Marabou Jigs!

[bigjim5589]

The latest jigs I've tied have been some 2" long, 3/16 & 1/4 oz. black marabou jigs. Pill head, with a VMC 2/0 Black Nickel Barbarian hook. The heads are powder coated black, with red/black holographic eyes, all with a coat of epoxy to make sure the eyes stay in place. Tied with fluorescent blue thread. There's some strands of Electric Blue & Pearl flash in there as well. 

[Lipripper]

Nice looking jigs Jim. As always 

[coldfront]

jim,
have you seen this?  sculpin toad

[bigjim5589]

jim,
have you seen this?  sculpin toad

Yep, I have!

[Oldfart9999]

Those look great as usual Jim!!!
Rodney

[bigjim5589]

Thanks guys for the compliments! 

[OkobojiEagle]

There's been a lot of interest in marabou jigs lately.  I've got a couple questions about your's.  How many marabou plumes are you using per jig.  It appears to me you are tying in the entire plume as opposed to stripping then layering the barbs.  Am I correct?

oe

[bigjim5589]

There's been a lot of interest in marabou jigs lately.  I've got a couple questions about your's.  How many marabou plumes are you using per jig.  It appears to me you are tying in the entire plume as opposed to stripping then layering the barbs.  Am I correct?

oe

I usually tie in the entire plume, because these are rather large jigs, some in the 4" length range. How many I use depends on the plume and how I want the jig to look. I also pick thru the plumes to get a certain quality because they're not all the same. I often buy the marabou by the pound. I will strip the fibers from the stems too if it serves my purposes. That works well on small jigs, such as used for Crappies.

I have also wrapped the plumes, or tied in a combination of full plumes & wrapped. Again, all depends on what look I'm trying to get. I have seen some of the mass produced jigs, and they're probably being tied offshore or in Mexico or some place like that. Nothing wrong with that, as some of those tyers ( mostly women) do a fine job. However, they're not anglers. They tie the jigs how they're told. I take mine to another level, and I know others who do the same.

Most of this tying is not anything special. It's fairly easy to do, but it's not simply lashing materials to a hook or jig head in just any manner either. I've been tying a long time & do what has worked well for me. 

[OkobojiEagle]

I usually tie in the entire plume, because these are rather large jigs, some in the 4" length range. How many I use depends on the plume and how I want the jig to look. I also pick thru the plumes to get a certain quality because they're not all the same. I often buy the marabou by the pound. I will strip the fibers from the stems too if it serves my purposes. That works well on small jigs, such as used for Crappies.

I have also wrapped the plumes, or tied in a combination of full plumes & wrapped. Again, all depends on what look I'm trying to get. I have seen some of the mass produced jigs, and they're probably being tied offshore or in Mexico or some place like that. Nothing wrong with that, as some of those tyers ( mostly women) do a fine job. However, they're not anglers. They tie the jigs how they're told. I take mine to another level, and I know others who do the same.

Most of this tying is not anything special. It's fairly easy to do, but it's not simply lashing materials to a hook or jig head in just any manner either. I've been tying a long time & do what has worked well for me. 

I agree, finding good marabou with full webby plumes is getting very difficult.  More of it is being used in the apparel industry.  In some cases I've substituted rabbit zonkers as tail material.  In fact, I probably use more rabbit pelt than marabou in bass jig patterns.

oe

[bigjim5589]

I agree, finding good marabou with full webby plumes is getting very difficult.  More of it is being used in the apparel industry.  In some cases I've substituted rabbit zonkers as tail material.  In fact, I probably use more rabbit pelt than marabou in bass jig patterns.

oe

I also tie often with rabbit strips and a few other fur strips. They all have there place. I buy the full hides when I can get them at reasonable prices and cut the strips myself. That way I can cut them to fit whatever I'm tying at the time. I buy the packaged strips too, but prefer the full skins.

It may be that the quality of marabou is a result of changing practices with the poultry industry, since the marabou comes from domestic turkeys. Just as changing practices made pork skins unsuitable for producing the pork rind baits. I don't know that to be fact, but certainly possible.

I also tie often with coyote & fox tail hair & the fur. I prefer the natural materials. Fortunately for now, there is a good supply, but that may change. The trapping/fur industry has not been good and this virus situation in China and other places now, has really hurt. China buys a huge part of what's available and they're not buying from what I've read. If it continues and folks give up trapping, or fur farming, it's going to have a negative affect on fly & jig tying supplies for those of us who still use these materials. 

[OkobojiEagle]

I tie for my own use smallmouth and walleye fishing, although plenty of other species share my offerings.  What species are you tying for and how often do you have your jigs tied on.  My jigs share duty with 3" - 4" plastics year 'round.  I usually have 6- 8 different hair jigs or "frankenstein" hair combo jigs in my bag.

oe

[bigjim5589]

I tie for my own use smallmouth and walleye fishing, although plenty of other species share my offerings.  What species are you tying for and how often do you have your jigs tied on.  My jigs share duty with 3" - 4" plastics year 'round.  I usually have 6- 8 different hair jigs or "frankenstein" hair combo jigs in my bag.

oe

I fish for LM bass, Striped bass and panfish primarily. I love SM bass but none near me now. I'll get to the coast sometimes and tie jigs for saltwater too. I've also been supplying several tournament guys with jigs, both bass & walleye anglers. I make some Crappie jigs too, but have been making more for bass than anything else. I think most of those guys are targeting SM bass. The Shad will be here soon and I hope to make some shad dart jigs for chasing them too this year. I use plastics too and have jigs for them.

I pour most of the jigs that I use, many styles & different types of hooks. So, can make jigs for most any fish species I want to chase.  At last count I have 338 molds and jig molds that will pour from 1/100 oz up to 20 oz. I love making tackle! 

[OkobojiEagle]

I've never had a desire to mold my own heads as I only use a couple dozen each year.  I use only 3 or 4 styles and I want most of them to be just a tad lighter than 1/8 oz.  Weight and how they fall/glide through the water column is more important to me than how the head looks. 

My preference is to buy zonkers already cut and packaged.  I do own whole pelts and do occasionally cut my own strips, but pre-cut strips are much more uniform and easier than hacking up the pelts with an exacto knife.

oe

[bigjim5589]

I think everyone who ties has their preferences. I used to do a lot of hunting & trapping, and obtained some materials from that, so cutting up the hides wasn't a big deal. It was usually the damaged hides that got cut up. I've even tanned some hides in the past, but that's very involved and expensive, so now if I want to make strips, I buy the tanned hides.

When I buy full hides now, I get what they call craft grades. They sometimes have some damage or thin spots or whatever causes them to be graded that way, so again cutting them up to use for tying isn't a concern. What can't be used for strips is used for other tying purposes, so I don't have much waste. I tie enough different things, flies or jigs, that I can use all of it.

I've cut strips enough times that I can get them how I need them too. Just as with fishing, you develop a process that works and stick with it once you figure out what works.

A lot of the jig heads now are more for the angler than the fish, that's for sure. They're still just a chunk of metal on a hook. Seems too that every year something new becomes available. No different than many plastic baits now too. Many are tweaks of older designs, except jig head designs may not make them any better for fishing. However, there's the confidence factor, and some of that may come from how they look to the angler.

I enjoy all of the process of making them and just like tying flies, there's a bit of the artistic side to it also. I know others who make jigs and they get real fancy with air brushing the paint, and some even have had molds made with a lot of detail in the jighead. It's art as much as it is for fishing. There's some guys around who do some awesome powder paint designs.

I haven't taken it that far, and just stick to basic paint. I agree with you, there are other things that are more important.