I'm looking into maybe starting to tie my own jigs. I'm wondering if any of you can recommend a good book on tying? I know there is a couple Vedder books out there that have a section on tying in them and that may be a good option to start. I found some nice looking how to kits like these from First Bite Tackle:
First Bite Tackle

At around $40 to tie 50 1/8 oz jigs it seems pretty good. Especially considering that if I went to a tackle shop and bought 50 jigs I may be in it $150+ depending on what brand I go with. Obviously I'll still need a decent vise, some needle point scissors, a good bobbin and whatever raw materials that my chosen jig recipe requires but I feel like this would be a good starting point. Has anyone had experience with these kits or is there a better option for a newb jig tyer?

Thank you,

Drew

I feel that with jig tying there is no need to buy a book. There are plenty of websites with great tying instructions. It's always easiest to learn in person though so my suggestion would be to find someone who can show you in person how to tie jigs.

start with very popular jig "nightmare" then move to others. thier actually all very simple.




hope this helpfull.

Drew:

I typed in "jig tieing", pushed enter.........came up with 4 full pages of "How Tie Jigs"....

I use "Bing" but any search engine should good like results....

I learn alot better by "seeing and then doing".....than "Reading and then trying to do"

Goes back to the old saying...."picture is worth a thousand words"

Youtube is great for that sort of stuff.

Also when I first started tieing it was all marabou and crystal flash. Eventually I discovered crosscut (I think) rabbit fur. Makes some real pretty jigs.

Youtube bro. From playing songs on my guitar to windsurfing, YouTube is better than any book. I wired a computer monitor onto my kitchen wall so I could see how to cook stuff.

I basically learned every skill I have from Youtube. If I couldn't find it on YouTube, then YouPorn usually filled in the blanks.

Yeah, I've been watching every video I can find on it on Youtube and reading every picture thread I can find too. I guess I don't need a book really. So how bout those First Bite Tackle jig kits though? Did anyone click that link up top? I was thinking either that or order some Jig heads through RVRFSHR, or just get some Gamakatsu or Owner ones. I like the First Bite Jig kits though since you can choose between Brass, Nickel, or Black Nickel for your bead.

Drew

I just finished tying up 50 jigs from a first bite kit... I prefer the brass/nickel beads over painted lead heads, they don't chip and look cleaner. The Matzuo hooks that come with the kit are the best on the market IMO.

Nice. Would you care sharing some pics any that you tied?

Thanks,

Drew

There is a DVD out there that has something like 24 patterns on it for salmon and steelhead, I will try to find it again. I have seen it and it goes through the basics like whip finishing, head cements, proper wrapping and other stuff that you don't get from a U-Tube Video. The other nice thing about a video is you can sit at your tying station and pause, rewind, slow mo and whatever else you need and never get up.

Oh and one word of warning when tying with Sickle hook jigs, they will slice you wide open if you get your finger too close while wrapping anything on the hook. I dyed about 100 white hackle feathers with blood by doing this the first time. Now I have dark red stained white hackle, looks kinda cool but the cut hurt like hell.

Steeliedrew id post some pics but im in Eastern Washington and don't have any on me. I tie most of my jigs out of crosscut rabbit strips, schlappen, rhea, saddle hackle and zonker strips. I haven't used marabou in some time. First, schlappen is way easier to work with, especially when palmering it around the hook shank. I also think it looks better, especially in conjunction with crosscut rabbit strips. You can find it locally at the fly shop, or you can buy it on his website.
I have bought plenty of jigheads from Rvrfshr and have done the whole baked on powdercoated head. They look nice, but they chip easy. The brass and nickel beads don't ever chip and have that clean sleek look. If i where you id buy a 25 pack of both nickel and brass, instead of buying just a 50 pack of one. I have been using Matzuo hooks for several years now, and have been extremley impressed with there performance. My hookup to landing ratio has definitely increased...
Youtube is your friend, you can find plenty of videos on how to tie jigs on there. If you want to buy a DVD on it, id recommend ordering one from Mark Anderson, (firstbitejigs.com). It goes in depth showing you how to tie Schlappen jigs.

Anymore questions feel free to ask, id be happy to help you, as would anyone else on this forum. Good luck

Rossiman,

Great info there. I appreciate it. I have seen that DVD on his website and was thinking about buying it. Hopefully I can get something going soon.

Thanks everybody,

Drew

fish_4_all,

I'd love to get the name of that DVD if you find it. And thanks for the warning about the sickle hooks

Thanks,

Drew

There are a lot of videos and how to web sites that you can look at.

I was already geared up tying flies for flyfishing when I got sucked into the dark side of fishing "bobber and jigs",... uh, "Float and Jigs" ( sorry Dave I just couldn't resist ).

Some of the basic yarn jigs are awfully easy to tie and effective to fish. They get a little more complicated when you add more materials or styles.

Some one on one time with some one who ties, either flies or jigs, will help a lot to get you started. Once you get it down,... there will be no stopping you.

I am still trying tof ind that video, one of those I found it once and have not seen it again things. WIll post the link if I ever do. I think the name was Northwest fly tying or sometghing like that but a search doesn't result in a video unless I am flat missing it.

Thanks for continuing to look. I'm hoping later this month I can get everything I need, including the mandatory tools in order to at least tie up a couple different patterns.

Tools:
Vise
Bobbin

To tie the most with the least:
5 colors of chenille
Jig hooks
5 colors of marabou
Squirrel tail
Zonker strips
some sort of flash material
Paint for the jig heads
5 spools of 210 denier thread, only need black
head cement or hard as nails ( I don't like nor use HAN but others swear by it on other fourms)
Sharp pair of needle point scissors

There may be more that you want to get:
Hackle
hackle pliers
whip finisher
any fur and feathers you can get your hands on

And my personal favorite, peacock sword and herl. So versatile and works well. Eyes also add color and variety to flies and have numerous uses for adding color, shape and other parts to jigs.

There may be more and I am sure others will add to or subtract from the list. I can tie 50+ patterns with what I listed and they would all be different. Add the hackle and some feathers and you have more patterns that you could tie than I care to think about.

Nice! That's some good info there. Thank you for taking the time to post that.

Drew

The "eyes" were refering to peacock eyes, not adding true eyes. Eyes can be painted on the jig heads. Using things like barbell eyes is a whole other topic but can make heavy enough flies that can be fished as a jig. The barbell eye flies can be easily used under a float.
Clouser minnows and other patterns are very effective for salmon and steelhead in clear water.

Yeah, I've heard alot of guys talk about using clouser minnows off of puget sound beaches for resident coho. Probably targeting cutty's but end up hooking coho on them as well. I'd imagine they would work great in rivers too.