How to Make Tinsel Skirts for Lures

The tinsel skirt adds flash and motion to lures. Adding a tinsel skirt is common on jigs but also possible on spinners and spoons. Several manufactures sell tinsel through lure building and fly tying supply retailers. The tinsel skirt is constructed in a wide range of colors depending on preference but silver, gold and red are common choices.

Things You'll Need

  • Fly tying vise
  • Thread
  • Tinsel
  • Instant glue
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place the hook in a fly tying vise and clamp the jaws tight. Secure the bend on a single hook or one bend on a treble hook with the additional bends positioned above the vise.

    • 2

      Make 15 thread wraps immediately above the hook eye. The starting thread position is adjustable and it matches the base position of the tinsel skirt.

    • 3

      Grasp a chunk of tinsel and hold it against the hook. Adjust the tinsel until you reach a desired length and pinch the clump at the measured point. The desired length for a skirt places the ends of the tinsel in alignment with the hook bend.

    • 4

      Hold the measured point of tinsel on top of the hook. Push the tinsel down to cover the hook shank and form the skirt. Make 10 thread wraps to hold the tinsel on the hook.

    • 5

      Place three drops of instant glue on the thread wraps. Wait two minutes for the glue to dry and cut the thread off the hook.