Jig and Pig for Fly Rods

There are a few "bass jig" flies out there, but having tied and fished the known patterns I was never fully satisfied with them.  I decided to try and come up with an alternative that fished the way I wanted.  Since I fish more shallow water for bass (ponds and lakes), I wanted: a slower fall, the tail of the fly up at rest, and to try to better match the outline/profile of the conventional jig and pig.

As is usually the case, Attempt #1 was a near miss.  I was tying a fairly large bass fly on a 2/0 60 degree jig hook, and used standard rabbit strips instead of magnum strips, which I should have used.  I also trimmed the rabbit strips a touch too short for my liking.  Otherwise, I liked the rest of the fly.  In the tank, the fall was correct and the tail stood up, as hoped.

I remedied those issues on the next version, sticking with the same color combination of olive/brown/craw orange.  The updated version with the magnum zonkers in the tail also tank tested really well.  In order to "spread" the zonker strips like crayfish claws, I utilized the deer hair technique I use in the HD Craw.  This also provides a little buoyancy in the tail, as well as slows the fall of the fly a bit.

Satisfied that I had the pattern the way I wanted it, I wanted to tie a test pattern in my favorite bass jig color: black and blue.  I just had one problem...I didn't have black or blue magnum zonker strips.  My solution was to take some grizzly zonker and dye it in dark blue dye.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pretty happy with the way these turned out.

Here's the official recipe that I followed for this pattern.  One thing I think a lot of folks would add, that I did not, was a rattle to the underbody.  This would be a very easy addition, so if you want a rattle, tie one in.  The rubber legs I use are actually made for bass jigs, from a brand called Boss.  I get these skirts from Bass Pro Shops, and they are a great value.  5 full skirts are under $4, and the colors are really awesome.

-Hook: 60 degree jig hook size 2/0

-Eyes: medium dumbbells

-Antennae: rubber legs

-Spreader: deer body hair

-Claws: magnum zonker strips

-Hackle: two schlappen feathers in coordinating colors

-Underbody: Estaz

-Collar: rubber legs