which color for marabou jigs?

[ICHTHYDEMON]

My brother wants to try steelhead fishing with a jig and float. We've never tried this method,and he has a question on colors. If he were to buy 2-3 colors to get started,what should they be? How about the best sizes? 1/8? 1/4?

[high_arc]

Have you look around FirstCast jigs sight? Lots of pretty colors there.

[fishin]

Should be more info if you did a search. Pink/white, peach/white, red/pink.

Look through First Cast website I think Mark puts down a blurp on each color and what they work best for. I'm sure he could set you up with one of his combo packs that has the most popular colors.

In lead head jigs I like 1/8th because they work in the summer and you can always add more wieght to you line.

[SciGuy]

I'm not an expert on jigs but...white and pinks are the top two followed by purple, black, orange, and red. The weights you mentioned are good but it really depends on flow. For examples check out the following links:

http://pnwws.com/cgi-bin/firstcastjigs/store/store.pl
http://www.rainbowjigs.com/index.html
http://www.silentapproach.com/

[sparkleboy]

I'm assuming you're focusing more on winter steelhead for your jig collection.
In that case, here's my offering of advice. :smile:
Pink with just about any other color, or all by itself is a great choice. When the water is "steelhead green" put on your best pink jig. Yesterday I caught fish on a purple and pink jig, and a three-pink jig. However, when the water is on the rise or colored, try a jig with a darker color, like black, purple, green or blue. Fish can see these four colors the best, and when visibility is a factor, this can win a fish over when the brighest pink won't give you anything.
The 1/8 oz jig is a good all around combination. It works very effectivly in the summer, as well as the winter. However, when you're dealing with faster or bigger flows, you're either going to have add weight to your line, or tie on a heavier jig head. The advantage goes if you have a heavier jig. Here's an example. Let's say you're fishing with an 1/8 oz jig, and the water is moving. You pinch on 3 splitshots about two feet about the jig. Chances are, the two feet between the jig and the weights will be nearly the same level in the water (I wish I could give you a picture). What I'm trying to get at is, the further closer to your jig (ideally, the jig itself), the closer your jig will be to the bottom, where the fish are. There are some people who even use 1/2 or 1 oz jigs. Larger jigs will most likley not spook fish, as the jig itself won't be much larger, just the head.
Now, when flows are down and the river is gin clear, I wouldn't think twice about trying a smaller, 1/16 or even 1/32 oz jig. Lower water, especially when the temperature is a little above average, can be a challenge to fish because the fish may be spooked easier than in other conditions. Plus, with lower water, the flows will be less, making it less difficult for the smaller jig to get down further.
And most importantly, don't get discouraged when you're jig fishing, stick with it. It takes most people quite a while to get the hang of it. Even I get discouraged occasionally. Then I start paying less and less attention to my float, and boom, it goes down and I miss the fish because I wasn't focused.
Two other quick hints. If you don't have a longer rod, consider getting one. I use 10'6'' rods for float fishing, but pretty much anything over 9 feet will work well. The point of the longer rod is to have as little slack line on the water as possible, therefore creating the ideal hookset situation.
My last peice of advice...DO NOT USE FLOATS THAT ARE COLORED ON THE BOTTOM!!! It's pretty depressing when I hear about float and fly fisherman alike who instead of hooking up with their lure, see a fish come up and hit their brightly colored float. Don't let this happen to you.
Here are your best bets when it comes to floats:
West Coast Floats. Light, durable, and float very well. Downfalls are they are light and expensive.
Cork floats. Pretty much it looks like a peice of wood floating down the river. Very durable, but very expensive.
My favorite - clear, plastic "rainbow" floats. Sand the top of the float, then paint it yellow, or really any other color you want, but try to stay away from flourescent colors. As long as the bottom of that float is not colored, you should be fine. During the summer, I caught steelhead with a 6 inch leader between my jig and that exact float. If it works for me, I'm willing to bet it'll work for you!
Good luck with your new endeavor!

[Billy Tillamook]

Beau-mac Cerise I.E. (Hot Pink) can be a crusher

[First Bite]

ICHTHYDEMON

To get started try Pink, White & Cerise or Fuchsia. Any of these colors fished by themselves or blended together will get you into winter steelies.

1/8th-oz size jigs will work in most situations.

Mark

[Rauly]

It really doenn't matter.....as long as it is PINK.


Rauly

[Surething]

go with red and white you cant loose

[crittergitter]

Hot pink is the best at least that I have tried

[C-lice]

In case you haven't gotten the hint, pink (from pale bubblegum to cerise) is a favorite, either by itself or mixed with white. Steelhead will certainly hit other colors, but I thnk it's best to keep things simple. I see no reason to pack around too many colors--no matter what I have I find myself reaching for something pink most of the time.

[etacada]

That was some good info their sparkleboy, thax. Jig fishing is something I'm gonna try more in the future, it's getting alot of people into fish!

cb :tongue: