Sources of Hand-Tied Jigs

I’ve never fished a hair jig made outside of the US or Canada that was worth a darn. Seems like only expert North American tiers understand how to choose quality materials and adjust the amount of material to achieve a properly balanced jig.

When purchased from a quality tier, hand-crafted hair jigs will likely run between $2.50 and $3.50 each – maybe more. Of course you can learn to tie your own, but there is a learning curve involved before you start producing a decent jig. Plus there is the upfront investment of vise, tying tools, hooks, lead, body materials and so forth.

I started tying my own jigs 40 years, but eventually got away from it as demands on my spare time increased. Today, I obtain most of my hand-tied hair jigs from master-tier Jim DeZurik who does business as Jimmy D’s River Bugs out of Minnesota (www.jimmydsriverbugs.com). Jim is a very skilled tier, offering a wide variety of hand-tied creations. But if you want something special, send Jim a prototype sample and he will custom tie the pattern you desire. View several samples of Jimmy D’s River Bugs in the accompanying photo.