I got a bunch of jig heads off the flea market a while back. They're just missing the skirts and I would like to tie my own. I would like to start with rubber/silicone first. So, my question(s) is/are...

1) I think I know everything I would need - rubber, silicone, wire/thread to tie the skirt material. Am I missing anything?

2) Where is your favorite place to buy skirt material?

3) What ratios do you use for rubber/silicone? I'm sure there is no one answer for this, so what are the effects on the jig of having more silicone than rubber or more rubber than silicone?

4) About how much material should I expect to put into one skirt for 2 different colors? 3 colors?

Any other advice that would be helpful is also more than welcome. Thanks in advance.

You will need some other tools. You'll need an inexpensive skirt tool, some rubber collars, and a wire hook. I buy my skirt material from skirts unlimited or Barlows tackle. If you want to learn more just let me know. We can always chat

Talk to cadman. He has been a great help to many of us on the board, I order jig heads from him, and skirts from fishingskirts.com

I got a bunch of jig heads off the flea market a while back. They're just missing the skirts and I would like to tie my own. I would like to start with rubber/silicone first. So, my question(s) is/are...

1) I think I know everything I would need - rubber, silicone, wire/thread to tie the skirt material. Am I missing anything?

2) Where is your favorite place to buy skirt material?

3) What ratios do you use for rubber/silicone? I'm sure there is no one answer for this, so what are the effects on the jig of having more silicone than rubber or more rubber than silicone?

4) About how much material should I expect to put into one skirt for 2 different colors? 3 colors?

Any other advice that would be helpful is also more than welcome. Thanks in advance.

The answers you will get here from everyone is all a personal choice. That is why we alll make jigs, so we can customize them to the way we want. So here is my input.

#1 If you are going to wire tie you will need a pair of long nose pliers. If you are going to tie with thread then a fly tying vice helps tremendously.

#2 My flat silicone skirts I buy from fishingskirts.com, my round silicone I buy from Jann's Netcraft.

#3 I personally do it by color. So I normally put on (2) tabs of material that is 44 strands. You can do 33 strands of flat and 11 strands of round. ( your choice on this to what you like)

#4 Again this is your choice on what colors you want to dominate or accent your jig. There is no right nor wrong answer) If you want a fuller skirt you can also use 2-1/2 tabs. ( 55 strands)

Other advice is to take it slow as it will take some practice to get good at it. There are others on here as well that will give you good advice. So take it all in and learn from everyone and just have fun creating your jigs.

I bought all my flat rubber skirts from fishing skirts.com and they work great. Nice price too although two tabs are almost too thick for my do-it skirt tying tube to fit through.

A word of warning it is very addicting tying jigs.

A word of warning it is very addicting tying jigs.

That will complement my fishing addiction nicely haha.

#3 I personally do it by color. So I normally put on (2) tabs of material that is 44 strands. You can do 33 strands of flat and 11 strands of round. ( your choice on this to what you like)

When you say choosing by color what exactly do you mean? It seems that most rubber is in pretty basic, solid colors (brown, black, red, blue, etc.). So, for example, if you were tying a PBJ color scheme, would you use brown rubber and purple/tan silicone?

Also, what effect will round rubber have vs. flat strands?

I apologize for all the questions. I tend to like to know everything I can before I start something.

Thanks for everyone's replies

When you say choosing by color what exactly do you mean? It seems that most rubber is in pretty basic, solid colors (brown, black, red, blue, etc.). So, for example, if you were tying a PBJ color scheme, would you use brown rubber and purple/tan silicone?

Also, what effect will round rubber have vs. flat strands?

I apologize for all the questions. I tend to like to know everything I can before I start something.

Thanks for everyone's replies

Arv,

Me personally on a PB &J would use some flat silicone and then some round pruple and round brown. I like to mix colors when I can. Since the round colors are pretty limited, I like to mix it with the flat silicone to add some color. If you just want to use round, then yes your choice would only be brown and purple.

I myself personally do not like flat silicone tabbed material. If you ever put a jig in the water and take it out, the material wants to stick and lays flat. On the other hand when you put a round stranded skirt in the water it comes alive and is very bouncy and really flows well. I don't think that anyone would disagree with me that round stranded skirting looks and works much better than flat silicone. That is why for myself I would always add some round strands in a flat silicone skirt. Just my personal preferance.

You will have to try some both ways and experiment to see what you like and what the fish like, then let us know. It's all about what catched fish for you and what you have confidence in.

Thanks for the help cadman. I guess its just trial, error and practice now. Hopefully less error... I'll post some pics when I finally get around to tying some. Maybe some will even have bass stuck on them

Thanks for the help cadman. I guess its just trial, error and practice now. Hopefully less error... I'll post some pics when I finally get around to tying some. Maybe some will even have bass stuck on them

Arv,

Tacklemakig is all about having fun, making something with your own hands, and the best thing is taking your creation out to a lake and catching fish on it. It doesn't get any better than this. Good Luck.

I know that rubber skirts definitely move a lot more than the silicone in the water and look a lot more natural. The flat rubber tabs that I use make the jig fall relatively slow too. But I guess what matters there is the trailer size and the weight of the head too...

I mix rubber and silicone and silicone with hair. Learn to experiment and look at what others are doing and you'll be surprised at how fast you'll be become satisfied with what you're making, it is an enjoyable hobby and allows you to be creative.

Rodney

I mix rubber and silicone and silicone with hair. Learn to experiment and look at what others are doing and you'll be surprised at how fast you'll be become satisfied with what you're making, it is an enjoyable hobby and allows you to be creative.

Rodney

Do u have a photo of the silicone with hair jig? Like to see how that looks.

I'll have to learn how to post pics, it'll be interesting, my puter skills are at about an 1892 level. But to explain it; usually I tie one tab of silicone then tie the hair over it, the silicone pokes through, normally I use a light purple silicone.

Rodney

I use photobucket

You can also pick up some flashabou or crystasl flash from a fly shop to add in . I have used christmas tinsel in some of my jigs and it's usaly on sale after christmas . example is like the Icicle tinsel .