Vertical jigging Master

[Fatman]

Oh man!!!!!!! Smallmouth are so much fun to catch!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jiggerjohn]

When discussing tying with Red the other day he was adamant in mentioning how important it is to balance both sides of his jigs with satin fibers. Checked these out in my scientific testing facilities (one of my wife's old cooking kettles!) and noted that with the wool expanding and pushing the satin sides apart,that these look(seen from above) just like a mini version of the great old pork rind split tail eels! Only without the bulk,jars, or mess and 10 times the action! A little research confirmed that every great bass man in the old days eventually went to split tail pork with their jigs. And I well remember how in my family vacations on the St Lawrence river(late 1980s) that a twin tail plastic on a 1/32 oz head, with a tiny piece of worm between the 2 legs, would wreak utter havoc on the deep, untouched summer bluegills up there (taken down in current with a split shot or two). Now I think Red's "split tail" oughta do even better (more limper,jumping action,more flash) in similar situations for gills,crappie,bass, trout, and pike - as Red advised,"if you work one of my jigs on Pymatuning for a full day like that (tiny worm piece in the space between satin tails) you'll load a cooler with everything we have swimming up here!"

 

[redear]

I believe you when you say a peice of worm on the back of these jigs works! I was taught to do this very same thing by an old timer that used nothing but 1/16 kiptail jigs under a bobber for everything he fished for. he taught me to use either a whole small redworm or half of a bigger one, and he said to hook the worm through the end so the entire worm was waving around behind the jig, it really works too and you don't have to set the hook fast either as I have come to realize that most the time they wont let go of the jig with that worm on there, matter of fact the hookup ratio went up after waiting for the cork to go completely out of site. I never used a nightcrawler though as they are so much fatter, but if you had a smaller one, a peice of that would work.

 

[redear]

oh, forgot to mention that on one favorite lake we fish the worm tipping catches way more crappies than a small minnow tipping. go figure.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Redear, By coincidence, the latest Fur-Fish-Game magazine has a nifty little article on this very thing - a small live worm fished behind a 1/32 or 1/64 oz jig. Titled "Simply Deadly Pond Jigs" by Tony Humeston, it describes a never fail system for tiny ultralights in small waters. Red is really big on using a ONE INCH section of the smaller back end of a nightcrawler on his jigs(especially when going for smallmouth and northern pike), but RARELY does this on his home Pymatuning,barking "you'll catch a TON of hefty channel cats everytime out with a worm tip, and I don't particularly like 'em!! Besides, I can't possibly fit more fish in my cooler each day,fishing the plain jigs!!"

 

[Fatman]

Saw that on the Newstand this morning but didn't have the extra cash to pick it up. In a way it's kind of funny how these articles keep popping up - Infisherman and Babe Winkleman had shows using this tipping back in the late 80's and 90's.

Creme lures used to have a plastic worm that looked like little balls, bigger at the head and smaller near the tail. When we were kids we used to wade the creek behind my parents and used the end of it in place of the nightcrawler as the big rock bass would tear the worms up - and carrying the plastic was a whole lot easier.

 

[redear]

I'm gonna start trying to make sure each side of the jig is balanced with the satin fibers, probably will lay both satin fiber bunches down side by side for comparison before tying on. finally got a few days off, so may tie a couple more for the box. I'll tell ya, that blue and green foil finish fabric really pops and catches the light on this jig, I am putting some of this on every wool jig I tie. the gold and silver works great too, but the blue and green seems to be a natural for imitating bluegill, crappie and bass fry minnows in the ponds I fish. hope to try them soon.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Hey Redear, I have to agree with ya about the blue/green fibers to finish a Red's jig tie -anymore I just can't quit on tying ANY color "woolie" without putting in just a small bit of this "glowing" stuff, whether it coordinates or contrasts to the main colors tied! I have to believe this is one of those small but significant details ,which spells such success in the water.As to the side balance of satin, I like to match up my bundles carefully,too; however, Red's method proves simpler,better, quicker than mine and ALWAYS accurate for exact fiber count -he takes 4 0r 5" of a satin bundle,ties in its center for 2or3 quick wraps,then folds the forward half backwards and over to the opposite side,then completes a more substantial overall wrapping. This ensures perfect balance everytime, especially if one is careful to lay each side of that half bundle as near as possible to the exact center line (or "lateral line" of a minnow).Doesn't matter if the end lengths are off, as Red trims the overall length (on an angle) down anyway & everything stays even when done.

 

[AtticaFish]

The way you mention of tying in the satin in your post below is the same way i tie in any of my contrasting flash (or satin in this case) materials on a jig after tying the main tail material. Actually have been doing the same with the wool as well. Holding my 'pinch an inch' tight with 1st finger and thumb in one hand and shaping it to size and length with the other adjusting it so my two fingers come together at the center of the wool clump. Lash the wool in the center of the clump just behind the head, then pass it over to the opposite side with a spreading motion and wrap that side down also.

Going for the transparent look...... i tied in a base of gold tinsel chenille on the hook shank to the first bend of the hook and it is very visible - but does not show up the best in my picture.

