Tying my own jigs

[Ryan]

Im very intrested in making my own tackle but since Im not a fly fisherman (yet) i figured i could make my own jigs. I know there are a few people on the site who do and i was wondering if i could have some insight on where to start. Thank you

[Bob Davis]

Hi Ryan, Tying your own baits for bluegills can start with the most basic of things as simple as a dressed #6,8, or 10 aberdeen hook in red, bronze, or gold. Play with different dressing materials on the long shank of the hooks to make your own creations you can tip with a wax worm, spike, red worm, or parts of crawlers. Bluegills gobble these simple baits up and all you need is a good tying vice, a holder for your different threads, and your tools will slowly grow until you pretty much have all you need. After you get use to tying the shanks then learn to put some extras at the curved end to create different tail arrangements. All your beginnning bodies can be redone but now they will have small tails to boot. Trust me, these will catch gills as is without anything more complicated. The fella that said "keep it simple" was abolutely correct. Remember, bare hooks with worms have been catching panfish for decades! Once you're confident with this step, add some bucktail, marabu, or other cynthetics for more effect if your like. Add extra thread at the eye end to create your head if you like. Practice making eyes on them and eventually you will have something that's completely your own and will catch fish. You will only be limited by your imagination. I have many of my own "bugs" in a file on the computer and if you'd ever want to check them out, I can send you the pix and try to answer any questions you have. I'm pretty sure my email address is on this site. Sincerely, Beaglebob