimmer

It's one nifty little film/thread.  Try it sometime to make thread-bodied jigs.

It really provides a nice body look and shimmering colors.  The colors used above are copper and fuschia, I believe.

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. :)