Best skirt material for a jig

JasonDaoust · January 05, 2016, 10:43:42 AM

Hi everyone I'm wondering on what material is best for jigs. This is my first time trying to make jig skirts I normally buy them pre made but there too expensive. So I would like your recommendations and where the best service is to buying them. Also which tool to make them would you suggest?

Thanks Jason

31airborne · January 05, 2016, 11:39:44 AM

I've been making my own jigs for a while now. You are gonna have a ball doing this. Nothing better than catching a fish on something you created.

You're gonna hate the answer but it depends - silicon gives the greatest variety of colors, patterns. Rubber is buoyant and very lively in the water. There are applications for both. If you are going to pick one I recommend going w/ silicon because of the variety.

I use fishingskirts.com for most of my material. There are some odd patterns I get from Jann's Netcraft and lurepartsonline.com. All of these sites offer basic skirt making tools. Fishingskirts.com has, by far, the best shipping and customer service operations. Most of my orders ship the day I place them; arrive within a couple days. The other sites aren't bad. FS.com is just that good.

SFL BassHunter · January 05, 2016, 01:43:02 PM

I second 31airborne. Each skirt has a place, and it depends what you want to do with it. You could also mix and match. For example you could do rubber outside which is buoyant so the outside strands flare faster and silicone inside for a slower flare.

I do silicone only. I also get mine from fishingskirts.com. A basic fishing skirt tool is cheap and easy to use. There are plenty of youtube vids out there on how to actually put your jig together. I recommend a video from Gary Klein that is out there. It may even be on fishingskirts website. One of the things I want to learn is how to hand tie because the rubber bands that hold the skirts from fishingskirts seem to crack and go bad with the water and sun. I've had 2 jigs just fall apart inside my tackle box.

The basic tool is good enough, don't go crazy with getting some higher end deal.

One of my next projects is to expand that into making my spinnerbaits.

If you make enough jigs you will save money.

merc1997 · January 05, 2016, 02:54:56 PM

Quote from: rickdelprado on January 05, 2016, 01:43:02 PM
I second 31airborne. Each skirt has a place, and it depends what you want to do with it. You could also mix and match. For example you could do rubber outside which is buoyant so the outside strands flare faster and silicone inside for a slower flare.

I do silicone only. I also get mine from fishingskirts.com. A basic fishing skirt tool is cheap and easy to use. There are plenty of youtube vids out there on how to actually put your jig together. I recommend a video from Gary Klein that is out there. It may even be on fishingskirts website. One of the things I want to learn is how to hand tie because the rubber bands that hold the skirts from fishingskirts seem to crack and go bad with the water and sun. I've had 2 jigs just fall apart inside my tackle box.

The basic tool is good enough, don't go crazy with getting some higher end deal.

One of my next projects is to expand that into making my spinnerbaits.

If you make enough jigs you will save money.

good reason to look into material and bands from lure parts. they handle material and bands from skirts plus. skirts plus silicone material is very near in float and flare as rubber. also, they have much better bands.

bo

SFL BassHunter · January 05, 2016, 02:55:59 PM

Quote from: merc1997 on January 05, 2016, 02:54:56 PM
good reason to look into material and bands from lure parts. they handle material and bands from skirts plus. skirts plus silicone material is very near in float and flare as rubber. also, they have much better bands.

bo

Nice I'll look into that. I still think I want to go with a hand tie regardless but it's good to know.

Wizard · January 05, 2016, 03:30:53 PM

The skirt material depends on the type of jig and how you want to use it. I always wire tie silicone skirts to the jig. Never have a band break with wire.

31airborne · January 05, 2016, 04:34:01 PM

Rick raised a good point (bands) that I should've put in my reply. Not all bands are created equal. For some reason (the chemists and engineers on here will help explain why) some colors (amber, white) break down faster than others (black). Your inclination will be to match collar w/ skirt color. You can go ahead and pass on that. If a fish can see the color of your skirt collar he's not going to bite your bait anyway. he knows it's fake. Just sayin' . . .

The plain collars are fairly easy to work with. The rattle collars are a royal PITA. Maybe your fingers are a bit more nimble than mine. I hate working with them.

On silicone skirt material: much of it is made in (of all places) Viet Nam. That material tends to have a heavy petroleum smell to it. Doesn't affect the bite on those skirts. It's just a nuisance when you're working with it. The FS.com material doesn't have that funky smell. Again, doesn't affect the bite. It's a creature comfort thing.

One thing I did early on in the process of building my own jigs was take notes. I kept a log of all the skirt combos I put together. I got to a point where I could match a skirt combo to a specific lake or time of year. This was helpful when I started fine tuning things, as fish started to show more and more interest in my creations. Having that reference handy was a huge help. Simply no way I was gonna remember all of the goofy combos I made up. Just a thought.

Lots of merit to Wiz's point on wire tying. It is the most secure way of keeping a skirt on a jighead. You'll wanna look at some additional gear if you decide to go this route. Some of the fly tying gear is perfect for this. The sites we shared above will have all of this stuff. Something to keep in mind as you get into this (and you will).

bigjim5589 · January 05, 2016, 05:46:37 PM

I've made many of my own for a long time, but can't add anything to what's already been said except that I found that some of the skirt bands are latex or rubber based, while others are neoprene. Basically bands are cut from tubing made from these materials. Rubber or latex breaks down & deteriorates faster than neoprene, that's why some fall apart while others don't.

One material not mentioned is natural hairs. That's a different topic & process, but can be very productive.

