PawPaw "gene"'s new hobby

[PawPaw Gene]

I'm fairly new to this board and even newer to jig tying. I've been laid up for the last few weeks and decided to pass my time tying some jigs. Any tips or comments welcome.

Here is my vise, some supplies and my tying station. (my desk)







Some red sickle hooks and marabou, 1/16 oz.



Some gold sickle hooks and marabou, 1 1/32 oz.



Some more.



And a few clousers to use with my fly rod.



And the proof of the pudding. I've posted this pic before.



I getting better and I hope to try these out soon.
From the bayou,
PawPaw "gene"

[radtexan]

The addiction has begun!!! It starts as a little clutter,maybe on the kitchen table or a corner of your desk. Soon you will need an entire room,with numerous file cabinets ,tools you cant pronounce,and a few paychecks to feed the monster.In the end a couple of slabs hanging from one of your jigs makes it all worth it.So I keep telling my wife......

Keep it up! The jigs look good,The chinelle body's work better for me.But thats a whole nuther trip to the fly shop.

[skiptomylu]

On your clousers you seem to have the same trouble I have which is crowding the eye a little. I have had to make an effort to keep from doing that, but stopping a little short of where I think usually helps.

Over all though nice job!

Skip

[paw paw perch]

Dadgumit I wish You hadn't made me read this post. I been right on the verge of trying this and now I just gotta do it. Thanks a lot and hope you get better soon and can go and try them purty jigs.

[deathb4disco]

Any tips or comments welcome.

Pick up some good books and videos. Bass Pro has a great jig tying video available. Two books I can recommend are "Fly Tying for Beginners" by Peter Gathercole and "The Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying" by Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer. Even though they are fly-oriented, these guys are master tyers and you can learn a lot about handling materials, proportions, etc. Both books are spiral-bound so you can lay them flat next to your vise while you tie. Also, take advantage of youtube -- lots of tying videos there!

P.S. I just noticed you are from Houma. I was in Houma last month on a redfish trip. Nice area!

[shipahoy41]

PawPaw welcome to the hobby. It is fun. Your jigs catch fish and that is the ultimate thrill of it all. I try and imitate / duplicate / replicate proven jigs that catch crappies. I view fly tying videos, and listen to tips from the experts on this board.

Your photos are excellent and show quite a bit of detail. Your jigs look much better than mine ever did when I first began. The placement of the eyes on your Clouser will determine whether the jig "glides" or "swims" in the water.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...30606fotw.html

http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/TyingClouserMinnow1.wmv
http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/ClouserEpoxyaddress.wmv


Here is a concept for a basic chenille jig and marabou jigs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SIeH0tQRRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSeel...eature=related

http://www.expertvillage.com/videos/...arabou-kit.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwoMwHGcumg

http://www.expertvillage.com/videos/...-trout-fly.htm


Overall, your jigs look great and I'd say you're hooked on a new hobby. Congratulations.

[Buckeye Mike]

Congrats
See your jigs do work, and they look good to.
But i do have 1 tip, when you clamb your hook in the vise, clamb it at the bend behind the barb, this will give you more room to work on the main shank of the hook. GOOD LUCK

[PawPaw Gene]

First, I want to thank all of you for you comments and tips. I'm always open to suggestion.

Radtexan, I hope I can keep it on the small side because I have a couple other hobbies that also take time and space. Of course the first one is fishing as you might guess. Well the second one is pen making. I make custom ink pens of all sorts of exotic woods, antlers and acrylics. All of which take up a small shop by itself.

Skip, I have never seen a clouser in my hand, only a few pictures, but I understand what you mean. I did a couple more tonight that came out better.

PawPawPerch, look out because this sho is fun. I've only spent about 40 bucks for what I have, and probably can tie a hundred plus jigs. Its a great way to pass the evenings on these cold nights when I cannot work in the unheated shop. Its better than watching TV.

DB4D, I thank you for the book recommendation. I'll have to check at Books-a-Million to see what they have. No BPS near here, but a Cabelas has just opened about a hour and a half drive from here. Maybe I should also check them out. I hope your redfish trip was successful. Those things are really getting plentiful around here. We are also having a great speckle trout run this winter. Redfish are fun to catch but I don't eat much of them. The only way I like them somewhat is on the grill.

Ship, thanks for the video links, I had seen a couple of them, the one on the clouser by the master himself was great. I have never fish one so I'll have to experiment to see what action I get. My thinking was to use them when the crappie (did I use that word), I mean sac-a-lait are up near the banks. Here we fish mostly canals and bayous, and almost all of them have an area usually a few feet wide that start only a few inches deep at the bank and drop to about 1 to 2 feet deep a few feet from the bank and then drop off quickly to the depth of the canal which is usually 5 to 8 feet deep. Fishing that drop off is very productive during the pre-spawn. I thought I could cast up into the shallows and work the clouser out to the drop off and let her go hoping to pick them up on the way down. That is the way I fish my jigs also but I wanted to try it with a flyrod also.

Buckeye, actually I gave it no thought when I took the picture. I just clamped a hook it there for looks. I do try to get as much room as possible because I have some pretty big fingers. I'm glad I'm hooked onto sac-a-lait fishing instead of trout that take size 24 hooks, unreal.

Once again thanks to everyone here, this forum is the best because the members are the best.
From the bayou,
PawPaw "gene"

[shipahoy41]

God bless the Bayou area, and God bless you. I worked in the New Orleans area following Katrina. Drove in from Mobile every day through Slidell and across Lake Ponchetrain. Have fun with your new hobby and keep posting and keep catching Crappies!!

[PawPaw Gene]

Ship there are no crappie south of I-10. I do want to thank you for any help to whomever after the terrible storms. Among all the bad stories you hear there are some great heartwarming ones. Thank God for good hearted people.
From the bayou,
PawPaw "gene"