Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish360
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.
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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
sorry that got long...favorite subject...