Here's the jig I've been hitting on recently.
Start the thread at the bend of the hook.
Here's an image of the feather skin I am using for tails. I forget what bird it came off of, but I think the whole skin cost me $8.00. These feathers will be the tail of the jig. You may substitute marabou, saddle hackle, hungarian partidge, or whatever else you think looks like the tail of this fishbait.
Select two identical length feathers and match them up bottom side in. Strip away the feathery material {barbules} from the stem at the desired length you wish for the tail to be. Bind the two feathers to the hook.
This is a bucktail dyed chartreuse. I am using the dark hair.
Cut a small clump from the the tail. Grab the tips of the hair between your thumb and index finger with your off hand and run the fine toothed end of a comb through it to shed the fur and small hair. Move your fingers to the base of the hairs and hold it over the hook. Make 2 light but semi-snug wraps of thread around the clump and spread the hair around the circumference of the hook.
Pull straight down on the bobbin{the thread holding thingy}and the hair will splay out. Zig-zag the wraps of thread through the flared butts of the hair. Wrapping the thread forward in front of the clump.
Pull the butts of the hair back and wrap the thread in front of the hair.
Repeat that step up to the collar of the jig. I left the collar on this head, but I will cut it off if I wish to shed weight.
This is an olive hungarian partidge skin. The feathers I am using for the pectoral fins are the ones with the brown patches on them. You may use any on the skin, they all work.
Before tying the feathers in crush the stems flat with a needle nose so that the feather stem will lie flat and not rotate. This will make the feather stand out like a fin. Also run two or three wraps of thread in back of the efather to help it stand out not lay back.
Here's a headlong view...
Keep laying hair in like the third step to you reach the head. Then whip finish and it's haircut time.
I'm no barber but this chop job will do the trick. A few last points, if I were tying this commercially I would glue the wraps after every step with CA glue, but because it's a demo and I wanted to get the images out, I didn't. It also makes it easier to cut the material off and retie when it gets too FUBAR.