Do stripers like less action?

I've been fishing stripers in Marin area for years and I either use flies or jigs that I tie up myself. Neither of these has a built-in action, they respond to the way you retrieve them. I put rattles in many of my flies and all of my jigs and so when I retrieve them I try to 'work it' and not just crank it back. The water around here is usually cloudy and so anything that gets them looking in the direction of the lure and gets their attention before they even see it has to be a plus. So, I think sound is good. The jigs I make,( I call them "Rattle Rabbits"), are made with rabbit strips and have a really seductive motion in the water, but not an 'action' per se. The stripers seem to like them.

How do you put rattles in your flies? Do the jig heads come with them?

In most cases with jigs and flies I tie in the rattle on the under side of the hook shank, on a jig it's just behind the head and then wrap a cross-cut rabbit strip over it. The rattles  go on first and then you can go ahead and tie as usual over it. The hook that works best for tying flies with rattles is a 60 degree jig hook like the Eagle Claw 413 since the hook point will ride up if the fly is properly dressed. You will find that you will need to add some weight to the 'belly' side of the fly,( like the lead eyes on a Clouser Minnow), to be sure the hook rides point up. How much weight depends on how the fly is dressed. Also, if you use rabbit strips for the tail you will want some kind of a stiff mono support, (like Mason 40#), for the first 1/2 to 3/4 inch to prevent the tail from wrapping around the hook bend. This can be in the form of a loop or a straight post through a hole in the tail strip that you then melt into a ball on the end so it dosen't slip out. Hope this helps. Tom

Thanks!

Nice baits!

The trick with the mono on the rabbit strip will really really help me.

The pics you posted - what are the weights on the lead head you have there?
Then on the flies -- do you tie the fly clouser style with the lead eyes, with the only difference you are using rabbit?

(I tie these tiny little mini-puffs for surf perch, and was thinking of modifying it with the rabbit- might look a bit more like legs)

Steve - Those are 1/2 oz Kalin's jig heads. I use 1/4 oz to 3/4 oz in the bay. With the flies the weight can be added in different ways - there's a  good discussion of this on www.danblanton.com, you will have to go back a page or two on the bulliton board to find it - there are pics also. The lead eyes by themselves will work to 'ballist' the fly and keep the point up if the fly is not too heavily dressed. In many cases though you will need to add weight under the hook shank or the rattle if you use one. This can be lead wire or smaller lead eyes tied in along the shank axis instead of perpendicular to it. Some flies use the lead wire wrapped tightly around stiff mono and attached so the weight is riding behind the hook bend, this is to affect the fly's attitude in the water. I usually tie the rattles on several jigs or flies at a time and then coat the rattles with Softex (a clear flexible coating you can find at fly shops), as I think it improves the rattle's durability. Then, when they're dry I go ahead and finish them.   Hope this helps.                                                                    BTW, I've been thinking of giving the surf perch a shot, I've never done it. It's a winter fishery, right? When and where do you do it?  Tom