One of my goals this season is to land a fish on a bucktail! I have tried them in the past with no success. :-(

I ordered some white and chartreuse bucktails from 1/4 to 1 1/2 oz for the surf. I am going to fish them hard this season!!

Question for you sharpies...

Do you guys match the color of the pork rind to the color of the bucktail or do you contrast the color? e.g white pork rind with a chartreuse bucktail.

Thank you in advance for your much appreciated help.

I'm not a sharpie, but having had success in using bucktails, I normally try to get as close to the color as possible. I look at it as a continuation of the bucktail....Although I believe it's more about the motion of the rind than the color, for cosmetical purposes and based on the novel written by our very own "Spence"....I always try to color coordinate the rind to the buck.

Just my 02cent

I love bucktailing and jigging, not a sharpie by any means but i have landed my fair share of fish.

White bucktails always work well with either a 50 or 70 unckle Josh fork tail or reg tail. I Like white or red white for my white bucktails. I also enjoy running grubs or paddle tails on them.

With the chart, a white PR will work just as well. Think about some,of the,favorite plug colors, yellow /white.

Check out some you tube videos by John Skinner "bucktailing the surf " very informative.
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I use a large curly tail most of the time b/c I'm too lazy to put pork rind on even though I usually have some with me.

instead of pork get yourself a 2 jars of the "otter tails" one red and one white.

they are synthetic and dont dry out and are scent impregnated

and if they happen to get stuck on the hook point, which will happen a good hook set will drive the hook thru it and still be able to land a fish.

i fish all white bucktails, unless the water is stained then pink or chartuese, with either a red or white strip

if theres a lot of bait around like herring/mullet ill throw a blue/white bucktail with a white strip.

White bucktail with red pork rhind is a great combo ...

Here's another question:

How are you planning on fishing them?

Do you plan on a steady retrieve or a jigging motion?
Fast or slow retrieve?
Are you primarily targeting bass only, or any other species?
(The target species will tend to dictate the method to catch them.)

Im a big fan of a white bucktail with a chartreuse grub. I also like pink with a white grub.

instead of pork get yourself a 2 jars of the "otter tails" one red and one white.



Link?

http://otterlures.com/

you want the straight tails, ill try and post some pics later on.

the ones he shows online are the curly versions, but ive only used the straight tails.

things are great and durable

Thank you all for the tips.

Much, much, much appreciated.

Tight lines (and screaming reels)!!!! ;-)

No Question Chartruese Grubtail has been my favorite

the only thing I have ever caught on a buck tail was a sea robin at south coast beach and a tog the only tog I have ever caught

I just have no faith in them or just clueless on how to fish them:wall:

3/4 oz white blue frog bucktail with red/white or white uncle josh bass strip is my choice for almost all non-current situations. Steady retrieve with occasional light twitch. I need to start using them at night more, they're a go to on the rare occasions I get out during the day.
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I am no sharpie either but my only advice from personal experience is that if you are fishing them from shore...make sure you work them alllllll the way in. Most fish I have caught on bucktails were hooked seconds before I ripped it out of the water at the end of my retrieve!

3/4 oz white blue frog bucktail with red/white or white uncle josh bass strip is my choice for almost all non-current situations. Steady retrieve with occasional light twitch. I need to start using them at night more, they're a go to on the rare occasions I get out during the day.
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is the retrieve mid water or along the bottom?

Both, see what works.
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The majority of the fish I get are on bucktails.

The skinner book helped me a lot when I started.

Dialing the right weight for the conditions... then adjusting the weight from there is key.

Its the balance between positive contact with the bucktail and the bottom while retrieving at the slowest speed possible.

There are other techniques and the above method is not a rule...but it is what works the best for me.

Still trying to master it.
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1 to 2 oz white Smilin' Bill with white Mogambo curly tail is my go to bucktail, always seems to work best. I've good luck with a Spofford bullet head in chartreuse over sand in the daytime.
I usually retreive pretty slow, with an occassional dart. Hang up a bunch but I've caught pretty good size fish this way.

I am no sharpie either but my only advice from personal experience is that if you are fishing them from shore...make sure you work them alllllll the way in. Most fish I have caught on bucktails were hooked seconds before I ripped it out of the water at the end of my retrieve!

Reminds me of a day right after dark when my friend and I were standing in 6 inches of water just talking, with him holding his rod across his arms with a black surfster just laying in the water. We were there maybe 5 min when smash he got a hit, scared the heck out of us. :hihi:

Back in the 90s we had a crew that would fish the mouth of Narrow River every morning. All we ever used was a 1/2 oz white Smilin' Bill bucktail. 50, 60 fish morning were not unusual. All small fish but every once in a while we'd hook a decent fish on the bucktails.
The trick was to let it drift in the current until you felt bottom. Then just jg it off the bottom.

