The late, great Mike Hansen introduced our family to the advantages of fishing hair jigs on a Fishing 411 TV episode set on the Illinois River back in 2021. Mike was a master at catching river walleye and sauger using custom-tied hair jigs. Sadly, Covid took our friend before he had an opportunity to see that episode when it was broadcast in early 2022.
Since that first experience using custom-designed and tied hair jigs, both Jake and I have been on a mission to master the fine art of using natural hair fibers to catch walleye and a host of other species.
The hair jigs Mike Hansen was using and promoting are a far cry from the bucktail jigs your grandfather might have used. Back in the day, bucktail jigs were pretty boring. Most were tied using either brown or black bucktail, they were built on garden variety round head jigs that featured run-of-the-mill paint jobs and hooks. Did these “old school” bucktail jigs catch fish? Sure, but not like the supercharged hair jigs anglers have access to these days.
Hair jigs are hardly a new thing, but a new generation of hair jigs is turning some heads.
Mike got us thinking we could build a better mouse trap using our friends at Eagle Claw. Our goal soon manifested into a mission to design a quality hair jig with some style, a premium quality hook, a classy-looking head, a touch of flash and colors that will knock your socks off. The project involved a number of prototypes and took a little over a year to come to fruition. We are proud to announce that at the recent ICAST convention in Orlando, Florida, Eagle Claw introduced their new lineup of hair jigs in 1/8, 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 ounce sizes. Built on Eagle Claw’s proven Tear Drop jighead and featuring the Laser Sharp Pro V Bend hook, the foundation for this new hair jig is rock solid.
Coming up with the perfect overall profile was the next challenge. Most hair jigs on the market are a little too big for the task. The nature of a bucktail is when it gets wet it puffs up. This is exactly what gives hair jigs natural action, but if the profile is too large, a hair jig can quickly become bigger than optimum.
Ensuring the hair stays put on the hook shank is another concern. Most of the hair jigs currently on the market are poorly tied. If you tug on the hair, big chunks will pull out. This leads to jigs that don’t hold up to heavy use. The Eagle Claw hair jig is built to last with tightly wrapped threads and plenty of head cement to lock the hair securely in place on the hook shank.
Only genuine bucktail hair is used in making the Eagle Claw jigs. Synthetic fibers just don’t have the natural buoyancy or subtle action of genuine bucktail. Eagle Claw sourced and insisted on using the best available bucktail for their jigs.
Bugeyes are a nice feature on a hair jig, but most are simply glued on and they don’t stick for long. Eagle Claw modified the TearDrop jig to create eye pockets for the oversized eyes to fit into. This design looks great and prevents the eyes from getting knocked off with hard use.
Color is another concern. The hair jig colors offered by Eagle Claw are spot on. There is a Firetiger, a Black/Purple, a Chartreuse/White, a White/Red, a Black/Black and Pink/White pattern that all feature a few strands of flash to help bring the jigs to life in the water.
In short, we could not be more satisfied with the new Eagle Claw hair jigs and we are already enjoying the fruits of our labor. On a recent trip to Flint Wilderness Resort, our team, plus three buds from Jay’s Sporting Goods, had the first opportunity to fish the production-grade Eagle Claw hair jigs.
Our group of six anglers handled hundreds of quality walleye during the four-day adventure! Every color pattern produced fish and the jigs held up great.
The Perfect Hair Jig Rod
Getting the most from a hair jig requires using a rod that helps milk the subtle action from these jigs. For casting applications a medium/light high carbon rod about seven feet long is ideal for pitching 1/8 and 1/4 ounce jigs. When using 3/8 or 1/2 ounce jigs, a slightly stiffer medium action rod is in order.
For vertical jigging hair jigs in rivers, I recommend a six foot, to six foot-six inch rod with a somewhat stiffer medium/heavy action. Stiffer rods do a better job of telegraphing the subtle strikes commonly associated with vertical jigging and also help drive the hook home.
Lines And Leaders
For both casting and vertical jigging applications, a premium quality super braid line in the 10 pound test class is ideal. I strongly recommend using a high visibility braid as it makes it much easier to see the line, detect subtle strikes and also to help keep the line vertical when river jigging.
I do not, however, recommend tying the braid directly to the hair jig. Braided line is very visible in the water, making it a poor choice for tying direct. Also, should a jig become snagged, it’s difficult to break super braids.
Instead, I recommend tying in a 36-48 inch shock leader of 10 or 12 pound test premium fluorocarbon line. A double uni knot is the ideal means of joining fluorocarbon line to super braids. This knot is very strong and small enough to easily pass through the rod guides when casting.
