Tail Length

[AndyLane]

Of course the answers to this question will be different depending on the species of fish. Today I'm referring to Crappie jigs. I know there are variations in opinions on the length the tail of a jig or the overall length of a jig should be. Sometimes I think I tie my tails too long but seems to me you would have less movement to a jig with a short tail. Does it matter or is that just a silly thought? What is your opinion and/or Rule of thumb when it comes to jig length or tail length? What works best for yall

 

[AtticaFish]

For crappie (and bass) jigs, don't think it matters as much and you can get away with longer tails because of how large their prey is - have cleaned crappie in the past with 2.5" baby bluegills in their stomach. Then again, there is a local lake that crappie absolutely love tiny, thread neck, kip tail jigs that the tail barely goes past the hook bend. Short kip tail thread necks don't have a whole lot of action. Other days can't catch them on minnow patterns at all and they will be hitting #8 nymph ties that can't be more than .5" long and have no tail. Even in the same species...... it depends.

I don't have a 'rule' to go by with tail length except for the difference between ties with a body compared to those that are thread neck. The thread necks are pretty much all tail, so i tend to keep them shorter.

Jigs meant for bluegills i always try to keep the tail short.

 

[Pup]

Often, I find that a relatively stiff tail material may become acceptable, in terms of its movement, when using a greater length of it. This is true of the higher weight leathers that I've used. Also, Fish Hair seems appropriate to long/large freshwater jigs as might be the case for northern pike and musky. It has better movement with greater length. The same goes for Kanekalon (hair extensions).

Otherwise, I just "best fit" my material's tail length based upon what I know about the species I'm tying for.

 

[Fatman]

I don't worry about it too much - if you carry a decent assortment of jigs with you the fish are going to tell you what they want. I've tied em long and short but I've gotten to where I try and keep them all the same length, except when using really short hair like buffalo.

 

[ragged edge]

I measure the length of tail from the point of the index finger just past the first the first joint. I fish mainly for crappie. Any other fish is a bonus. I have tied longer tails and seem to work as well.......

 

[quivira kid]

It also depends on what you might be imitating ..... minners look a lot different than a cricket!

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I like a shorter tail for panfish, bigger tails for bass.

 

[jiggerjohn]

I've found that in tying my Boolie jig(propeller on shaft) that it can become "out of balance" for proper swimming if I tie the tail too long or too thick. Yet sometimes, in largemouth and walleye waters, I desire a bit longer variety, but don't wish to compromise the smooth workings of my basic 1/24 oz model, which has a total length of about 1 1/2 inches.Recently, I recalled an older Outdoor Life or Sports Afield from the 70 or 80s (and if any of you old magazine collectors have this issue, I'd deeply enjoy rereading it!!) that had an article titled "Golly Whompers for Bass". The story told of huge success by the author, using colorful strips cut from ultra thin garbage bags as pork rind replacements on his jigs and spinnerbaits! So, since I was "sink testing" some newly tied models I grabbed some light green, blue, and yellow plastic grocery bags and cut strips. Not only were they weightless,for non-interference in any sized jig, but I could use virtually any length I wanted on a tiny , ultra light Boolie! Plus if I tie a Red Denmark style tail (wisp of wool,and bright white satin strands) on my small spinner-jig I can easily match that tint of blue or green that Emerald shiners possess! Above all, the ACTION on these little plastic strips (try a split tail in about a 1/8 to 1/4" wide strip) is rather astounding!

 

[Jig Man]

I like em about 1 to 1 1/2 the length of the jig "head and hook" for most situatuions.

 

[StumpHunter]

I cut then tie on the tail material starting at the head. For all my lengths I use my index finger. For #6 hook I use from the tip of the finger to the first joint = 1''. For #4 hook I use from the tip of the finger to the middle of the second joint = 1 1/2''. For #2 hook I use from the tip of the finger to the second joint = 2''. 90% of my jigs are used for crappie fishing.
For Bucktail jig I like a longer tail and at times I have tried longer tails on the crappie jigs. For crappie fishing I don't like the longer tail because of short strikes.
Each tyer will have their own way of tying jigs and that is the reason we enjoy sites like JigCraft so we can see the work of others. It is awesome to see the craftsmanship of the tyers in our craft.