One of my goals this season is to land a fish on a bucktail! I have tried them in the past with no success. :-(

I ordered some white and chartreuse bucktails from 1/4 to 1 1/2 oz for the surf. I am going to fish them hard this season!!

Question for you sharpies...

Do you guys match the color of the pork rind to the color of the bucktail or do you contrast the color? e.g white pork rind with a chartreuse bucktail.

Thank you in advance for your much appreciated help.

I rarely take other lures with me anymore because I've found bucktails and pork rinds to be so effective in nearly every situation that i fish. I don't usually worry about the color of either although I'll throw a black or cherry bucktail on dark nights and always with a white pork rind so that I can see it as it comes up out of the water and as i'm reeling up in the dark so i don't get it in my eye. Yellow on full moons because someone told me to and then kicked my @$$ one night with a yellow bucktail on a full moon...I guess to prove their point:)...white bucktail with a white or white/red 70 S pork rind most of the time is all that you need.....

Andrus, Blue Frog and Joe Baggs are all nice bucktails with solid hooks, the more hair packed on them the easier it will be to work them across structure...I love the fairly new 1 1/4 ounce size in jetty caster from Andrus....

if you can perch yourself higher on a rock rather than level with the water and you are fishing a rod that is 10'6 or better it will be easier to work over structure with a higher angle

the combination of braid and light, sensitive rods really make bucktailing easier and allows you to feel everything

mix up your retrieve, I like to work a slow as possible and as close to the bottom but I've been completely out fished by buddies employing quicker retrieves on certain nights but you still need to be in close proximity to the bottom( you are fishing a small bait and need to get close to the fish) a friend who likes a faster paced retrieve, particularly on mellow nights and has had great success will put a heavier bucktail on and throw it as far as possible letting it settle to the bottom till he feels the thump...he then starts a steady retrieve, he doesn't twitch the rod but will lower the tip and slow the retrieve occasionally to maintain contact near the bottom, sometimes that dropping of the tip is what triggers a take...

I don't twitch the rod very hard on the retrieve, just a subtle change in direction, like any of the number of creatures that might be cruising the ocean floor

you almost will always feel weed before you feel structure, with the right size bucktail you can stay near the bottom but out of trouble by adjusting your retrieve speed and raising or lowering your rod tip a little...

once you've got the right size bucktail and retrieve going you can get a mental picture of what the bottom looks like in front of you and you'll start to recognize the holding spots if you fish there frequently...

90+ percent of the time when I get hung up on the bottom I can get my bucktail back by taking the line off the roller with my finger and loading the rod then releasing my finger and letting the line shoot back toward the bucktail, I'll do this repeatedly and I'm always amazed at how well it works

the takes are often subtle so set on a bump or what feels like a bump and crank and stay tight...a big fish is just going to suck a bucktail in like it's a little snack, don't be surprised if it doesn't react right away and stay tight as then will often drift up in the water column initially, I've lost some heavy fish because I felt the bump and lifted the rod and rather than cranking, paused while measuring the fish and it spit the jig...that's no fun ...if your fishing buddies say it's too rough and there are too many weeds, take your bucktails out and teach them a lesson, I landed a monster for my friend the other night in heavy surf in very weedy conditions, I doubt many were out in that surf but he got a great fish because he was bucktailing....I know a number of fishermen who started enjoying more productive trips and bigger fish as a result of adding bucktails to their arsenal

Skinner's book and videos are great and there are some other good books on the subject...best thing to do is dedicate yourself to them for a short time or fish with someone that enjoys bucktails, once you experience some success you'll be hooked:uhuh:

sorry that got long...favorite subject...

One of my goals this season is to land a fish on a bucktail! I have tried them in the past with no success. :-(

I ordered some white and chartreuse bucktails from 1/4 to 1 1/2 oz for the surf. I am going to fish them hard this season!!

Question for you sharpies...

Do you guys match the color of the pork rind to the color of the bucktail or do you contrast the color? e.g white pork rind with a chartreuse bucktail.

Thank you in advance for your much appreciated help.

when you fish with me in a few weeks..I'll give ya a lesson on bucktails...as well as a few... I've got a life time supply..

when you fish with me in a few weeks..I'll give ya a lesson on bucktails...as well as a few... I've got a life time supply..

:jump1: :nopics:

white 99.9% of the time..caught 90% of my fish this weekend in Cutty on 3/4 buck with pork rind. The best part is never to have to put a light on to unhook the fish

If your starting out in a surf situation start with 3/4, 1,&1.5 oz white bucktails and fish near rocks, white water or rips. I tend to reel quickly and drop my rod tip back to back 2 feet in each drop to create a pause in the jig. 90% of the strikes I receive are on the pause/drop. Try this and share your results.

