Jig skirts -- silicon vs. rubber

[jazzwannabe]

What's the difference between the two, and when would you choose one over the other?

[Oldschool]

Rubber as in fine cut round living rubber; gives the jig more life like motion movimg slowly, has more water resistances slows the fall and is durable.
Silicone comes in nearly unlimited color combinations with or without metal flakes, swims with a life like motion moving through the water column and when stopping or starting. Silicone is softer than rubber, has less water drag and is less durable.
Both materials work good, living rubber is used for a more compact jig designs like flipping jigs and finesse jigs. Silicone is used more on jigs with longer skirts having life like colors that go beyond the back of the hook bend about 1/4" to 1" like swim jigs and spinner baits.
Tom

[brambo0311]

I tie most of my jigs with regular living rubber and add some silicone for flash. The base of my jigs is buckhair tied to make the rubber flair out better when stopped. A little forward hackle for antenna's, and there good to go.

But straight silicone jigs I tend to just use a hula grub, there cheap and less work then tying up a silicone jig that gets snagged and tore up fast. I lose about 10 to 30 jigs every trip to the rocks, so a football head and a grub just hurts less.

[Eric Ocampo]

I like living rubber fine flat for flippn jigs because it flares on the fall better.
I actually like silicone on the smaller footballs because it lays flatter allowing you to trim even with the hook. Id love to find a source for that SR-40 material keitec uses... think its a pvc base.

[Oldschool]

Vynl skirts have great movement in cold water at slow and faster speeds and lost favor when the silicone skirts became popular. Vynl are solid colors that were combined into multiple color layers. I still fish with the vynl Fishtrap skirts that have fused collars, put them backwards so the flare out, however Fishtrap is out of business.
Tom