Help with skirt

[NM Hevi]

Looking to match as close as possible SK Bitsy Bug skirt Camo. Tabs look to be black w/green flake, light brown, and clear w/green and copper fine cut. Have looked at LPO,Barlow, Living Rubber, Skirts Unlimited. I can make do with straight black and light brown, but would really like to have the clear w/green and copper match. This is for personal use, so ordering a 1000 custom tabs is really not an option. Fine Cut seems to have limited color options and according to Paul at LR is very hard to make. Any help would be appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[smalljaw]

Go to www.fishingskirts.com  and look up number 407, it is clear with green and copper flake. In fact you can find every color you need there.

[NM Hevi]

Thanks smalljaw saw color 407 while searching i may end up going that route, however was looking for fine cut first. They're out of stock on most other colors im looking for also.

[smalljaw]

You do realize fine cut silicone doesn't mean more strands per tab but a thinner tab altogether, right?  The only reason I mention this is because I've purchased fine cut tabs off of other guys who bought it thinking it would be cut like living rubber and have more strands per tab only to find out it means the tab is still 22 strands but the overall thickness of the silicone is thinner, almost like taking a regular tab of silicone and slicing it in half widthwise to get 2 tabs.  Fine cut and basically all living rubber comes in flat colors and the reptile rubber has a black print but you won't find any with glitter or translucent colors since it can't be made like that.

[NM Hevi]

Yes i do realize that. Not looking for more strands but rather a smaller/thinner profile on a finesse jig, smallies are keyed in on small craws right now. 

if fine cut cant be made with glitter or translucent/clear is my thinking wrong with regards to SK Bitsy Bugs skirts being fine cut? Sure looks and feels thinner and definitely has glitter.

Smalljaw, I'm looking for silicon tabs, not rubber.

Edited July 19, 2017 by NM Hevi

[smalljaw]

The tabs on the bitsy bugs isn't fine cut, I have fine cut tabs in black and watermelon magic craw and I have yet to see any production model that use fine cut silicone.  The reason why the tabs feel thinner is probably the pattern itself, if you have a lot of different color silicone strands you'll notice that the thickness varies from different manufacturers as well as colors, barbed wire tabs are heavier while translucent colors seem to be thinner than opaque colors. I may be wrong because I haven't actually had the pleasure of seeing that pattern bitsy bug in person but I'm guessing that the color you are looking for is like a color I get called clear silver neon, I have to be careful working with it as I have picked up 2 tabs stuck together and only after cutting did I realize it was two tabs instead of one.  I also don't know if you ever worked with the fine cut silicone but for me personally, I hate it...LOL. It sticks together, the strands stick to themselves and it just is a pain but I still use it on certain finesse jigs because in the water they move differently than regular cut material and so when I mix it in with regular cut silicone it gives it a different look. The regular material separates and falls while the fine cut is still moving around, I like that and I think it has helped when the fishing is tough but I absolutely hate working with it.

[NM Hevi]

You are correct sir it can make a big difference on a tough bite at times for sure. Rule of thumb for me has been cold water Living Rubber, as water warms and craws spawn I'll normally downsize to match the hatch with the Bug,  Have tied many LR jigs, but can honestly say I've never tied a fine cut skirt. I'm relatively new to building/painting my own baits and can't believe I didn't start doing so years ago. A completely new addiction has been born!

Thanks for you help.

[smalljaw]

Well we all know how addicting this hobby is!!!  For me, cold water is hair and then a silicone and living rubber but we all have preferences based on experience and tend to go with what works.  Good luck with your quest for the colors you need, and remember, the best part about this hobby is making the lure your own. The colors in that camo pattern you like are interesting and there is one color I'd do something different with to create a more mottled appearance, I'd ditch the regular pumpkin brown color for natures edge pumpkin brown, same shade but it have small black print in random order on it, I think it would really make that color much more effective but that is just my preference. Good luck on your new addiction and don't be a stranger, post a pic of that jig in the gallery when you get the colors sorted out, I'm interested in seeing how it comes out.

[NM Hevi]

I will take your advice on natures edge pumpkin as well as trying hair jigs for cold water, makes sense. I pair that Camo Bitsy Bug with a GP Chigger Craw has been my go to for years now. I'm a smallie fanatic, caught a 5.4 two weeks ago on a Ultra Minnow head with craft fur painted in a Bluegill pattern i made, moss green paint and dark olive craft fur 1/8oz. Maybe you'd be willing to share a belly hair smallmouth pattern? Always enjoy learning new techniques.

[smalljaw]

On ‎7‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 6:57 AM, NM Hevi said:

I will take your advice on natures edge pumpkin as well as trying hair jigs for cold water, makes sense. I pair that Camo Bitsy Bug with a GP Chigger Craw has been my go to for years now. I'm a smallie fanatic, caught a 5.4 two weeks ago on a Ultra Minnow head with craft fur painted in a Bluegill pattern i made, moss green paint and dark olive craft fur 1/8oz. Maybe you'd be willing to share a belly hair smallmouth pattern? Always enjoy learning new techniques.

 

If you check out my you tube channel (same as my screen name) I have some tutorials on different patterns I tie. There are hair jigs as well as finesse type jigs with silicone, living rubber, and various natural materials.

[NM Hevi]

Just viewed your rabbit fur video,liked it. You use round ball i use minnow head with 3D eyes same pattern though and I'm sure similar results too. I use a Gami, how are you liking those Lil Nasty hooks? I have a deadly bright pattern (pink, chart,  lime,and black, we call it Fugly) thats very effective on Walleye and at times Smallies.

My father was born and raised in Philly until he joined the military, ended up here in NM and never went back. He's 80, has his own boat and fishes for Walleye once a week year around, i can't keep him in jigs at times. In 5 years he become very, very good at graphing and catching. What part of PA you from?

[smalljaw]

I'm about 100 miles north of Philadelphia in south central PA. I fish a lot of hair jigs in the Susquehanna River for smallmouth but mostly in colder weather. I do like using marabou for water temps in the 60s and there is a state park lake that is fed by cold water springs that stays in the low 70s all summer with gin clear water and hair jigs seem to work there all year.  I tie bright patterns like your "fugly", mostly pinks and purples with some lime green chartreuse mixed in too, a local guy likes them for fishing steelhead but that is the extent of my bright patterns. The Lil Nasty hooks have been really good, they are light wire but are super sharp and penetrate easily, light line with medium light rods for smaller jigs, I was a Gami user for a bit but now I'm using a lot of Owner hooks, specifically the 5313 and the 5304 in small sizes. The 5304 in a size #1 I use for finesse football head jigs, they are 1/8oz and we use them on post frontal days during Spring and they also work well dragging along rock flats during the post spawn period when they don't chase.