I am new to tying as well. I have ordered materials to experiment with just to see what I will actually want to use. Takeum says figure out what jig, but how does one actually do that. LOL….I am all over the place. So I am choosing materials in the colors I know I will want to see my jigs made in. For me that is:

Pink, White, Blue, Purple, Chartreuse, and Lime.

Maraboo is easy to work with and provides good results early on. Inexpensive. Woods and Water will sell you some that is a nice quality, a good amount, dyed very nicely, and at a fair price. They also have chenilles that are more than acceptable and can be shipped at the same time.

Animal hairs are tricky. A nice bucktail would be a good choice. Others that you will eventually want to try would be Arctic Fox TAIL, squirrel TAIL, calf TAIL. From there you will see lots of choices as most furry critters get formed into flies at some point. A nice high quality hair that I enjoy is Finn Coon, but Elk, Moose, Goats and possums are available. To choose, read as much as you can or just order some and start playing. That’s my style.

Feathers are all over the place as well. Chicken feathers are ready to order in a wide variety of styles and colors. Read about hackle feathers, and get some of them. Chickens have a saddle (rump) and a cape (neck) and are bred to produce certain shapes and styles. Mostly this is for the fly tying guys, but ones suitable for jigs are cheap, with neck hackle being most popular.

Ostrich, pheasant, Hungarian Partridge, peacock, Jungle Cock, and many many more all can be used for specific fly fishing flies, but are available to you to experiment with.

Feathers are less durable than hair, but that may not matter to you. Marabou doesn’t last long in 50 degree or colder water. In warmer waters marabou has the most action. So it’s a trade off of sorts.

I just ordered some synthetic hair to mess around with. It has it’s own issues I understand, like wadding up when stored in a box where the fur of one tangles with the hook of another. Still a nice bucktail style jig can be very productive.

Each material will have drawbacks that go with the advantages. Your ability to master the techniques associated with each will determine your end product. Get a good tying setup with a good light source and make sure you can see details.

Vices are personal. Some want rotary so they can spin on chenille. To me that is little potatoes. I wanted a vice that will grip the hook without hassles and that was a Regal. Some vices are very expensive, and some dirt cheap.

Hope you enjoy tying jigs as much as some of us do. A fool gets into jig tying to save money or to make money.