Squirrel Tail Jigs

[John Sheehan]

 

SQUIRREL TAIL  JIGS

   I have been fishing simple Squirrel Tail Jigs since November 2009 and although I haven't counted the number of fish  they have  caught ,let's just say scores of fish !August 2017 I fished them consistently and reawakened the realization of how well these little guys attract many species of Fish. Examples of  a large variety of species have been caught on 1/8th ,16th and 32nd oz. Jigs .I tie them up usually with Black /Yellow eyed Ball head Jigs ,using Red , Black ,Grey or Brown thread. White head /Black eyed Jigs work well too. I plan on targeting Smallmouths and Walleyes with 1/4 oz .versions before the year 2017 is out .

   Squirrel Tail  " breathes " ,leech like in the water and it's that quality  that makes them so attractive to fish . I am up to 12 species of fish caught on UN-TIPPED Squirrel Tail Jigs.; Pumpkin Seed,Blue Gill, Green Sunfish ,LM Bass,Yellow Bullhead, Chain  Pickerel ,White Perch,Yellow Perch ,Crappie ,Chub, Fathead minnow and Channel Catfish . Rainbow Trout( and most of the other species mentioned) have been caught tipping with a 1" Gulp Minnow and Channel Cats tipping with a 2" Twister Tail .Of course tipping with a Night Crawler Chunk is killer and is an economical way to use the bait.  Walleye's , Smallmouths and Red Breasted Sunfish  I am sure will hit them so I am aiming for 15 species at least on an un-tipped Squirrel Tail. I have managed a Smallmouth on a 1/4 oz. Squirrel Tail Jig /4"Keitech Easy Shiner Combo and several Red Breasted Sunfish tipping with a Crawler piece. Got a Crappie on a 16th oz. Spinner bait that got the feathers knocked off it that I tied a clump of ST to. Anxious to try the ST Jig with Spinner harness as well.  And when the waters low I intend using tandem ST's as that is when the Tandem has worked best for me.

  Worked slowly and steady near bottom they are devastating on Yellow Perch around Rip Rap, Dams ,incoming streams and  inflow Pipes . The White Perch seem to be more attracted to a swimming twitching faster presentation and I have taken many 9-10" Whites without tipping the ST Jig. A moderate retrieve with pulsing twitches up in the column for following Fish works a charm too when the water warms up . A slow swimming or falling presentation around Prime fish structure can be just what a Lunker Largemouth or Channel Cat won't resist .  Many 12"-15" class Crappie from shore fishing them around inflow pipes have been caught and seem to take most often when the jig is falling in the column. The Bluegills and the Pumpkinseeds as well as hybrid PSXBG seem to demand the crawler chunk more than the other fish but if they are worked up or particularly aggressive they take an un- tipped ST in 32 oz. or smaller size.

I am intending to archive  fish catches 12 months of the year but may have to tip with bait more consistently or tie smaller than 32nd oz. during Cold Water periods .
First time trying ST's through the ice 2018: This 17" White Catfish took a 64th oz. ST Jig tipped with a Live Fathead Minnow after catching about 15 Perch with the same set up.

           MEPPS: "We've tried hundreds of other natural and synthetic materials; bear hair, fox, coyote, badger, skunk, deer, even Angus cow, but nothing works as well as squirrel tail hair. We've been recycling squirrel tails for over half a century. In fact, we recycle more of them than anyone else in the world. The fact is squirrel tails are all hair—no fur. Practically all other animals have fur tails with just a few guard hairs. Fur doesn't have the rippling, pulsating movement of squirrel hair in the water."

SQUIRREL TAIL JIGS -1/8th and 16th oz. sizes

32nd oz for Bluegills

 

A Smallmouth Combo in 1/4 oz.size.

Here's an ST tied on a Slider Jig which fooled a 22" Chain Pickerel

PUMPKINSEED http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/mouthful-pseed?context=album&...

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/cupsaw-pseed?context=album&al...

BLUEGILL http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/gill-on-squirrel-tail-jig?context...

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/img-1608?context=album&albumI...

Tandem Squirrel Tail Rig: http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/tandem-squirrel-tail-jig-twister-...

CRAPPIE  

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/squirrel-tail-jig-taken?context=a...!

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/eating-the-untipped-squirrel-tail...  

ST Spinnerbait :  http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/squirrel-tail-spinnerbait?context...

LARGEMOUTH BASS  http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/small-bass-on-squirel-tail-jig?co...

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/nov5fantasticday2ndbass185squi-2?...

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/nov5fantasticday2ndbass185squi-1?...

SMALLMOUTH BASS: http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/12-smallmouth?context=album&a...

TROUT  32nd oz. Squirrel tail Jigs  tipped  with Gulp Minnows  .I am finding them a good Trout bait . Got two Trout a Chub, two Bluegills and a Fat head from hole 1, a Blue gill a Fathead and a Trout from hole 2 , a Trout from hole 3 .All fish on 32nd oz. Squirrel tail Jig .Trout took it tipped with Gulp 1 " minnow.   http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/ringwood-brook-rainbow-trout?cont...

GREEN SUNFISH http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/green-sunfish-on-1-8th-oz-squirre...

WHITE PERCH  http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/img-1837?context=album&albumI...

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/18th-oz-squirrel-tail-jig-9-5-whi...

YELLOW PERCH  http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/squirrel-tail-jig-perch?context=a...

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/10-yellow-perch-takes-32nd-oz-squ...

CHANNEL CATFISH 

http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/17-channel-cat?context=album&...

WHITE CATFISH :

 http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/17-white-catfish-6?context=album&...

YELLOW BULLHEAD http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/img-2023-1?context=album&albu...

CHAIN PICKEREL http://bigbluegill.ning.com/photo/one-of-three-pickerel-2 

[John Sheehan]

The list keeps getting longer .