Joebaggs,
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If you're starting out in a surf situation, start with 3/4, 1,&1.5 oz white bucktails and fish near rocks, white water or rips. I tend to reel quickly and drop my rod tip 2x back to back, 2 feet in each drop to create a pause in the jig. 90% of the strikes I receive are on the pause/drop. Try this and share your results.

Joebaggs,
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THANK YOU Joe! Looking forward to our trip.

scottw, thank you so much for the much appreciated feedback. I shan't fish the full moon without a yellow buck tail at the end of me line! ;-)

Zeno, Nice work! I hear you on the un-hooking!

joebaggs99, got it! I will try it and share some pics. ;-)

Ask and you shall receive, great info here.
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Been fishing an area for a few years and have had mixed results on different lures. Plugs, topwater, rubber shads, bait, etc, etc. With many outings getting the skunk in a very fishy area. Last year for sh^ts and giggles I threw on a bucktail with a yellow curly tail. Hooked up within my first 10 casts. Ever since then, I will never treat the bucktail with the same attitude. It produces....when all else fails.

there is a good reason buck tail jigs are included in most survival kits.. they work on any predatory fish under a wide variety of conditions.. day or night.. salt or fresh.. if I could have one lure.. fresh or slat water it would be a white buck tail jig..

Ask and you shall receive, great info here.
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Absolutely!

S-B rocks! ;-)

Been fishing an area for a few years and have had mixed results on different lures. Plugs, topwater, rubber shads, bait, etc, etc. With many outings getting the skunk in a very fishy area. Last year for sh^ts and giggles I threw on a bucktail with a yellow curly tail. Hooked up within my first 10 casts. Ever since then, I will never treat the bucktail with the same attitude. It produces....when all else fails.

Had a similar experience this morning, nothing was working plugwise, after an hour of nothing i finally put a 3/4oz white jig with a 55 s uncle josh pork rind, first cast... fish... caught 12 fish total with a few keepers :smash:

When I was in the Navy, bucktails were in the survival kits aboard the lifeboats. If a better bait for a person trying to survive was available, it would have been in there. I use a white bucktail and a red pork rind. Troll with wire line until dark then switch to the lumber (large wood plugs). This has worked for me at Cuttyhunk and the head for many years, and God willing will tomorrow night

Any thoughts on Doc Muller's "The Ultimate Guide to Fishing With Bucktails"? I've read a few of his articles, and I need to learn bucktails.

I'm heading on vacation and the library had that, also got "Island Stripers" from Al Anderson, and bought "A Season on the Edge"-Skinner and "What Fish See"-Kageyama for .50 each.

:fishin:Bass and blues all day long off the coast of province town trolling,with a white buck tail,just bouncing off the bottom

I love fishing bucktails but haven't quite found my preference between curly tails and porkrind. Both work, and different fishermen have reasons for one over the other.

Curlytails add some buoyancy to the bucktail. A little more motion also. Rinds are way more durable.
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Any thoughts on Doc Muller's "The Ultimate Guide to Fishing With Bucktails"? I've read a few of his articles, and I need to

Muller's book is good, skinner's bucktail book is better IMO, but I'd recommend reading both.
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Muller's book is good, skinner's bucktail book is better IMO, but I'd recommend reading both.
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x2

Just keep it simple! I'll never be a sharpie but fishing alongside quite a few, the bucktail revolves around simple fundamentals that is generally agreed upon by many: Retrieve it just enough so it does not drag on the bottom constantly but if there is a bottom change your lure will go into the hole/trough/etc. in the fish's face, use the proper weight so it can handle the sweep without looking unnatural in that it can submarine it's way through, just reel if you feel a bump (because the fish will hook itself anyway, when you go to "set the hook" you are basically just securing the hook's place in the fish's mouth), and use pork rind if you are hooking into toothy critters or have a chance of it (i.e. Fluke, Weakfish).

Honestly I've bucktailed with no trailer and still caught fish. It's an extremely simple lure, so fish it simple as well.

The one thing to always keep with you no matter what you are using is to look around at the people fishing. If you see them using a bucktail and not hooking up, look at their retrieve and their timing of their casts (you almost always want to cast into when a wave breaks and the white water forms). If it is legit, try and do the opposite of what they are doing! I've driven people nuts (to the point where I'm not invited to go anymore with them making fishing lonely) doing simply that. If they are dragging it through the sand and emphasizing twitching, then make your retrieve a little quicker and swim it. You'd be amazed. You will have some days where the fish strictly prefer the bucktail dragging through the sand (usually around sand eel time).

Even though this is a bucktail topic I have to say this: if it isn't working, don't bind yourself to just the bucktail! That's why we have other plugs! You can work a diamond jig and a storm shad almost the same exact way you would a bucktail and produce very well!

Lastly, if you have a bucktail that loses its hair, don't throw it out. Save it for times you will put bait on it or a rubber tail/bass assassin/etc.