Curly tails

[Shoemoo]

I wanted to experiment with hand-tied curly tails, so I picked up some Wapsi Fly Tails. They come in small and medium size. These are smalls on a size 4 1/16th ounce jig.



I've only had a chance to use the black one once, but it did pick up some small largemouth and some nice bull gills at one of the local ponds. Only drawback is they're expensive at $3 for 10 tails and they're a bit longer than I'd like on panfish jigs. I'd be open to suggestions on what type of materials would make good replacements. For a couple of reasons you can't just cut the tails off a package of plastic grubs. I've seen some leather tails posted here, but I'm thinking leather may be too stiff and thick to flutter well on slow falls with the lighter heads.

 

[QPassage]

I've used the BP Tournament Series Squirmin Grub. I cut about 1/2 of the grub off then slide it on the hook. I also use it on thread necks jigs and try to tie the entire jig using only a 1/4 - 1/8 inch behind the head. I don't have a pic of the jig with the grub but here it is without the grub.

I tied these for a guy in AK who chases river smallies.

 

[Pup]

I've seen some leather tails posted here, but I'm thinking leather may be too stiff and thick to flutter well on slow falls with the lighter heads.

The only way that I know of, that you'll be able to tell, is to pick up pieces of likely-looking leathers and feel them. You'll become an expert pretty quickly, especially if you've been a fisher of soft plastic grubs. You might review some of my previous posts covering leather-tailed jigs. I should have touched on the product I used and, possibly, some of my selection process.

I've fished soft plastic grubs extensively for walleye and smallmouth bass in the past. There is a great deal of difference in movement among the soft plastic grubs produced by various manufacturers. Thicker tails generally require speedier retrieves. Grubs with paper-thin tails certainly are the best for all retrieve speeds imo. However, their durability is compromised.

Suede cowhide leather is a good choice for small curly tails when found in very light weights. When I mention weight, think of it as corresponding to 1 ounce = 1/64th of an inch in thickness. So, the fewer the ounces of leather weight, the thinner the tail you can cut. Suede isn't cheap either. I like to purchase bags of low-priced remnants, but that is a crap shoot. Sometimes I find very lightweight suede in them. Often times I don't. Color choices are very limited too, to blacks, browns, and greys.

Your color choices in lower-weight leather increase significantly when buying select pieces of hide. But, so does the price.

 

[AtticaFish]

Your ties are excellent! Those will catch fish without a doubt.

Thin leather or suede/chamois material works best. Once leather soaks up water, it flow very smoothly through the water.

One other option is rabbit hide. I have purchased the Rabbit Fur Grab Bag from Cabelas in the past. You get scrap end pieces left over from them cutting zonkers and crosscuts. You can cut yourself zonkers in any size you want and then what ever is left over............ shave off the hair for dubbing and you are left with just the hide. You will find some 'end pieces' that have very thin leather that tears, but the majority is good skin. :icon14:

 

[Shoemoo]

Hmm. I wonder if micro suede would work? It's the imitation suede cloth used on furniture. Since it's an artificial product it comes in a zillion different colors, and unlike natural leather the thickness would be consistent. I know there's a few fly products made out if it.

Best of all, you can find it on eBay in a 57" roll sold by the yard for about $6.

 

[StumpHunter]

Awesome jigs! The curly tail works great and Pup has tied some very nice leather jigs. Nice work Stacy