Night Eyes
- Thread starter AtticaFish
- Start date
Majority of my simple color craft fur/hair is from a couple different local craft shops. Black, white, brown, yellow, dark green. They sell a couple different types of it (think it is all Darice brand tho) and i just pick the variety with the longest hair fibers. Sometimes it is nice and full with lots of under fur, other times thin and wispy. Either way it is cheap for a big piece, so even if it is really thin hair and you have to stack several bunches together to tie, it is still worth it. Get the other 'fishing' colors (chartreuse, bright green, bright blue, pink) from Jann's Netcraft. Good quality and long hair fibers, and you pay for it.
Fatman
Active member
Darice is nice stuff but some stores don't always carry all the colors. Hairline craft fur is nice but WHEN I can find it I'd buy Targus Craft fur. It's tough to find, but it has nice long hair and the patchs are really big.
Thanks guys for the info. The stuff I bought was craft fur it is hard to get a good 2 inch jig from it.
Being new at tying I thought I should have gotten craft hair. I will sort it out among the co.s that you mentioned.
For cold water walleye I make my plastics about 3 inches long . I plan on making the jigs about the same.
Thanks again.
Being new at tying I thought I should have gotten craft hair. I will sort it out among the co.s that you mentioned.
For cold water walleye I make my plastics about 3 inches long . I plan on making the jigs about the same.
Thanks again.
Fatman
Active member
If you want really long hair for jigs check here at Bearsden - it's $3.50 a patch but its not as big a patch as craft fur
Cashmere Goat hair
Cashmere Goat hair
duffy
Member
Attica, how do you get that nice teardrop shape on your hair jigs? Do you select different lengths and tie them on together? On my bucktails when I pick a clump and tie it on they seem to have a flair'ed uneven tail to them not the nice streamlined shape. Kinda blunt almost like you cut it off.
duffy - Biggest reason they look nice and smooth might be just from my grooming before the pics. I wet my fingers and try to lay back all the stray hairs more like it would look when wet. 
I thin out my craft hair very similar to how Jay Wirth has shown in the recent videos for thinning out the under fur from his deer tails. Just pinching the longer fibers and then pulling out the underfur with my other hand. Was tying a few tonight so took some pics as i went..........
Separate out a small bunch of hair on the hide.
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Twist it once so it is easier to cut as close as possible to the hide.
Pinch it tightly about half the length so you are keeping the longer fibers pinched tight.
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Pull out the loose fiber from the cut end. Takes a bunch of pulling so keep your left fingers pinched together tight with your left hand.
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Here is what the original hair bunch looks like before tying it in.
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I've got a couple more pics coming to show the full body shape..........
I thin out my craft hair very similar to how Jay Wirth has shown in the recent videos for thinning out the under fur from his deer tails. Just pinching the longer fibers and then pulling out the underfur with my other hand. Was tying a few tonight so took some pics as i went..........
Separate out a small bunch of hair on the hide.
View attachment 9
Twist it once so it is easier to cut as close as possible to the hide.
Pinch it tightly about half the length so you are keeping the longer fibers pinched tight.
View attachment 1
Pull out the loose fiber from the cut end. Takes a bunch of pulling so keep your left fingers pinched together tight with your left hand.
View attachment 2
Here is what the original hair bunch looks like before tying it in.
View attachment 3
I've got a couple more pics coming to show the full body shape..........
Attachments
As for the shape, i've been giving these walleye jigs their shapely hips using wool roving to create a very full under body and then adding in the clumps of craft fur over top of that. Some more pics....
Tie in a pinched off piece of wool roving in the center of the hunk of wool. (should have taken pics to show this step better) Pull out the wool from the ball and pinch it tightly in the center. Then pinch and break off any fibers that are longer than you want. I want around an inch & a half of wool coming out of each end of my pinch. I then tie it to the shank in the cent of the wool hunk so half is out the fron and half is out the back. Tied in 2 hunks, one for each side.
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Then fold the front facing wool to the back and wrap it down tight.
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I tie mine in a little different i think than others. I leave the cut end laying up over the ball head just a little.
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Then us a razor lightly pressing and rolling around the head to cut the fibers around the head.
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Here is it cut.
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Optional highlight colors added and finish knot tied. Notice it is a hair ball now.
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Now i do wet my fingers and smooth back all the hairs.
Here is what i tied tonight. I tied the green/yellow jig with NO wool under body just to show the different shape. The jigs that do not have the wool under body are much thinner and do sink quite a bit faster than the curvy hipped wool under bodies.
