Useful Tools

Here are a couple of tools that are, maybe, somewhat uncommon among fly and jig tyers.  The first one is a pair of reverse action tweezers.

This tool is useful for picking up googly eyes and then applying them to dumbbell eyes or recessed jig heads, each coated with super glue gel.  It does take a little practice though.  If you can use chopsticks, I think that your learning curve will be short.  Once comfortable with them, you'll find that it is much easier to maneuver the eyes over small areas than to use your fingers to do so.

The next tool is called an offset nail nipper.

I began trimming the unwanted lead from my jigs using a crafter's flush cutter.  Did so for a very long time, until I discovered this tool.  It offers better control of cuts than the flush cutter which has a tendency to pinch and remove more than I really want.  I can cut away burrs and barbs very precisely.  It makes for a better-looking jig head on which to tie.

More Leechy Worms

Tied these for my 10-wt. fly outfit or to fish with a 1/16-oz. bullet sinker pegged to my line.  The one to the left uses Bernat Boa Yarn in a dark mink print pattern.

Tequila Sunrise Leechy Worms

Found a really nice yarn with a "tequila sunrise" color pattern, so I tied these with largemouth bass in mind.

Materials:

• Coats & Clark Trilobal Polyester Thread - electric violet
• Bernat Boa Yarn - parrot
• FlyMasters (Wapsi) Flashabou Accent - red
• Pro-Tec/Harbor Freight Powder Paint Mix - dark purple
• Gamakatsu Weighted Superline EWG Hook 5/0 - 1/8 ounce
• Mason Hard Mono 80-lb. Test

Blue-Headed Grubs

Tied these for bass and walleye.  My neighborhood reservoir has both, so each will be field tested eventually. ;)

Materials:

• Two 1/4-oz. Northland Gum-Ball Jigs with 1/0 red hooks
• Rosey's Powder Coating - safety blue 90% gloss
• Lion Brand Suede Chenille Yarn - ecru
• Tandy Leather Factory Suede Remnants - off white
• Danville Flymaster Plus Thread (140 denier) - white
• Coats & Clark Extra Strong Nylon Upholstery Thread - white
• Black and white acrylic paints for eyes
• DecoArt Triple Thick Gloss Glaze for topcoat

Each jig's total length is approximately 3.5 inches.

Jig Tying - What to buy? The nuts and bolts of it...

I've extracted this information from some of my posts to other fishing sites.  I hope that this basic information will help those with an interest in getting started into jig or fly tying.

What to buy?  The nuts and bolts of it...

Some tying kits can be a waste of money.  Generally, these include a number of materials in very small quantities.  I started back into tying about nine years ago with a very inexpensive kit.  Broke the vise jaws on the fifth fly.  Most of the materials found their way to the bottom of my storage boxes, save some peacock herl and chenille yarn.

Here's the equipment that I'd recommend purchasing just to get started into tying to see if you like it.  Most of these items can be purchased at a drug, department, or craft store, with the exception of the vise, hooks/jig heads, bobbin, and hackle pliers.

• Vise - Get at least an AA, possibly off of eBay.
• Hackle pliers and/or forceps.
• Sally Hansen or Revlon cuticle scissors.
• Thread (40 wt. trilobal polyester) - Stay away from Rayon.
• Tweezers (Kiss RED or Tweezerman).
• Cheap Bobbin - By using the thread I mentioned, you shouldn't suffer many, if any, breakages
• Dubbing needle (Bodkin) - A pith needle from a dissecting kit or a fine point punch will do very well.  This tool can be used for applying glue/polish/cement and for tying head finishing knots like the whip finish.
• Hooks/jig heads.
• Clear nail polish - Used as a thread sealer in place of head cement.

Here is a photo of some items that I use regularly for jig tying.

• Flush cutter (A) - Used to remove jig collars and collar barbs.
• Cuticle scissors (B) - Cuts bulky hairs and fibers. 
• Fine point cuticle scissors (C ) - Cuts fine hairs from a jig or fly held in the vise.
• Forceps (D) - Grips hooks, feathers, and hairs.  A very useful all-around tool.
• Tweezers (E) - Pulls hairs and feather ends from finished flies and jigs for a well-trimmed appearance.
• Styrofoam (F) - Used to hold freshly painted jig heads.

I won't recommend any materials because they will depend on the type of jigs that you wish to tie.  You might go to Fly Anglers OnLine to look at their tutorials for beginners.  It's a very good web site.  They can show you what you'll need for tying, but forget about the suggestion of a bobbin threader.  If threading a bobbin is a problem, I can provide you a trick for that.

And...here it is.

Quarter-Ounce Silvery Jigs

Tied these for moving water and moderate retrieves.  Used a variety of materials.  Several can be obtained from a fabric or craft store.

Materials:

• Two 1/4-oz. Northland Gum-Ball Jigs with 1/0 red hooks
• Darice Craft Fur - silver
• Bernat Boa Eyelash Yarn - blue grey
• Zucker Feather Products Schlappen Feathers (3) - black
• FlyMasters (Wapsi) Schlappen Feather - white
• Coats Metallic Thread (40-wt.) - silver
• Danville Flymaster Plus Thread 140 denier - fl. blue
• Danville Flymaster Plus Thread 140 denier - white
• Rosey's Powder Coating - silver sand metallic

The silver metallic thread forms an abdomen on each of the jigs.  It is hidden behind fur and feathers.

Schlappen Jigs-N-Leathers For Smallmouth Bass

Materials:

• Tandy Leathercraft Premium Leather Remnant - brown
• UTC Ultra Thread 140 denier - rusty brown
• Two 1/8-ounce ball head jigs with #2 black nickel sickle hooks
• FlyMasters (Wapsi) Barred Schlappen - fl. fire orange
• FlyMasters (Wapsi) Strung Rooster Saddle Long - dyed brown/natural
• Gutermann Metallic Thread - copper
• Harbor Freight Powder Paint - red and black 1:1 mixture (plum brown)

Used two schlappen feathers per jig.  One jig has two brown saddles tied in, the other only one.  The copper-colored thread forms the abdomen that precedes the leather tail.