The only time we use them is in water close to freezing with a front approaching. We would rather just use curl tail grubs or drop shot for them, but hair has saved the day on a couple of trips.
On our lake fish move to deep beds in winter 30-40ft. I have always used tube baits and caught plenty of fish, but with all the really nice custom made feather and hair jigs on the market I'm wondering if they would ever be worth the extra money? When do you feel like hand tied jigs are more productive if ever?
Fish like your hungry!
The only time we use them is in water close to freezing with a front approaching. We would rather just use curl tail grubs or drop shot for them, but hair has saved the day on a couple of trips.
I have more confidence in hair or feathers, particularly in colder water. They have a subtle action that no plastic can match.
I have used hair and feather but still prefer peacock colored flash-a-bou all year round. The material comes in fine or medium grade and in many different colors, but the flash, flare and finesse motions are it's best features. I tandem rig flash-a-bou 1/16 oz jigs with an Octopus hook above it and catch many doubles in crappie schools. The lure is good for most other species and one of the best for ice fishing.
Usually hair and feathers in colder water but there are those days when that's all they want no matter the temp. Carry both and you're all set.
Fatman
i tie jigs on 1/4oz heads some people that i deal with use hair and feathers year round.majority is on 1/16 and 1/8
I have so much soft plastic I probably could rig everyone here with something to fish with, but I hardly ever use it. Not that I don't think it will work, but I hate changing the soft plastic after every few fish when I can catch a 100 over a few days and never change baits. I also know that marabou has more action and any soft plastic and if they don't want too much action you can always use a kip tail jig and they work great too.
I doubt that a good hand tied jig is really more than fishing soft plastic just because of the numbers or changes on the soft plastic bodies. I have way more than one customer that has caught over 300 on a single jig.
Also bottom line, I don't think soft plastic will out fish hand tied feather jigs most of the time. I am sure at times and depending on who is holding that rod the soft plastic will do as well. I bought a bunch of Bobby Garland Swimming Minnow's and I liked them so much I ordered 2 time and heck I even used them one day for a few minutes, LOL! They just sit in there waiting and it's been probably 3 years now they sit. I also have loads of tubes both solid and hollow types as well as a ton of grub types and some others. Just my opinion.
Why do you think one of the guys though of on top water bass fishing uses a Pop'r with a feather tail? He goes to the trouble of sanding down the sides and paints them again and then ties on some hackle on his treble hooks? It's because when even just sitting still, the feathers move like breathing in the water.
Skip
That is a really good question. I use to pond fish a lot as a child and I did extremely well on hair and feather jigs. However on the lakes I never had much success with them. Over time I realized that whenever I did have success on them, it was usually always in the winter. I do not use them much, but some days I would have went without catching any if not for hair jigs. Overall I would clearly go with plastics for the most part, but it is definately worth keeping a few hair jigs on hand.
Extreme cold is by far my favorite time to use hair/feather they have saved several january trips for me.
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I use hair and feather jigs regularly when verticle fishing but when trolling there is no way they have more action than plastic just watch it in the water