View attachment 1
Tie in a pinched off piece of wool roving in the center of the hunk of wool. (should have taken pics to show this step better) Pull out the wool from the ball and pinch it tightly in the center. Then pinch and break off any fibers that are longer than you want. I want around an inch & a half of wool coming out of each end of my pinch. I then tie it to the shank in the cent of the wool hunk so half is out the fron and half is out the back. Tied in 2 hunks, one for each side.
View attachment 4
Then fold the front facing wool to the back and wrap it down tight.
View attachment 5
I tie mine in a little different i think than others. I leave the cut end laying up over the ball head just a little.
View attachment 6
Then us a razor lightly pressing and rolling around the head to cut the fibers around the head.
View attachment 7
Here is it cut.
View attachment 8
Optional highlight colors added and finish knot tied. Notice it is a hair ball now.
View attachment 9
Now i do wet my fingers and smooth back all the hairs.
Here is what i tied tonight. I tied the green/yellow jig with NO wool under body just to show the different shape. The jigs that do not have the wool under body are much thinner and do sink quite a bit faster than the curvy hipped wool under bodies.
View attachment 1
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duffy
Member
Thanks for the tutorial Attaca! I think I'm seeing where I'm messing up. I was just pinching bunches of hair close to the hide and then combing them out with a fine comb. Then I was laying them on the jig and tying, and maybe too tight to begin with. Just going to take a little more practice. Don't laugh, but here's some of my first attempts for some walleye jigs. All are combo's of real deer hair and fish hair and I'm thinking that I sort of have a preference for the fish hair. The bottom one is suppose to be sort of a perch. I know the collars are too long but you can see what I mean by the hair flairing out like rocket exhaust. Maybe their just fast jigs.
AllenOK
New member
Duffy, don't knock those jigs yet! Fish them first! They look good to my eyes!
That Chartreuse over White is a classic color combo. No telling what it might catch.
Have you thought about tying some jigs in Steelhead and/or Salmon colors and making a trip to the appropriate river?
That Chartreuse over White is a classic color combo. No telling what it might catch.
Have you thought about tying some jigs in Steelhead and/or Salmon colors and making a trip to the appropriate river?
DUFFY - No laughing here, those jigs will catch if you get them in front of fish! They look really good to me. I like the perch colored one, they are a staple of walleye diet.
Your flared tails may be more the nature of the material than technique. Craft hair is a much softer material than bucktail and just flows and moves a little easier than bucktail. I sometimes have trouble keeping bucktail sparsely tied so that it keeps good action in the water. If you put too much bucktail on a jig, it tends to kill the action quickly. If it is a nice thinly tied tail, the action can be deadly. Craft hair can really be stacked on thick and it will still have a lot of movement. I've been making these jigs as full as possible to (hopefully) come close to the profile of the bluegill the walleye are feeding on so have been using almost only the wool & craft fur combo. If they were feeding on long/skinny shiners, i might be using bucktail more. Each material has its place.
Your flared tails may be more the nature of the material than technique. Craft hair is a much softer material than bucktail and just flows and moves a little easier than bucktail. I sometimes have trouble keeping bucktail sparsely tied so that it keeps good action in the water. If you put too much bucktail on a jig, it tends to kill the action quickly. If it is a nice thinly tied tail, the action can be deadly. Craft hair can really be stacked on thick and it will still have a lot of movement. I've been making these jigs as full as possible to (hopefully) come close to the profile of the bluegill the walleye are feeding on so have been using almost only the wool & craft fur combo. If they were feeding on long/skinny shiners, i might be using bucktail more. Each material has its place.
Got out Monday after the kids went to bed and finally got a few. Fish got pretty active, but not until 11:30. Was a late night. Lots of missed bites, had 2 hooked up that came off and lost another nice one at the net. But did manage to get these! 21" & 23".
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Threw a bunch of different lures, but all the hookups and bites came on a 5" Kalin's grub. Fish were tight to the shore, less than 3' of water, and was just casting parallel to shore and slow/steady retrieve. Surprised i did not loose the bigger fish..... there was barely any hook left his lip by the time i got him in the net.
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Threw a bunch of different lures, but all the hookups and bites came on a 5" Kalin's grub. Fish were tight to the shore, less than 3' of water, and was just casting parallel to shore and slow/steady retrieve. Surprised i did not loose the bigger fish..... there was barely any hook left his lip by the time i got him in the net.
View attachment 3
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duffy
Member
Whoa, that's a pretty light hooking right there! You must have had your lucky horse shoe in your back pocket. Nice couple of fish!
