When fished side by side, beaded steelhead jigs will out produce jigs without beads. How do I know this? For the past several years, I’ve tested this theory by fishing side by side with other anglers; I’d use a jig without beads on the body and fish next to someone using a jig with beads on the body. The beaded body steelhead jig always wins.
By Dave Kilhefner [emember_protected custom_msg=’This content is available for subscribers only.’]
Materials Needed:
Pre-drilled beads, 10-pound monofilament line, thin super glue, marabou, jig heads, fly-tying vise, scissors.
Tip: FirstBiteJigs.com and TroutBeads.com have high quality pre-drilled beads.
Making Jigs:
First, you’ll want to get the marabou feathers ready. Cut about 3 inches off the marabou feather’s tip and set aside. The drilled beads from FirstBiteJigs.com have a 7/64th hole and require three marabou feather tips. The drilled beads from TroutBeads.com have a 1/8th hole and require five tips. As you’d suspect, the smaller beads are better for smaller 1/8-ounce jigs. The larger beads are best for ¼-ounce jigs. It’s really nice that both large and small sizes are commercially available.
Tip: You can drill your own beads using a new, sharp drill bit. Grip the bead with pliers, press the drill bit up to the hole and start the drill spinning. Go easy and it will follow the hole through the bead. It takes some practice to get the feel of doing this. Use a 7/64th bit for 6mm beads and a 1/8th bit for 8mm beads.
Slide two beads on the hook and lock in the fly vise. Thread a loop of monofilament through the beads. Slide the marabou tips through the loop as pictured and slowly pull forward. The marabou stems will fold over and slide inside both the beads. The fit should be snug but not so tight that it’s difficult to pull into the beads. This is the tricky part, so don’t be discouraged if it takes a few tries to get it right.
Slide the beads up to the jig head. Place a drop or two of thin super glue between the two beads and also between the top bead and the jig head. The marabou feathers will wick the glue inside the beads to the hook shank where it needs to be. Your jig is finished. Set the jig aside to dry, which takes about 5 minutes. Good fishing! [/emember_protected] [emember_protected scope=”not_logged_in_users_only”]
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