Float-N-Fly Jig Experiments

Created a bunch of Tulip Paint Eyes for jig heads recently and am working on fashioning a tool to remove adhered eyes from surfaces.  A razor blade buries into and damages surfaces whenever I use it.   The tool should remove the eyes without cutting into a surface or deforming the eye.

Here are some float-n-fly jigs that I created.  Their heads have Tulip Paint Eyes created for my tool tests.  They're about to become stocking stuffers for Christmas gift giving.

All are tied with craft fur available at most big box fabric and hobby stores on 1/16-oz. minnow heads. Each has a #4 hook.

So, It's Been A While Since I've Posted...

Thought I'd review a post I'd made back in 2013.  It covers a couple of useful tools for jig making.  I cannot overemphasize the usefulness of  the offset nail nipper.  It trims the flashing surrounding the line tie (eyelet) with great precision, even on tinier jigs weighing 1/32 and 1/64 of an ounce.

Useful Tools

The reverse action tweezers work well for removing tulip paint eyes from various surfaces.  Though, lately I've found a good pair of pointed-slant tweezers by Revlon that work as well or better.

I finished adding eyes and top-coating about ten jigs for float-n-flies.  Hope to tie them up very soon with photos of them to come.

An Alternate Use Of A Hair Stacker For Jig Tying

Hair stackers are used to even the tips of hair cut from hides or swatches.  That is their traditional use.  I'd like to explain how it can be used to align more than hair.  It works well for cuts of icicles (Christmas tinsel) too.

Simply load your icicles into the end of the fluted tube that's been inserted into the stacker.  Tap the base of the stacker on top of a tabletop or similar platform, then let it rest.  Pinch the protruding icicles between your fingers and make a horizontal cut, much like a Barber would do with your hair, to reduce its length.  If you've made your cut along the top of the shortest icicle, then you are ready to take your pinch and tie the icicles onto your jig.  Otherwise, give your pinch a little shake to remove shorter pieces.  This, by the way, is a great way to use suitable scraps of icicle cuts that would normally be discarded.

An example of a spider jig made from icicles appears to the left of the scissors in the photo.

V-Formation Jigs

Tied each of these using two schlappen feathers ahead of a chenille abdomen and suede leather tail.  They have the color combination of black, coral, orange, and emerald green flake.  I hope that they will catch a couple of bass or maybe a steelhead.

Materials:

• Coats & Clark Trilobal Polyester Machine Embroidery Thread 40-wt. - coral
• Eagle Claw 1/8 Ball Head Jig JB0018U
• Rosey's Powder Paint - mandarin orange
• Harbor Freight Powder Paint - matte black
• Rosey's Clear Coat High Gloss 100% mixed with emerald green extra-fine glitter
• Tulip Puffy Paint - green glitter
• Tandy Leather Factory Suede Remnant - black
• Lion Brand 'Lion Suede' Yarn - ebony
• Flymasters (WAPSI) Barred Schlappen - fl. fire orange
• Clear nail polish

I may add some pieces of Darice Craft Foam to the tails for flotation to help with tail movement in the water.  If so, I'll glue them to the tails with E6000 Craft Adhesive.

Safety Pin Spinners

Put together several spinnerbaits using the various components required to assemble jig spinners as well as tying up several 1/4-ounce jigs. I selected hammered #3 Colorado blades, split rings, and safety pin shafts.  Painted my jig heads with a pearlescent white powder, followed by a dip into a silver glitter and clear topcoat mixture.  Used Christmas tinsel again for bodies and skirts.

Currently, I have an older baitcasting reel that I'm 'souping up' to cast them with along the local river.  This isn't a popular style of spinnerbait, that I can tell, among bass fisherman.  However, I fully plan to do some field testing in order to make my own determination of its effectiveness.

Fun stuff! :)

More Ties From Tinsel

I find it interesting that more jigs aren't tied with nothing but tinsel.  Would think that pike and trout would hammer them.  Here are a few more, some featuring multi-colored Christmas tinsel, tied in a variety of configurations.  I've added a safety pin spinner to several of them which might make them a bit more enticing.

I think that it's important to note that Uni Thread works exceptionally well for tying tinsel securely around a jig collar.

Flashy Jigs For White Bass

This jig style is one of the simplest that I can tie.  The jigs pictured below have an appearance similar to the spider jigs used for black bass fishing.  Their skirt material is plastic, rather than silicone, and very shiny.  These should be fished rather quickly with rapid twitches near the water's surface for schooling white bass.

