Blue Jigs

[Andrew]

Yet another technique question from my direction... sorry, when the weather gets bad and the rivers get ugly I think about fishing way too much for my own good. 

Have any of you ever used blue jigs with success? Under what conditions?

As always, anecdotes are cool (i.e. "I tried everything in my box on this one fish but blue finally did the trick"), but I'm really looking more for opinions based on consistent experience. I'd also be interested to hear about blue mixed with other colors.

I've used some blue before, but typically mixed with pink, and, well, my working theory is that anything mixed with pink will catch fish sooner or later. 

I've been looking for new colors lately, as I think just about every steelhead angler in the world has been turned onto the pink jig. I like to do some testing myself, but if I can save the time when the rivers are going to be dropping and filled with fish as they will be shortly, I will. 

Thanks!

Andrew

[dardevle]

Blue over purple!  Hold On!

[Redhook]

I know from one of Dave Vedders books, "Jig Fishing for Steelhead" his co-author counts blue as one of his favorite colors.  I have tied up a dark blue maribou jig, and have a blue First Bite jig, just have not tried either one.  That will probably change soon 

 

[chumdog]

I've not used blue jigs, but I have flyfished with a variation of the Purple Peril, that's tied with deep blue pheasant rump as a hackle, and a blue maribou tail.  I've  had some success with this pattern on summers, in the Kalama fly water. 

[bugnuts]

If you look at any of the notable books on flyfishing for steelhead that have color plates of flies, you'll quickly notice that blue, purple and blue on purple are huge for winter steelhead.  I think it's fair to infer from fly guys like Trey Combs and Deke Meyer that blue is good for jigs too!  

[OPfisher]

just like BG said, blue is a staple in winter run flys. Blue moon is a great pattern!

[Jiggy]

Havent tried it for steel yet but the silvers like them twitched. I do carry one in my vest so one day it will get a little play time.

[Jeff]

Bruce is out of town, so I'll chime in for him.  After reading Vedder's book he picked up quite a variety of blue jigs.  Like Andrew noted most of his have pink in them, too.  He fishes them exclusively and had posted his share on this board!

Jeff

[Sturzman]

I've hit a winter run or two on a straight blue jig with beads. I'm not sure if fished by itself without any other colors if it would be effective.

[FishBoy]

A few weeks ago when the Snoqualmie was low and clear, plain blue with a purple jighead was the hot color

[Andrew]

Alright, then. Sounds like something worth mixing into my arsenal.

Thanks guys!

[steelheader]

Where is Mark from first bite on this one. I believe he sells blue jigs doesent he? He should know some catch ratios and how many blue ones sell. 

[FishBoy]

Mark has a variety of blue jigs. Some of them have a pink flasher tail that look really nice. I just ordered some today. Naturally, I lost the hot blue jig that I hooked 4 fish on and haven't been able to find another one like it. I've been to Outdoor Emporium and GI Joe's in the last week and their jig  sections are just about empty. Guess I'll have to try Sportco until my order from Mark comes in.

PS My apologies if my prayers for rain were overdone and blew out the rivers for the weekend.

[First Bite]

I have a few customers that swear by blue/pink jigs.  I like it too.  With all the different color shades I did have fairly good success using Silver Dr. Blue with yellow.  Kingfisher Blue/white also has been a good one for people who fish in tidal influenced waters.   

[rvrfshr]

 I know up north a fly doesn't go in that isn't turquoise/black or blue/purple when overcast or dark. I tried two seasons ago for the majority of my spring outings to get results on like jigs to no avail. I'm thinking about some similar experiments this season and will let you know how it goes.

                                                                                              Joe