The invisible properties of fluorocarbon make it the perfect leader material. Tie on the jig using an improved clinch knot. Should a jig become snagged the fluorocarbon will break at the jig, saving the leader and making it a simple process to tie on a new jig.
This braid to fluorocarbon line management system is flawless for both casting and vertical jigging applications.
Jig Pitching Tips
One of the advantages of using hair jigs is they have natural action no matter how they are fished. I prefer to make a long cast and give the jig a few seconds to sink on slack line before closing the reel bail. This maximizes the distance of the cast and keeps the jig in the strike zone for a longer period of time.
Once the jig has settled on bottom, reel up the slack line until the weight of the jig can be felt in the rod tip. I like to start my jigging stroke with the rod pointed at the jig in about the 10 o’clock position. Lift the rod to the 12 o’clock position, stop the rod and give the jig a few seconds to settle back to bottom. Drop the rod tip to the 10 o’clock position, reel up the slack line and repeat this process.
This simple jigging stroke keeps the jig in close proximity to bottom, and allows the jig to pendulum on a taunt line. Should a fish bite while the jig is moving it will be detected as a distinctive tick in the line. If the fish bites when the jig is motionless on the bottom, the angler will feel a sensation of weight when reeling up the slack to move the jig again.
Either way, a quick and decisive hook set will make the difference in hooking and also landing that fish. The hook set doesn’t have to be one of those classic “feet off the ground” bass style hook sets, but rather a quick upwards sweep of the rod.
The power of the rod, the low stretch braid and the needle sharp hook will work together to bury the barb and insure the fish is landed.
When jig pitching, many anglers have the bad habit of reeling up to make another cast when the jig is still a few feet away from the boat. Work the jig right to the boat and then give it a couple hops below the boat before reeling up for the next cast. Walleye will routinely follow a jig hopping along the bottom, only striking when it appears the jig is getting way.
Vertical Jigging Tips
Vertical jigging is about having precise boat control. In flowing water the art of vertical jigging is using the electric motor to match the boat drifting speed to the current speed. This makes it possible to vertical jig with surprisingly small jigs even in deep and swift water.
The key is to make sure the boat is drifting naturally before lowering the jig to bottom. Open the reel bail and let the jig free fall until it crashes bottom. Immediately reel up the slack line and lift the jig so it is about six inches off bottom. Lower the rod tip until the line goes slack and the jig is once again on bottom. Lift the jig again and pause for a few seconds with the jig suspended just a few inches above bottom. This jigging stroke keeps the jig swimming near bottom and always in the strike zone.
Repeating this process over and over again, while at the same time using the electric motor to keep the boat drifting at the same speed as the current sounds easy, but it is a skill set that takes some practice to master. An angler who is skillful at vertical jigging is a marvel to watch in action. It’s simply amazing how effective vertical jigging is at catching walleye and sauger that are typically found near the bottom in rivers.
Stinger Hooks
A hair jig fishes nicely without a stinger hook, but in tough bites they also function very well with a stinger hook. For the best results, the stinger hook should hang right about at the tips of the longest hair shafts.
While stinger hooks are more commonly used in vertical jigging situations, a stinger can also enhance casting applications where walleye are lethargic and only half heartedly striking at the bait.
Why Are Hair Jigs So Effective?
Everyone who has seriously fished using a hair jig has come to the conclusion these simple fish traps are deadly effective. In part, I think the subtle action of a hair jig creates an extremely “life-like” imitation of both common baitfish and crayfish. A hair jig has action even when sitting still, something that soft plastics can’t match.
Because the action of a hair jig is both life-like and subtle, they lend themselves especially well to dead-sticking or the process of letting the jig sit motionless in the presence of fish. This classic smallmouth trick works just as well on finicky walleye that have become accustomed to seeing jigs dressed with soft plastics.
Final Thoughts
In an exceptionally tough bite, a hair jig also readily accepts a live minnow or leech as extra enticement. Fished clean or tipped with live bait, the hair jig is something to behold.
Paste style fishing scents like Pro Cure Super Gel should be avoided when fishing hair jigs. The greasy gel will matt the fibers and prevent the jig from having it’s natural undulation in the water. Instead, I recommend using spray scents such as Yakima Bait Rooster Tail Spray Scent or Pro Cure Water Soluble Fish Oils that add natural scent while allowing the hair fibers to undulate as designed.
For those anglers who have not experienced the power of “hair” in walleye fishing, I can only say don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. When tournament pro Mike Hansen first introduced us to hair jigs we were skeptical. It only took one day on the water to realize, Mike’s assessment of hair jigs was spot on in a big way.
