Getting jig skirts to flare

[mark poulson]

I had a friend who made TNT jigs, Andy Cuccia.  His jigs were really fish catchers.

He died suddenly, two weeks after I'd last seen him, and I never got the chance to discuss making jigs with him.

I was out in the garage, doing my Covid chores/tying some jigs.  I was trying to match his jigs, but, even though I could match the skirts, I couldn't get mine to flare like his did on the fall.

Thinking back to one of Smalljaw's videos, I was inspired to peek under Cooch's jig's skirt (kinky, I know).

Low and behold, he had tied a thread bulge behind where the actual skirt was tied, to get the skirt's back half to flare just like the front.

I tried it and it worked, but I quickly realized I am no Smalljaw when it comes to wrapping thread around a jig.  It took me longer to get the thread bulge right than it did to tie on the actual skirt material.

So, being lazy, I began to think of how to duplicate that bulge without thread.  Looking down into my jig tying drawer, I saw some of the rubber jig skirt collars that I still had, left over from before I began thread tying my skirts.

I took one of the skirt collars and slid it up the jig's hook and up onto the knob at the beginning of the lead on my Arkie jig.  I add a drop of super glue to hold it in position.  Then I tied on my skirt.

Lo and behold, when I tied the skirt and drew the tying thread tight, it seemed to flare.

I dropped it into my 5 gallon water bucket, alongside of one of Andy's jigs, and it flared just like his did.

I don't think this will be useful for someone like Smalljaw, who can tie a jig faster than I can assemble the components, but, for someone who is a home tier like me, it is a quick and easy way to get your jigs to flare when they hit the bottom.  That really seems to make a difference here on the CA Delta, especially when the water is clear.

Edited May 28, 2020 by mark poulson

[Jig Man]

Good tip there Mark.  I hope that I can remember that next time I tie some.

[21xdc]

I use O rings... So I make a skirt, Slide it on to the jig, Then slide another O ring on after the skirt onto the jig barb. This also make a  jig skirt flare out nice... Works for me. 

[mark poulson]

1 hour ago, 21xdc said:

I use O rings... So I make a skirt, Slide it on to the jig, Then slide another O ring on after the skirt onto the jig barb. This also make a  jig skirt flare out nice... Works for me. 

Man, this is like when I'm catching them good, everyone else is, too!  Hahaha

I should have known someone here would come up with an even easier way to do the same thing. 

Thanks for the idea.

[rockslide]

11 hours ago, mark poulson said:

I had a friend who made TNT jigs, Andy Cuccia.  His jigs were really fish catchers.

He died suddenly, two weeks after I'd last seen him, and I never got the chance to discuss making jigs with him.

I was out in the garage, doing my Covid chores/tying some jigs.  I was trying to match his jigs, but, even though I could match the skirts, I couldn't get mine to flare like his did on the fall.

Thinking back to one of Smalljaw's videos, I was inspired to peek under Cooch's jig's skirt (kinky, I know).

Low and behold, he had tied a thread bulge behind where the actual skirt was tied, to get the skirt's back half to flare just like the front.

I tried it and it worked, but I quickly realized I am no Smalljaw when it comes to wrapping thread around a jig.  It took me longer to get the thread bulge right than it did to tie on the actual skirt material.

So, being lazy, I began to think of how to duplicate that bulge without thread.  Looking down into my jig tying drawer, I saw some of the rubber jig skirt collars that I still had, left over from before I began thread tying my skirts.

I took one of the skirt collars and slid it up the jig's hook and up onto the knob at the beginning of the lead on my Arkie jig.  I add a drop of super glue to hold it in position.  Then I tied on my skirt.

Lo and behold, when I tied the skirt and drew the tying thread tight, it seemed to flare.

I dropped it into my 5 gallon water bucket, alongside of one of Andy's jigs, and it flared just like his did.

I don't think this will be useful for someone like Smalljaw, who can tie a jig faster than I can assemble the components, but, for someone who is a home tier like me, it is a quick and easy way to get your jigs to flare when they hit the bottom.  That really seems to make a difference here on the CA Delta, especially when the water is clear.

i would like to see what that bulge looks like snap a photo if you can mark

[mark poulson]

I hope this is clear.  The Arkie jig is from a Do-It mold.

