HairyMooseKnuckles
New member
Crawfish Jig
I start with a 1/8 oz pill head jig and I paint it with Cover Girl Rogue Red nail polish. I put a total of 2 coats followed by a coat of clear. I let each coat dry completely before coating again. In my case, I do several at a time and let dry overnight between each coat.
EYES
I start with cheap monofilament and thread an 11/0 seed bead and then melt the mono so the bead doesn't come off. I add a drop of superglue so the bead stays in place.
FEELERS
Feelers are made from cheap black rubber legs. I start with about a 5" piece that I folded and tied in so each feeler is about 2 1/2" long.
MUSTACHE
Mustache is made from Rainbow flashabou. I take about 4 to 6 strand and fold over several times until I'm happy with the length. I guess about 1/2" long before its tied in.
PINCHERS
I start with a feather from a ring neck pheasant. I peel all the fuzzy off the stem, leaving the top section of feather. To make the pincher, cut a section out. There is a small feather attached to back of the larger feather. take it off and save it. It will be used as soft hackle at the back of the jig to represent legs.
BODY
The body is made from #2 Rusty Brown Antron Chenille.
Thread is copper Danville 210 denier.
Ok now to put everything together. This isn't hard to tie, it just has lots of steps. I'll try my best to explain. You could make this in a variety of colors from Orange, Brown, Green, etc. Whatever stage of crawdad you are trying to imitate.
Tie in the eyes with thread stopping about at the point of the hook.
Tie in the feelers. I tie them right between the eyes.
Tie in the mustache.
Tie in the pinchers using the natural curve of the feather.
Tie in the chenille body.
Tie in hackle and whip finish.
Finished Fly when dry.
Finished fly when wet
I start with a 1/8 oz pill head jig and I paint it with Cover Girl Rogue Red nail polish. I put a total of 2 coats followed by a coat of clear. I let each coat dry completely before coating again. In my case, I do several at a time and let dry overnight between each coat.
EYES
I start with cheap monofilament and thread an 11/0 seed bead and then melt the mono so the bead doesn't come off. I add a drop of superglue so the bead stays in place.
FEELERS
Feelers are made from cheap black rubber legs. I start with about a 5" piece that I folded and tied in so each feeler is about 2 1/2" long.
MUSTACHE
Mustache is made from Rainbow flashabou. I take about 4 to 6 strand and fold over several times until I'm happy with the length. I guess about 1/2" long before its tied in.
PINCHERS
I start with a feather from a ring neck pheasant. I peel all the fuzzy off the stem, leaving the top section of feather. To make the pincher, cut a section out. There is a small feather attached to back of the larger feather. take it off and save it. It will be used as soft hackle at the back of the jig to represent legs.
BODY
The body is made from #2 Rusty Brown Antron Chenille.
Thread is copper Danville 210 denier.
Ok now to put everything together. This isn't hard to tie, it just has lots of steps. I'll try my best to explain. You could make this in a variety of colors from Orange, Brown, Green, etc. Whatever stage of crawdad you are trying to imitate.
Tie in the eyes with thread stopping about at the point of the hook.
Tie in the feelers. I tie them right between the eyes.
Tie in the mustache.
Tie in the pinchers using the natural curve of the feather.
Tie in the chenille body.
Tie in hackle and whip finish.
Finished Fly when dry.
Finished fly when wet