SFL BassHunter · January 05, 2016, 08:21:36 PM

Quote from: 31airborne on January 05, 2016, 04:34:01 PM
Rick raised a good point (bands) that I should've put in my reply. Not all bands are created equal. For some reason (the chemists and engineers on here will help explain why) some colors (amber, white) break down faster than others (black). Your inclination will be to match collar w/ skirt color. You can go ahead and pass on that. If a fish can see the color of your skirt collar he's not going to bite your bait anyway. he knows it's fake. Just sayin' . . .

The plain collars are fairly easy to work with. The rattle collars are a royal PITA. Maybe your fingers are a bit more nimble than mine. I hate working with them.

On silicone skirt material: much of it is made in (of all places) Viet Nam. That material tends to have a heavy petroleum smell to it. Doesn't affect the bite on those skirts. It's just a nuisance when you're working with it. The FS.com material doesn't have that funky smell. Again, doesn't affect the bite. It's a creature comfort thing.

One thing I did early on in the process of building my own jigs was take notes. I kept a log of all the skirt combos I put together. I got to a point where I could match a skirt combo to a specific lake or time of year. This was helpful when I started fine tuning things, as fish started to show more and more interest in my creations. Having that reference handy was a huge help. Simply no way I was gonna remember all of the goofy combos I made up. Just a thought.

Lots of merit to Wiz's point on wire tying. It is the most secure way of keeping a skirt on a jighead. You'll wanna look at some additional gear if you decide to go this route. Some of the fly tying gear is perfect for this. The sites we shared above will have all of this stuff. Something to keep in mind as you get into this (and you will).

Interesting, so the color of the band can be the issue. I bought clear bands. I figured that would work with every jig.

JasonDaoust · January 05, 2016, 09:44:39 PM

Thanks everyone I think I will be hand tying them over a rubber band. I had a few bands break on me that's why I want to make my own. Plus the satisfaction of catching fish on my own personal jigs

Pferox · January 05, 2016, 09:48:42 PM

You can even use thread, wire or a Tie Wrap to hold the skirt on instead of the bands.

merc1997 · January 05, 2016, 09:55:03 PM

one of the main reasons that i have always used a changeable skirt is the ability to not carry so much tackle. a few heads and a few choices of skirts and i am good to go, and can quickly change skirt colors and still use the same jig head. lets say, you want to keep 8 skirt colors in three weights. that is 24 jigs. with the three sizes , one each, and 8 skirts, i have it covered.

but, that is just me, and i always try to keep fishing as simple as possible.

bo

Oldfart9999 · January 06, 2016, 09:00:57 AM

Bo makes a good point for using skirts with bands. I make my own jigs and after pwoder coating them I tie the skirt on, got tired of heavy weeds pulling the skirts down and I carry a lot of jigs because of toothy critters. I use hair, rubber and silicone and sometimes mix them. Silicone has the most color options and when tied tightly flare more than with the bands, there is a round silicone that comes close to rubber in action, rubber flares the most of any of the materials, even at rest and at times it's a trigger. I use hair a fair amount, mostly tied to ballhead jigs, it's the most subtle in action, it breathes in current and when used in a swimming motion flows like a real fish, it is also the most delicate skirt material. They all have a time and place.
Rodney

jprism · January 06, 2016, 09:04:00 AM

Anyone ever tried materials from fishing skirts.com

31airborne · January 06, 2016, 09:36:46 AM

About 80% of the skirt material I use comes from FS.com. Great selection, great customer service.

JasonDaoust · January 06, 2016, 10:23:33 AM

I will be placing a order today with fishing skirts.com I'm dying to see what I can make

SFL BassHunter · January 06, 2016, 11:09:14 AM

Quote from: Pferox on January 05, 2016, 09:48:42 PM
You can even use thread, wire or a Tie Wrap to hold the skirt on instead of the bands.

Indeed I was planning on tieing with thread actually. Should be strong enough and cheap.

SFL BassHunter · January 06, 2016, 11:15:46 AM

The nice thing about putting together your own jig is that it is so simple and you can control exactly what you put in the water. Sometimes you may find a jig with more of a color than you want, or a jig that might be missing a color you want, or sometimes you say I don't really like these orange strands. Well when you put together your own you can customize them however the heck you want and it should even give you more confidence when you throw that jig because you have exactly what you want on the end of the line and didn't have to settle for what the manufacturer put together for you.

chadyp · January 06, 2016, 12:26:14 PM

Barlows tackle has more skirts and hair than anywhere else I have found.

merc1997 · January 06, 2016, 02:50:56 PM

Quote from: Oldfart9999 on January 06, 2016, 09:00:57 AM
Bo makes a good point for using skirts with bands. I make my own jigs and after pwoder coating them I tie the skirt on, got tired of heavy weeds pulling the skirts down and I carry a lot of jigs because of toothy critters. I use hair, rubber and silicone and sometimes mix them. Silicone has the most color options and when tied tightly flare more than with the bands, there is a round silicone that comes close to rubber in action, rubber flares the most of any of the materials, even at rest and at times it's a trigger. I use hair a fair amount, mostly tied to ballhead jigs, it's the most subtle in action, it breathes in current and when used in a swimming motion flows like a real fish, it is also the most delicate skirt material. They all have a time and place.
Rodney

very true about hair. there is only one way with hair and that is to tie it. i always have a selection of hair jigs in the boat because there are just times nothing beats a hair jig.

bo