Bucktail Question
 

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.

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!

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.

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.

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...

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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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!