Quick tutorial on tying with craft hair

Still fired up about fishing yesterday so thought I'd show a few pics on how I prepare jigs before I tie and maybe a pointer or two on tying with it. These are 3/32 Herring heads without the spin portion. I like to flatten the barbed collar and make it as round as possible and shave off any sharp edges before painting and adding the eyes. Materials used are pictured. After pinching a clump of hair between fingers and cutting it, trim any longer fibers until base is uniform size and tie in along the side. Turn over and tie in other side. You don't have to tie in flash but I think it makes a difference in attracting fish in cold, clear water. I can see it flash in 4-5 feet of water right now at the lake I fished yesterday so fish see it as well. I tie 1-3 strands  of Krinkle Mirror Flash on both sides before tying off and sealing threads and eyes with clear nail polish. They are ready to fish the next day. This is used for single color jigs, More steps are required for multiple color jigs, I've used up to four colors of hair on one jig. I hope this helps for those who want to try it. They have a really nice action and work very well for me, hope they do for you as well. View attachment 3View attachment 4View attachment 5View attachment 6View attachment 7

Excellent work - looks like a money maker!

Thank you for the 411. real nice jig.

Yep - keep them simple & sparce

About 90% of hair jig videos on the internet isn't hair at all but marabou which isn't hair at all but a feather. Go figure. Watched a video with Doug Stange fishing old style hair jigs and he stressed the baits should be sparse. I'm getting there but the ones I caught the bass on were bulkier which I tied for a slower fall. Big ones hit on the drop at the end of my cast. Just reeled up slack and they were there.

I've had good results with really full hair jigs. The synthetic hair/fur really moves good in the water. I even add wool or cotton batting sometimes on the hook shank first to give it a bigger profile. Now if I tie kiptail or bucktail, I think it is a must to keep those sparse.