View attachment 9

......takes 4 0r 5" of a satin bundle,ties in its center for 2or3 quick wraps,then folds the forward half backwards and over to the opposite side,then completes a more substantial overall wrapping. This ensures perfect balance everytime, especially if one is careful to lay each side of that half bundle as near as possible to the exact center line (or "lateral line" of a minnow).Doesn't matter if the end lengths are off, as Red trims the overall length (on an angle) down anyway & everything stays even when done.......

 

[jiggerjohn]

Attica, That is a marvelous shaping job, and very realistic! Sorta like the famous "gummy minnow" profile ,without all the fuss & muss of "gum"! (but all the many advantages of wool!!). I've tied up a few of my Boolies with a shaped,short body in your manner (tho nowhere near as neatly!) and watched in the water as the propeller got this to vibrating & sashaying side to side,more realisticly than any lipless crankbait,yet enabled a slow, more fish appealing retreive! Also envisioning just how much better your woolie-minnow sculpture would produce below a small overhead spinner blade attachment - seems this could be WAY superior to the legendary beetle spins! This is gonna be an interesting season!!

 

[redear]

yes it is going to be an interesting season like you say JJ. Hey JJ have you or anyone else here bought any of the foil looking finish fabric? it was right beside the pearlized sheer fabric which to me was too curly altho I am sure it catches fish. this foil finish type fabric was bought at joanns and it came on a bolt of fabric, the fibers are flat like flashabou is, and the blues and kelly green stuff is killer looking, I am sure I paid more for it but when ya only buy a 6 inch wide strip it ain't bad.

 

[AndyLane]

Thought I would chime in and say...When buying satin for these jigs dont overlook fabric with designs or patterns. I was given a big piece of fabric with Oriental designs all over it. There is a nice blend of flashy colors in every piece. Blues,reds,greens,yellows,gold. There is black running the opposite direction as well.
View attachment 5

 

[jiggerjohn]

Andy, Yeah, Red gave me a square in blue design,like the one you picture on the left -man, does that give me a super neat looking shade of light blue satin fibers!! A few of those strands over the usual white satin makes a gorgeous looking finished jig (very unusual for me, as I usually prefer duller natural finishes, and most of my completed jigs are more scary looking than pretty!! However, I've always done well with blue jigs!).

Redear, I do like those those "ribbed" metal flash fabrics - Red had given me one patch in copper that is almost blindingly bright ;a little goes a long way!

 

[Fatman]

I have some weird looking ones that the sister in law gave me too.

The green one is useless - it's a stretchy material not satin.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Broke the ice (literally!!) today with Red's little wool/satin bugs - heard there was SOME open water in a local lake that the state had stocked yesterday with trout. I saw a section where the Fish Commission obviously had to chop up shoreline ice to put fish in, and the lake was 90% frozen yet.But I found open water at the north end where a stream flows in. Trout didn't show themselves, and not a hit on my usual trout killers. Then remembered Red telling me to fish his jig under a float & reel as slow as possible during ultra early season. So cut one down to about 1" length, fished 3' under a float, reeled so slow my fingers froze to the handle ! Hooked 3 in no time, and lost a few other delicate bites.Not great,but it was actually FISHING for an hour or so, and further proof of wool power! ( I'm still shivering, and need to wrap MYSELF in wool about now!!!)

 

[Fatman]

Excellent to hear!!! Getting more and more showing they really work!!! Don't tell the wool companies the price of it will skyrocket!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[redear]

great post JJ!! I can invision you out there freezing. lol cabin fever is sure a motivator.

 

[redear]

Ok JJ I know you been keeping in touch with Red, so hows about comming clean with what he's been up too. lol and how is the knee doing? thanks, kip

 

[jiggerjohn]

Hey Redear, Just talked to Red the other day -he's still busy tying jigs in prep for the mar 1 , Niles, Ohio show and the following week's Buffalo ,NY show. He says,tho, he gets winded getting up from his tying station to go to the bathroom!! I think it'll take a coolerful of crappies or two, to get him back to fighting shape! He was pleased that I scored "first blood" this year already on his jigs with my trout take last week, but advised me to tie the satin/wool 1/32 oz jig in BLACK for the early trout. So,it warmed up to near 40* today,after the weekend deep freeze, with sun out this afternoon so I took the newly tied black bugs over. Well, the lake had refroze,except for a small section way out ,where an old dam flowed &yielded a small pool-took a heckuva cast to clear past the ice,tho. Fortunately I had a fairly heavy ,completely filled water bubble on (tho water inside was frozen!) to get the 1/32 oz jig out. Had a bunch of onlookers too (some sorta winter college group in a picnic grove nearby) so was pleased that my LONG cast actually hit open water and I could let it bop around in the current & even retreive my jig about 10 feet. Figured any lurking trout would love to warm his mouth up with a piece of wool, but forgot about SNAGGING on the edge of the ice flow; yep, got some good laughs from the crowd!! Lost my only water bubble,so beat a hasty retreat, as I'm sure the youngsters with cell phones were calling the "men in white coats" !!

 

[Fatman]

John you got it bad buddy!!!!!!!!!! Only open water I've seen is the mud puddles last week from the rain and melt - and now they're frozen.