Best Jig Head for a Hair Jig
Looking to start tying up my own hair jigs... anyone have any experience in this and which would be best? Looking for both small and large heads for both presentations... Pointers? Tips? Known effective heads? Not looking to get into pouring myself. Don't have the time. If anyone pours, would be willing to place an order.
I only tie small deer or marabou jigs for smallmouth. For the deer hair I use a mushroom head jig. I think it’s called the worm a jig mold from Do It and for marabou I like the walleye jig mold because I typically swim that style of jig. I am a total amateur at tying hair jigs but they work well for me. The tackle making pros will be along shortly for some real advice. Good luck. Winter time is my time to stock up and make stuff for the next season
I always used a plain old ball head jig for my hair jigs.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
My favorite head for hair is the teardrop.
I use a 1/8oz football jig with a 1/16" weedguard.
Allen
That's a question that can't easily be answered. How the jig is going to be fished and the cover it will be fished around will play a part in choosing a head style and weight. A jighead that balances nearly level from the eye works well for swimming a hair jig. Dragging the jig along bottom would be better built on a football head, or at least a ball-head sporting a 60 degree line tie. The tear-drop is a good multi-purpose head, but not "the best" for any single condition. Fishing self-made hair jigs is fun, but requires time and experimentation to determine what works for you. I've tied and fished hair/hare for many, many seasons and am still "fine tuning" what works for me. (I'm anxious to read what other tiers post.)
oe
Are you talking about a maribou hair jig typically used for smallmouth (Feider Fly) or a big preacher jig?
Both...Originally Posted by M1RT
This all stems from frustration... paying $5+ for silicone or living rubber jigs and not getting the colors or specs right drove me to tying my own. I've always held back from purchasing preacher jigs because again, it's hard to commit to paying $10-$15 on a bait that has a good possibility of getting lost on bottom. Once I committed to tying my own skirted football/pitching jigs, I realized I can very easily start tying my own maribou, buck tail and preacher jigs...
I use to tie my own flies when I lived in Alaska and found it extremely satisfying. Moved down to lower 48 and started bass fishing so put it all away for years... breaking it all out to get back at it... just not sure which heads to mess with (mainly for preacher jigs)
Bass Pro actually has a small tungsten ball head that works well. Has a longer shank too and you can get with weedguard.
A local here uses the do it snootie on his hair jigs. I order several dozen a year & they work great.
I use arkie head jigs with a lite fiberguard for tying bucktail jigs.
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