Bucktail Technique

[Saltheart]

It can get really com-plicated depending on where you are jigging. Off a beach . in the canal , out a moderate outflow , dead calm water , etc.

i think you want to try many things with a jig until something works. even the "best" techniques must be abandoned when they are not working.

i wrote something about jigging here about 7 years ago. maybe it can be searched for.

[Mike P]

Doc is a lot like Daignault. His experience is in a very closed universe. Frank says no great fish are ever taken on poppers, and that bottle plugs are only worthwhile as casting weights for teasers.. Doc believes that the bucktailing techniques used in the shallow Long Island inlets are universally adaptable. Cast and bring in a bucktail on a slow steady retrieve in the Canal, and the biggest bass you'll ever catch is about 18".

The funniest thing that Doc ever wrote was that an angler would be undergunned using a Penn 750 SS

And by the way--swinging hooks hang up more than fixed hook, based on my experience fishing the Canal. I can hang a Crippled Herring a lot easier than I can hang a fixed hook bucktail.

[plankton]

Originally Posted by NIB

I have read Doc's book with great anticipation as I love the jig it is one of my favorite lures.I thought it was only OK at best.Seemed like a commercial for uncle josh.

That's what I was thinking reading it, NIB.

Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman

That book is on my "To Read" List this year.

So I got 1st Dibs if you decide to sell it...

TDF, you can have my copy if you like, PM me and we can figure something out.

Originally Posted by Mike P

Doc is a lot like Daignault. His experience is in a very closed universe. Frank says no great fish are ever taken on poppers, and that bottle plugs are only worthwhile as casting weights for teasers.. Doc believes that the bucktailing techniques used in the shallow Long Island inlets are universally adaptable. Cast and bring in a bucktail on a slow steady retrieve in the Canal, and the biggest bass you'll ever catch is about 18".

The funniest thing that Doc ever wrote was that an angler would be undergunned using a Penn 750 SS

And by the way--swinging hooks hang up more than fixed hook, based on my experience fishing the Canal. I can hang a Crippled Herring a lot easier than I can hang a fixed hook bucktail.

I got the same feeling, Mike P, seems like a good technique in the right spot, but I kind of expected more from a book that refers to itself as the "ultimate guide to fishing with bucktails". I do fish a lot of shallow estuary areas and I will put this technique to use. I think the information he gives would make an excellent article on bucktailing, but a whole book was kind of a stretch.

Thanks to everyone for their replies.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by plankton

TDF, you can have my copy if you like, PM me and we can figure something out.

Sounds good, That would be awesome. Much Appreciated. maybe hook up at the same place as last time....unless your going down to Plugfest.


And I think I might just have become the 1st Book Ho...

[plankton]

Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman

Sounds good, That would be awesome. Much Appreciated. maybe hook up at the same place as last time....unless your going down to Plugfest.


And I think I might just have become the 1st Book Ho...

I won't be attending Plugfest, I've been insanely busy lately, the next fishing event I'll be going to will be MSBA. My only day off right now is Sunday and I can't meet you this week, already booked up, I'll PM you next week and maybe we can do it next Sunday. As far as the book ho thing, the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem!

Thanks again for all the replies, it's great that we have such an awesome sounding board for discussing different fishing techniques and approaches with others who share our passion. Long live S-B.com!!!

[Mr. Sandman]

Lots of very good advice in many of the above posts. I love reading about bucktailing. It is a fascinating aspect of surfcasting and everyone has there own take on it. The simplicity of the bucktail is amazing yet it can be complicated to use effectively. It is really the "thinking mans lure".

Personally, I think there is a knack to finding the right spot in the water collumn where the fish are (generally near the bottom) without hanging up or snagging something to foul the jig. This is the essence of bucktailing IMO and it can be frustrating to many and it gets complicated when current, distance, and bottom structure come into the equation. However I think that an experienced fishermen, that have a wide choice of bucktails heads in varied weights and tail materials can figure it out and get pretty close. Stay in the zone and think about where it is. Yeah, you gonna loose gear but when you find the sweet spot your gonna pound them.

I have to say I don't agree with everything I read in the bucktail books but it probably does work for them in the places they fish. I tend to prefer heavier bucktails because I want the distance but the trade off (as mentioned above in other posts) is you tend to work them them faster then I would otherwise like. I played with hair amounts and tails to reduce sink rate but still didn't find the perfect combo for the areas I was trying to fish. I did OK and caught fish but I know there is a better way.

Moreover, IMO it always bothers me that most bucktails are designed to be worked VERTICALLY and not cast and worked in a horizontal manner from the shore. When retrieved they don't swim right. I wanted 3-4 oz casting bomb that didn't sink fast and allowed me to fly it slowly off the bottom with more control. When I "jig" it I want it to raise off the bottom, not just swim faster at an angle to the shore and crash into the bottom. To that end end I recently created my own bucktail head and I am having a some test molds made to pour it right now. I only have a couple test heads now but I think it is going to work out. (It is a lot differenet looking then any other bucktail and works much differently) I have not fished it yet, so time will tell if it even works but I am pumped for spring already. To be honest, I think I many need a couple rev's before I get it just the way I like it.
When it is all done and I can prove it works I'll post a pic. ( I have a fixed and swing hook version). If it doesn't work out it will be in the scrap pile with all my other brain-farts.

[NIB]

For horizontal jigging u want a bucktails with the line tie forward for vertical jigging u want a bucktail with the line tie aft..I prefer the current for the bucktails.So many ways to fish it.Throw up current with a lighter jig an tick the bottom throw down with something heavier for the plop an lift.. If I can get 150-200 yds or more line out on a long drift I am in heaven.Just lifting the jig of the bottom when the tide an weights are right.Hold on for the strike as u lower the rod to feel for the bottom...Nothing like it..I have caught em reeling back also.The strikes I get as the jig comes by any kind of structure can be mind blowing..