I have bought some hair jigs for walleyes, my quesstion is do you fish them plain or do you add bait? Also what type of action do you normally use. Thanks

Steve use live bait with them in most cases. A minnow,leech or worms.Since they make floating and weighted you can either use them suspended or jigging off the bottom. The only time i have caught walleye on hairy jiggs with no live bait was in the fall when the walleyes had there feeding bags on and were in a frenzy! Hope this helps!

I use hair jigs quite a bit when fishing in the Mississippi River. I like them fished alone, no live bait. Also, most hair jigs you buy have way to much hair. I tie my own, and only put about 1/4 the amout of hair on them and find that this gives better action. The action you want to imitate is the fin movements of the bait fish, and so if there is to much hair this doesn't let it flow with those wispy movements of the tail and lateral fins of the bait fish. In the last couple of years I have tried very hard to get away from live bait, in most cases. I was taught by a great hair and plastics man, James Holst of fishtheriver.com that these types of baits will put fish in the boat, and credit him with my change over. I feel I have put a "plus" effect on my presentations and have consistantly put more and bigger fish in the boat.

Just one man's opinion....

i agree with tbomn they are great to fish empty but it dosn,t hurt a bit to tip with a minnow when things are real tough, i use them all winter on the allegheny river and there are times when you have to tip them and it works, i have also used stinger hooks on them it that will make a difference at times, i also agree with him on to much hair, i had a fella give me a few of his hair jigs down at the river last winter and not only did they have to much hair but whatever he used for materials was garbage the hair on this jig did nothing but tangle itself to the hook, it was a peice of crap, i ended up throwing them in the river before i left that day, i just found a fellow in wisconin who ties jigs and guides he sent me quite a large sample pack of jigs, hair jigs and rubber worms to try, i used a few of his jigs this weekend in some bad and getting worse conditions this sunday and while i didn,t catch a ton of fish i did catch fish with them and there were 4 other boats fishing with 2 guys in a boat and they were drawing blanks, hair jigs will catch you fish at this time of year when all else fails.

Hey, this gives me a great idea, I'm going to try a Wolleybugger and a Clouser minnow for ice fishing. Can't hurt, might work. (Especially with a bit of minnow)

Steve,
I'm a diehard traditional jiggin Walleye man from the east..My roots were in trout and salmon, but the bug got me 10 years ago..and I aint goin back!
Hair's the way to go , bar none when it comes to fall, winter and early spring eye's in our local rivers and lakes here. dont get me wrong, there are times when the plastics are the ticket, and I do use them..sassy shads,twister type grubs, and even tubes. But you'll 9 outa 10 times find hair occupying theend of the line with my poles.
I build them. and with my trout and salmon roots, am savvy to "matchin the hatch", when it comes to selections when it comes to what i'm throwin that day. In fact, I've come to believe eye's are even more picky when it comes to colors, shapes and [frequncies ]involved with color schemes for hair jigs.
Dont complain that there's too much hair on a jig you bought, more hair dictates slower drop, and there are days when thats the ticket, especially at night.
You'll hear guys talk about action. some of the best action on a jig i've ever seen was on what I call that fake fur synthetic stuff you can pick up at an AC Moore, or Joannes fabrics...and know old timers that swear by it....but to me , by choice , choose to make bucktail hair that was more flexible and supple to create that action.
Colors matter...amount of hair matters..it controls the drop that walleye love as we all know, on hittin a bait on the way down.More hair..slower drop, and vice versa for a quicker drop. this all dictates into assessing the bite, and the presentation needed to maximize your potential.
There are days when they slam it , bait or not. Then others when they just pick it up ever so gently, and all thats in their face are the end strands of your jig, or the little minnow...ever hook a Walleye, and get him to the boat only to find that your jig is sunk in under its jaw?? She was hangin on to the ends or just the bait..
\light levels, water clarity, current speed, and action all compute into your choice of jig for the day..but the art and the trick of it all , is knowing how to figure what their seeing , and how they want it.
tippin a hair jig, isnt a neccessity, but there are times when they wont take a thing that isnt...and thats the bottom line withit all.
Yet on the other hand, I've met the ol timers on the system, that will never fish a hair jig tipped....they say its all in the jiggin, and all in the know-how to get them.....
sorta like driftin a streamer, swinging a streamer, and then you have those spey guys...not to mention those grease liners.....ya follow me?
Its your approach and the degree of difficulty that you set in your style and approach to how you want to take them....and that gets more detailed and complex as the average walleye guy ages and sees his passion as more of an art , as opposed to a competitive sport.
Stick with the hair buddy...give a go, and if you cant find them in the shops the way you like em....start buildin them to your own specs...BUT I warn you ....its addictive!
When you feel that click on the take...Hit it..cause thats the back of her throat...
Then admire her like she was your first girlfriend..and let her go!!

Crow

crow
do you sell your hair jigs??? i,d love to see a few of your creations, i am also thinking about tying my own, its one of those things i think will keep my inerest, since i rarely fish in the summer its something i can do than, theres nothing better in the winter while river fishing than a good hair jig they do make a difference, i also use plastic but when the water temp drops to 38 and below i don,t leave the the dock without my hair, so just wondered if you sold your jigs or if you just make em for yourself, i,d love to give em a try on the rivers here where i fish.

Check out riverwalleyes.com. Hutch has some of the best hair jigs around. He will make any colors you want.

Site addy doesnt work ....at least for me...can you get it up here again?
shadowman get in touch....e-mail me.

Crow

www.riverwalleyes.com

Great site.....jigs arent too bad either...but its an ad for his guide service.
Whats the story with those ringworms .....do they produce??
my jigs are competitive and from experiance...better.

Crow

just started using hutches hair jigs about a week ago, so far no problems and i just placed an order, crow i, ll if i can get your e-mail from profiles and if not mine is ( ctfaz@bellatlantic.net ) get in touch with me i love a good hair jig.

Ringworms hold a pocket of popularity in this realm of the world. They are very flexible so have great action in the water. They also trap air bubbles like a crawdad and are soft to the touch with those rings on them. They are good plastics for jigs... IMO Chuckles

If you're going to try them try ones tied on hooks made for round head lead jigs (90 degree bend at hook eye) so the baits hang horizontally like swimming forage and the materials wont wrap around the hook as much.

James

I have been using hutches jigs for 3 years now,put alot of fish in the boat with them,on lakes and rivers in my tourneys.None better that I have seen so far.I mostly dont tip them,but if I do it with a crawler piece. Give him a call,he will make you anything you want. John Mannerino