Fishing Jigs

Jigs Tend To Be Lost Easily -
There Are Never Too Many
In Your Fishing Kit

Fishing jigs are one of the deadliest fishing lures used in saltwater fishing. It is also becoming more and more popular in freshwater fishing. This lure, which consists of a metal "head" in which a single hook is embedded also has a "body" or "skirt" of bucktail hair, feathers, nylon, plastic, or other material.

The entire combination makes a small, compact lure heavy enough to cast well. Whether cast or trolled or jigged up and down near the bottom it is very attractive to almost every fish that swims.

In fact, if I had to choose but a single artificial lure for saltwater fishing I'd not hesitate an instant to pick an assortment of fishing jigs. It is also highly effective for freshwater fishing.

Obviously, the freshwater or saltwater angler who wants to catch fish should carry an assortment of fishing jigs in his tackle box or bag.

For best results, you need a wide variety of jigs in different sizes, colors, materials, and weights. You also need many replacements for those jigs which are lost when they get caught on the bottom or are broken off by a fish.

So you can save quite a bit of money and have a lot of fun making your own fishing jigs. They are very easy once you know how, and I am surprised more freshwater and saltwater anglers don't mold their own jigs.

To make the fishing jigs you need some kind of mold. A simple and inexpensive temporary mold can be made from several kinds of materials, the cheapest and most popular being plaster of Paris.

This white powder can be bought in any paint or hardware store and is mixed with water. A 5- or 10-pound bag of the stuff costs very little and will make several molds.

Somewhat similar but a bit more expensive are "water putty" and "crack filler" which also come in powder
form in containers and are mixed with water. Most hardware or paint stores carry them.

Another material which can be used is "iron paste" or "iron cement," which comes in powdered form too. You also add water and this makes a heavy paste for pouring the mold. Most hardware stores carry it.

There are also many kinds of dental cements and plasters which can be used to make temporary molds. Ask your dentist to suggest one or two of these. Or you can go to a dental supply house and ask for such a cement.

After casting your own fishing jigs, the next step is to tie on a body or skirt of bucktail hair, feathers or nylon for jig tying .

Bucktail hair and feathers can usually be bought in small packages in almost any fishing tackle store, or you can send away for these materials to one of the fly-tying supply houses.

Nylon jig hair can be fashioned in various colors and lengths. It comes in the natural translucent color of nylon, in different diameters and lengths, and is dyed with special nylon dyes available from supply houses.

The small diameters and lengths are best for small jigs, especially those used in freshwater fishing, and the thicker diameters and longer lengths are used for the larger saltwater jigs.

When tying the nylon jig hair, great care must be taken to do this as tightly as possible, because this material has a tendency to slip out from under the wrapping. For best results, try to get the "crimped" nylon which holds better than the smooth kind.

Instead of bucktail hair you can tie feathers of different skirts on the jig. See illustration below. Neck or saddle hackle feathers are best for this. Although various colors of feathers are used, white and yellow are the most popular for both freshwater and saltwater fishing.

The final step in making fishing jigs is to paint the metal head in whatever color you prefer. Most jigs range in weight from 1/8 oz. to about 2 ozs. The smaller ones are best for freshwater fishing and for casting with light outfits.

The heavier ones are more suited for saltwater fishing, trolling, and casting with heavy fishing tackle. Fishing jigs are so easy and inexpensive to make that every freshwater and saltwater angler should make jig molds or buy molds to turn out a good supply and assortment of these lures to be prepared for the fishing season.

JIG AWAY...

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