[smalljaw]

Mark, that will save time and thread!!!! On small jigs with no collars or on collars without a ring I will make a chenille ball in order for the skirt or hair to flare. I prefer to tie because I can control the amount of flare I get. On my Eakins style jigs I don't want too much flare but on an arky style jig like in the picture, flare is what you want, well at least I do. Thanks for that tip!!!

[Jig Man]

Would it do the same if you did the collar placement after the jig was finished or does it have to be done first?

[DaBehr]

I tie my jigs "Wisconsin style". I cut a tab in the middle and I end up 2 pieces with tab ends. I wrap the tab ends against the head of the bait with the strands facing forward. The base is facing backwards towards the hook. (see pic below)

I usually use 1 tab but you might prefer two.

I tie with only strands facing forward 99% of the time.

If desired: (I seldom do this)

I repeat the process except I tie the tabs over the forward facing but with the strands pointing backwards. This produces a sparse skirt that really flares! If you want a heavier skirt you can on more strands if desired.

The lighter skirt gives a good view of the swimbait I use as a trailer.

Also, by cutting the tab in half it is really easy to get a good uniform distribution by tying the base on the top and bottom of the jig. 

Note: If your material has a really large base (the melted part on each end) you may want to trim it to size. I normally trim it to the same size as the distance between the head and the skirt bump.

http://www.finsntales.com/all/sink-or-swim-the-wisconsin-swim-jig/#.XtJnd4jYqyI

Here is a good pic of front only from : http://www.northwoodsbass.com/swim-jigs-northwoods-style/

Note: If you are tying multiple colors (1/4 band) tie the TOP color on first! 

Edited May 30, 2020 by DaBehr

[mark poulson]

9 hours ago, smalljaw said:

Mark, that will save time and thread!!!! On small jigs with no collars or on collars without a ring I will make a chenille ball in order for the skirt or hair to flare. I prefer to tie because I can control the amount of flare I get. On my Eakins style jigs I don't want too much flare but on an arky style jig like in the picture, flare is what you want, well at least I do. Thanks for that tip!!!

I'm just happy to have something to contribute.  Lord knows I've taken so much from you and the other makers here.

I tried, and failed, to make a bulge with thread, like you do.  You make it look so damn easy!

I like that now I can control where the bulge goes, and then lock it in place with the super glue.

I have to laugh when I think of how often Andy kicked my butt throwing his own jigs, while I was throwing mine right next to him.  But I kept trying, retying with different materials, and pushing the trailer farther up the hook to get more flare.

He had given me a dozen of  his jigs over the years, but it never occured to me to look under the skirts.  Doh!!!

Now his and mine look exactly the same in the test bucket.  That's a relief, because I was getting desperate enough to tie one of his on and risk losing it.

[mark poulson]

8 hours ago, Jig Man said:

Would it do the same if you did the collar placement after the jig was finished or does it have to be done first?

No, because the thread would spread out enough when I tied it to keep the flare from being as pronounced.  That was my first thought when I began playing with the rubber skirt collars.

[mark poulson]

6 hours ago, DaBehr said:

I tie my jigs "Wisconsin style". I cut a tab in the middle and I end up 2 pieces with tab ends. I wrap the tab ends against the head of the bait with the strands facing forward. The base is facing backwards towards the hook. (see pic below)

I usually use 1 tab but you might prefer two.

I tie with only strands facing forward 99% of the time.

If desired: (I seldom do this)

I repeat the process except I tie the tabs over the forward facing but with the strands pointing backwards. This produces a sparse skirt that really flares! If you want a heavier skirt you can on more strands if desired.

The lighter skirt gives a good view of the swimbait I use as a trailer.

Also, by cutting the tab in half it is really easy to get a good uniform distribution by tying the base on the top and bottom of the jig. 

Note: If your material has a really large base (the melted part on each end) you may want to trim it to size. I normally trim it to the same size as the distance between the head and the skirt bump.

http://www.finsntales.com/all/sink-or-swim-the-wisconsin-swim-jig/#.XtJnd4jYqyI

Here is a good pic of front only from : http://www.northwoodsbass.com/swim-jigs-northwoods-style/

Note: If you are tying multiple colors (1/4 band) tie the TOP color on first! 

I didn't know that was called Wisconsin style.  Live and learn.

I actually do something like that to add accent colors to my already tied jigs, chatterbaits, or spinnerbaits, when I want a bluegill (blue/orange) or crawdad (red) effect.  I add just a bit of a half tab to the belly, and it works great.

 

[rockslide]

thanks mark