Materials:

• Round head jigs in 1/16 and 1/8-ounce sizes with #4 sickle and #2 Aberdeen hooks, respectively
• Rosey's Powder Paint - silver sand metallic
• Rosey's Powder Paint Topcoat (Clear Coat High Gloss 100%) and red glitter mixture
• UTC Ultra Thread (210 denier) - red
• Icicles (18 inch) trimmed to size - silver

Look Ma, No Thread!

Try using a zip tie to secure material around a jig collar some time.  The jig below has its leather tail tied in with thread.  However, the body material (Hay-Lites Buffalo Hay) is secured with a zip (often called cable) tie.  I got the idea from this fine article, Fishing Jig Making - Without Expensive Moulds?.

It worked fairly simply.  I kept the body material in place, temporarily, with a twist tie, the type you get with a loaf of bread.  Rubbed a little beeswax along the inside of the zip tie.  Once I wrapped and firmly secured the material with this zip tie, I simply removed the twist tie.  Clip the tag end off of the zip tie and you are ready to fish the jig.

See if this method won't work for you.

Lessons Learned

I would like to make a couple of points pertaining to jig head appearance.  First, when designing jig eyes with Tulip Fabric Paint, use their Slick product.  The eyes in the photo are made with a combination of Puffy and Slick paints.  When Puffy paint is used as the basis of the eye (not the pupil), it results in a thick eye that does not adhere well to the head.  Hence, it doesn't form around it very well, leaving gaps.  Always use Slick paint as your basis.  Puffy paint can be used for pupils in a pinch as long as you don't mind its thickness.

Secondly, be careful to keep your epoxy topcoat away from the jig eyelet (line tie).  Both jigs above required a poke with a hobby awl to open their eyelets that were coated with epoxy.  This resulted in damage to the finish atop the jig head.  Just something to think about if you worry about appearance.  Should this happen again, I believe I'll use a micro drill to clear the eyelet(s).

Well, I think I'll fish them anyway... :)

Alpaca Ties

A few hair jigs tied with alpaca wool.  The wool is incredibly soft and fine with good length.  Hair fibers are hollow which make them buoyant.

There is chance that I'll be dying some of the white wool to create several different colors in the future.  So, stay tuned...

Beavertail Leeches

Materials:

• Wet-N-Wild Fantasy Makers Nail Polish - black/noir
• Lion Brand Yarn 'Lion Suede' - ebony
• Danville's Flat Waxed Nylon Thread (140 denier) - black
• Caron Glimmer Yarn - black
• Tulip Slick Designer Fabric Paints - black and fluorescent yellow
• Tulip Glow Designer Fabric Paint - natural glow
• Tulip Puffy Paint - silver
• Devcon 2 Ton 30-Minute Epoxy
• Lead Free Jigs Hooksup Jig - custom head weighing 1/11 of an ounce with a #2 hook
• Tandy Leather Factory Suede Remnant- black
• Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish - clear

Lion's Mane Jig And A Leather-Legged Bottom-Walking Brownie

Materials:

• Milani Nail Lacquer #35 (Brown-A-Licious) or Cover Girl Continuous Color 3-in-1 Nail Polish 36M (Autumn Flame)
• Lion Brand Yarn 'Lion Suede' - coffee
• FlyMasters (Wapsi) Barred Schlappen - fl. fire orange
• UTC Ultra Thread 140 denier - rusty brown
• Tulip Slick Designer Fabric Paints - black and fluorescent yellow
• Devcon 2 Ton 30-Minute Epoxy
• Lead Free Jigs Hooksup Jig - custom head weighing 1/9 of an ounce with a 1/0 hook
• Tandy Leather Factory Premium Leather Remnant - pebbled brown
• The Beadery Suede Lace - brown
• Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish - clear

The Canyon Devil-Tailed Jig

The 'devil' is in the details.  Used scissor-cut suede lace for the legs on this jig.  Two foam pieces provide flotation at the point of the tail.

Materials:

• Milani Nail Lacquer #35 (Brown-A-Licious) or Cover Girl Continuous Color 3-in-1 Nail Polish 36M (Autumn Flame)
• Lion Brand Yarn 'Lion Suede Prints' - canyon
• UTC Ultra Thread 140 denier - rusty brown
• Tulip Slick Designer Fabric Paints - black and fluorescent yellow
• Devcon 2 Ton 30-Minute Epoxy
• Lead Free Jigs Hooksup Jig - custom head weighing 1/9 of an ounce with a 1/0 hook
• Tandy Leather Factory Premium Leather Remnant - pebbled brown
• The Beadery Suede Lace - brown
• E6000 Adhesive
• Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish - clear
• Darice 'Foamies' Foam Sheet (2mm) - brown