JUNGLEJIM1
Well-known member
Nice eyes, looks like you are starting to get them figured out. Next time out might get a limit. Store here has walleye fillets for $16.99 lb.
Hawnjigs
KISS
Wow, those look very well fed, + maybe developing eggs? Bet you're real thankful for gills and dads - looks like a best possible grub color match.
If they're in close & shallow, did you try a shallow crank?
If they're in close & shallow, did you try a shallow crank?
Thanks guys. Sure is nice to put a few of these away before the ice sets in.
JUNGLEJIM1 - I have visions of limits dancing in my head every time i head out. You can keep 6 here. If i would have landed all my hook-ups i sure would have been close. $16.99/lb...... wow! They sure are good though.
Hawnjigs - They always look nice and fat, but rarely have anything in their stomachs (i do check each fish) when i get them from this reservoir. The others caught this fall have been females with eggs, but these were both males with big sperm sacs. Love the Kalin's lunker grubs in the 5" size, and that color (actually called bluegill) is my favorite. Some other colors look good too. Just made out a small order for a couple packs of grubs and going to try out their Sizmic Shad swim baits too. I do usually carry one rod rigged with a Huskyjerk or X-rap. Stick cranks are the favorite for most guys around here, but i don't have as much luck with them as i do the grubs and jigs. I have been wondering about rigging some of the 5" Kalin's weightless with just a 3/0 bass hook for when i see them up so shallow. It is pretty cool to be able to sight 'hunt' these.
I did get out on Wednesday night with a friend, but we had no luck after lots and lots of walking. I got 2 rockbass on grubs and that was it. Had a couple nice walleye follow jigs but none would commit. Moon was full (or close) so not sure if that had the walleye out eating in deeper water. Really did not see that many shallow roamers at all. I will give it a few days.
JUNGLEJIM1 - I have visions of limits dancing in my head every time i head out. You can keep 6 here. If i would have landed all my hook-ups i sure would have been close. $16.99/lb...... wow! They sure are good though.
Hawnjigs - They always look nice and fat, but rarely have anything in their stomachs (i do check each fish) when i get them from this reservoir. The others caught this fall have been females with eggs, but these were both males with big sperm sacs. Love the Kalin's lunker grubs in the 5" size, and that color (actually called bluegill) is my favorite. Some other colors look good too. Just made out a small order for a couple packs of grubs and going to try out their Sizmic Shad swim baits too. I do usually carry one rod rigged with a Huskyjerk or X-rap. Stick cranks are the favorite for most guys around here, but i don't have as much luck with them as i do the grubs and jigs. I have been wondering about rigging some of the 5" Kalin's weightless with just a 3/0 bass hook for when i see them up so shallow. It is pretty cool to be able to sight 'hunt' these.
I did get out on Wednesday night with a friend, but we had no luck after lots and lots of walking. I got 2 rockbass on grubs and that was it. Had a couple nice walleye follow jigs but none would commit. Moon was full (or close) so not sure if that had the walleye out eating in deeper water. Really did not see that many shallow roamers at all. I will give it a few days.
duffy
Member
We also have more luck with jigs than cranks. I mostly just use a crank for a search bait and then switch to the good old basic jig-n-worm or jig-grub. I have also used tubes on a jig with a worm for a little variation and attraction.AtticaFish said:
Hawnjigs
KISS
Nice dental work pic - reminds me of the first time I tried to lip a wally. It is possible with sturdy gloves between the front incisors when removing a deep hook. Helps to have narrow thumbs.
Was thinking, maybe lip hooked cuz the jig was too big to fit in the mouth?
Was thinking, maybe lip hooked cuz the jig was too big to fit in the mouth?
Hawnjigs - The reason the hook was about to pop on the previous fish was more from net operator error. I dipped it 3 times and finally got it in the net on the 4th try! On the 1st try, the walleye surged straight into and under a rock when it saw the net. Thought for sure it was done right there.
Got out again last night for a few hours after the kids were in bed. Managed to catch 2 fish... 18" and 19". Threw hair jigs for a while and not a whiff. Went back to the old stand by big fat twister slow and steady. Had a very nice size fish cruising in front of me at one area i tried and could not get it to even look at my jig.
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Got out again last night for a few hours after the kids were in bed. Managed to catch 2 fish... 18" and 19". Threw hair jigs for a while and not a whiff. Went back to the old stand by big fat twister slow and steady. Had a very nice size fish cruising in front of me at one area i tried and could not get it to even look at my jig.
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