Jig Streamer Critique

mute

mute

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So ive been tying off and on for a year or two but have recently invested and taken it seriously in the past year. In the past few months ive been getting into tying some size 2-8 jig and micro streamers. Any critique is welcome. Here are two recent ones this week.
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Look pretty good to me Mute
 
Same here....both look good. Nothing to be ashamed of there!
 
They look great. I tie a lot of craft fur jig streamers. In the winter I like them to be a little more muted, natural colors like yours. Those are good winter jigs. In better weather I add a little more flash when the fish are more active. That is the In Fisherman theory on jigs colors, which works for flies too; the less active the fish are the more natural the jig needs to be. For active fish attraction may be more important so you can add more flash/brighter colors. One of my go to subtle ones is olive over cream or gray (white is too stark IMHO) with a single piece of blue or black (or maybe pearl) flash as a lateral line. I think the lateral lines show up on baitfish and the trout like that.

Speed is another part of jig action. Fish them really slow in the winter or when fish are inactive. Mostly I swing slowly down and across but even go to dead drift with stops for some action. When fish are active a fast strip may be the answer. Lighter weights fish slower, you don't want it sitting on the bottom or hanging up all the time. You may need more weight to strip fast and still keep the streamer at the depth you want.

Finally, match material to speed. The slower the jig is fished the softer the material must be. For a fast retrieve sometimes a stiffer wing is needed so it doesn't collapse. Soft to stiff is roughly marabou, acrylic yarn (often packaged as synthetic marabou), craft fur, buck tail, squirrel tail. Craft fur is a great material for winter jigs. Stiffer wings and a bulkier tie also slow drop speed. Want to get to bottom in a reasonable time; too fast and it hangs up on the bottom and doesn't have a nice action; too slow and it may not get into the zone. Sink speed is as much about wing material and how sparse the jig is tied as much as weight. Weight isn't the only concern. However, tungsten and brass beads give a lot of room to play with weight.

Sometimes simple white or black will be the color of the day. I think winter browns like white and rainbows like black - but maybe that is just wishful thinking. A tiny pink one with a very sparse pink marabou wing has been good to me over the years,

Jig streamers is another rabbit hole you can go down with plenty of variables to play around with. Match local minnow species (ie black nosed or long nosed dace) or try to imitate fry with big eyes (I think the pink marabou one is a light colored fry). Convert classic streamers to jig streamers. Mickey Finn and Gray Ghost jigs have been good to me. Can't go wrong with tried and true color patterns. Copy hot lure colors like Fire Tiger. Fly guys can use hot lure colors. Try tying misc trout patterns. Baby brown trout patterns work well in wild brown trout streams. The options are endless. You have a good start,

If you tie a lot of jigs in streamer sizes (10 and larger) buy hooks for jigs, not from a fly tying house - they are much cheaper. Here is one place I use: https://www.captainhookswarehouse.com/ Smaller hooks are more available from fly tying sources,
 
Look good. I’m sure the fish will like them.
 
They look good. I've been working on some buck tail, hair and marabou jigs. I've been thinking about adding some soft hackles to them. They can be fished either as a jig or streamer. I'm also planning to tie crayfish patterns on them. I buy my jig hooks from non-fly fishing sources if I'm going to go the dumbbell eye route. Otherwise, I buy the jigs. Today, I picked up a mixed pack of 25 1/32 oz jigs for under $4 at the Sportsman's Warehouse. White, Chartreuse, Black and Orange. Mainly I'm planning on tying on 1/32 oz or 1/20 oz jigs. They're usually made on size 6 or size 4 hooks. When you get up to a jig made with a size 2 hook, they're most likely to heavy to use with a fly rod. I use either Gamakatsu, Eagle Claw or VMC jig hooks when using dumbbell eyes. Eagle Claw hooks are very sharp, and they're cheaper than the other two brands. You should be able to find 90° hooks in the sizes you're looking at tying and all three come in 90°, 60° and 45° configuration in larger sizes. Y
 
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