First attempt at tying salt water jigs

[scorpioreno]

I just got my first jig tying kit. I ordered all multi color buck hair and two types of flash. I have to learn so much and am not taking any of this for granted from the type of thread I'm using to how much hair to cut. I will be PM ing the guys on the board that Tie Flys and ask for their help. Here is a the pic of my first attempt.
first tied jigs.jpg
Too much thread on the shank, but it was fun tying it.

[whenican]

These look pretty good, scorpioreno!

[Mark]

Good job.

They'll work.

Generally in tying, less material is better. It provides more action to the lure. But yours look fine and they'll catch fish.

[bignose]

Nice looking jigs.
You can never go wrong tying salt water lures in white or chartreuse.
Most other colors are used to catch fisherman!

Don't forget to cover your thread with "Sally Hansen Hard as Nails".

How are you holding you jigs when you tie them?
I started out 45 years ago using a pair of vise grip pliers, graduated to a fly tier's vise, but for my biggest jigs (like 8/0-9/0), I have gone back to a small clamp on table vise from Harbor Freight.
A fly tier's bobbin make it much easier to wrap the thread.

[scorpioreno]

Nice looking jigs.
You can never go wrong tying salt water lures in white or chartreuse.
Most other colors are used to catch fisherman!

Don't forget to cover your thread with "Sally Hansen Hard as Nails".

How are you holding you jigs when you tie them?
I started out 45 years ago using a pair of vise grip pliers, graduated to a fly tier's vise, but for my biggest jigs (like 8/0-9/0), I have gone back to a small clamp on table vise from Harbor Freight.
A fly tier's bobbin make it much easier to wrap the thread.

I think I should have invested a little more money into the vice. You can't expect a lot from starter sets.
I want to tie contrasting colors and jigs with light colors on the bottom and darker on top.
I sealed the thread with Sally H. I will be PM ing you for advice as I go along for the type of supplies you recommend for tying. Thanks.

[Birddog]

Looks pretty good! I am looking foward to helping you try them out by the Harry Nice bridge one day

[camelbird]

Nice work, it's definitely fun once you get started

[sparky1423]

Looking good!! I recently started tying myself....it gets better over time. We must have the same vise! I swear, I think holding the hook with my teeth would be easier than using my vise, lol!

[PigPen]

I just got a catalog from JSFlyFishing.com and they had some very nice looking synthetic material for jigs and salt streamer patterns.

[bignose]

A decent vise makes a huge difference!
For really big stuff, like 9/0 6oz. Jigheads I have reverted back to a pair of vise grip pliers clamped to the table, kinda like where I started out 35+ years ago.
For everything else I use my old fly tying vise. That I used to be able to tie a size #20 dry fly….hell, I can't even see them now without my magnifiers, let alone fish them.

As far as patterns are concerned: Salt water fish are far less picky then their freshwater counterparts. So exact pattern replication really isn't necessary (but fun to tie). Joe Bruce has an excellent paperback of his saltwater fly patterns. I have tied some jigs to match these, but it really isn't needed.

And this is just a beginning:
Eventually, you'll want to mold your own jigs, carve or turn your own lures, and graduate up to wrapping your own rods. Just ask kayak456. lol. He's 15 year old. Wonder how he will feel after he discovers girls, instead of fishing!
What you have, here, is a budding addiction.

And if you want to try to tie commercially….well, it reaches a point where it no longer becomes fun, and when it starts to become work……that's when I realized that I didn't want to do this…..

[scorpioreno]

Thanks for all the info guy's my go to list is getting bigger. Like anything else I have to get a technique that works for me. Right now my wrapping sucks.....well at least how I think it should look in my mind. So far I have Taken the trebles off one of my spoons and cut one tang off and feathered the double hook and put a ball bearing swivel between the spoon and the hook. I must say it looks nice.... I wanted to bite it myself! Fell free to PM me with any help you guys can give me.

[bignose]

I think that is where using a fly tiers' bobbin comes in very handy. It allows you to accurately place your wraps where you want them to be.
The discipline of tying tiny flies has helped me even though I no longer tie them.
With a size #20 fly,every loop of thread has to be placed exactly where you need it or it makes the fly look bulky.
Practice, practice, practice!

[surfdog]

Nice job. Less is more when tying jig heads. Also using some flash to make lateral lines and a little UV flash works well also