Bucktail Technique

[Vogt]

Pork rind and less imparted action has given me way higher results than what I used to do, which was more lifting and bouncing. I will give the jig an occasional twitch when it ticks a rock, but thats about it. When you have an area with less of a sweep you may want to twitch the jig a bit more, but in a good current I agree with Muller "less is best".

[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.Plus I don't care for the swinging hook.Nor do any of the masters who have gave me advice over the years..If u ask me U miss more fish with em an I have never had any trouble landing fish off of the single hook of the jig.The Jig, IMO has the best percentage of hooked to landed fish ratio by a long shot.There are so many ways to fish a bucktail.There are no wrong ways.I have for years primarily fished a weight that allowed be to just fish off the bottom with a comfortably slow retrieve.Occasionally twitching the rod tip.Sometimes more twitch sometimes less I always let the fish tell me what they want.My weight for this method in shallow NJ waters would vary from 1/2-2 oz.s depending on the conditions of the surf. I have also done well with 3 oz buctails.Primarily 3/4's oz was my favorite size..My first trip to montauk I was enlightened to a entirely different approach.The use of a heavier bucktail to reach out a bit further required a much brisker retrieve to keep the jig from snagging along the kelp covered rocks an produced quite well.When u can adjust the weight of a lure with a simple clip it enables the angler to fish in many different ways to be productive.Then there are the trailers. I have used just about every pc of rubber u could imagine on the hook of a jig including many different sizes of pork.I have also caught in a screaming tide in the canal one night with a 6 oz unpainted bare ball jig..Thats no paint,no hair...
While fishing the simple upgrade of a 3/8" strip to the 1" strip can change the fall rate of the jig dramatically.I usually buy the big 2" strips an cut em up myself it's much cheaper this way.I pack em in a jar red and white together along with many different sizes..In rubber I will use Fin-S fish along with other paddle tail type baits.. They all work well I have no real preference from pork or rubber.I have had a fish fold the pork more so than the rubber up on the hook,it does happen with both baits..When it comes down to it. I primarily use what I can present to the fish in a manner that enables me to go slow an still have some action.My biggest jig fish have come on rubber.There are no wrong ways as long as ur catching..

[bart]

[QUOTE=NIB;564302]When u can adjust the weight of a lure with a simple clip it enables the angler to fish in many different ways to be productive.

does this mean you're using a breakaway clip/snap or are you tying direct. Thanks...

[emgred]

I agree with NIB as to swing hooks. None of my "bucktail mentors" used them.
As to retrieve, I had success with virtually no retrieve, just a little bit of rod tip action, in strong inlet rips to burning them in the rocks of M. And just about everything in between. Like NIB, I too have used almost everything you can think of as a trailer.
This very basic lure can be presented in an almost limitless number of ways. Good bucktailers have spent years perfecting their technique and that technique will change from spot to spot.
It is a steep learning curve, and you will hang up and loose many bucktails as you learn, but it is well worth the effort. (I have caught more fish over 30LBs on bucktails than all other plugs combined.)
My go is Smiling Bill style. When fishing M, I use Andrus Jetty Casters. Colors - White, Green (chartreuse), White, Black, White, did I mention white?
Also I will NOT ever use a Spro bucktail Ever. (Hooks stink)

[cow tamer]

Originally Posted by NIB

There are so many ways to fish a bucktail.There are no wrong ways. I always let the fish tell me what they want. .When it comes right down to it, I primarily use what I can present to the fish in a manner that enables me to go slow and still have some action.There are no wrong ways, as long as ur catching..

No truer words were ever spoken as they relate to any lure, any bait.
That's fishing, in a nutshell.

[joe the plumber]

Men,
All I can say about this post and the responces to it,is that they are the best I have ever read on this site.Thank you.Joe

[Zeno]

NIB knows his chit

[keeperreaper]

There definitely is a touch and ryhthm component to bucktailing.
You see alot of jiggers jigging so hard that it looks like they are trying to get the jig to rocket out of the water. This is also true on a boat. A slow steady pulsing snap action works very well in almost all applications. A cadence. This technique is the simplest form of fishing yet can be the most complicated based on the conditions and the experience of the fisherperson. It is deadly effective when done right or when luck is on your side.

[NIB]

Originally Posted by Zeno

NIB knows his chit

Thanks I guess. It's all just common sense really.
I love to fish new places an figure what the proper presentaition is.Once u do that U could fool em with anything. Fisherman tend to over complicate things..Bass are stupid really.One outing in the bay on a friends boat I watched a teenage size bass for a half hr try to eat a clear plastic salad spoon..
They hit needle fish lures...Think about it.. it's a stick with hooks.. Then consider how many different color and weight/shapes I own...which is well over a hundred..
Makes me wonder..
One thing I am pretty sure of when the fish are in the current they are there to feed.Either they came in to spawn an they will have the feed bag on going an coming from that affair or they have followed some kinda baitfish into the current.The current also is a excellent source of oxygen that will have fish active in even off temps..I will fish entire tides thru the full bore.I love it..I never get tired of jiggin the current..I know some have said that slack tides are best for big fish.That could be right..Why limit urself to a 15 minute window.If I had to pick My favorite stage of the tide.I would say one hr after the full bore when it starts to slow down like the 4th an 5 hr. I have always found fish will become more aggressive at this stage of the tide..Here's the Key...They will be where they are supposed to be.On the bottom.A one ft depression in the bottom itself is enough to provide a slow water area for a bass to sit comfortably.Slack tide the fish will meander thru the water collum..U have a river or a canal thats 30 ft deep an thats a lot of water to cover.In the moving tide they are much easier to fool.They have to make a split second decision to eat or let it go by..Well like I mentioned they are there to eat..It's how they make a living..U spend enough nights fishing this way and U happen upon things..Fish catchin things..Ur never really sure where the next cast will take U..
Thats the beauty of fishing..