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Posts: 921
Location: Apollo, PA | There has been alot of threads dedicated to gliders and topwater lures on this site in the time i have been a member. I've enjoyed them and learned quite a bit. I love jerkbaits and was brought up on them, so to speak. Mentors taught me how to fish them, and also use cranks to troll for muskies.
My exposure to bucktails has been poor, and i must admitt that i'm very weak in that presentation area.
Would some of you guys that love hair please elaborate on when and how, also bucktails that you truly feel are the best in the industry for big muskies.
I will listen and learn. Thanks, Pikiespawn  | |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I honestly think there is no bad time for bucktails, look at all the fish over the years and are still taken on them. I have mostly switched from hair to the synthetic silicone and rubber skirts with big grub tails. Bucktails have produced for me when nothing else has, mostly because I like to run and gun to find active fish then pick apart the areas where they are active. Case in point this past weekend after the brutal front I didn't see a fish for over seven hours on a good numbers lake with gliders, pull baits, cranks and topwater or even spinnerbaits. Logic says slow down your presentation with nasty post frontal conditions, but I started burning a small Slippery Sam Jr. and boated a sub legal and had 3 other follows within a short time. I have a lot of confidence throwing bucktails because I know they put fish in the boat for me more than most other baits for the simple fact of hooking percentage too. Many days I would rather boat one fish on a bucktail than have three fish take swipes at a glider and not get hooked. If you are in the right place at the right time and put a bait in front of their face they will most likely eat it. Dick Pearson and many other topnotch anglers have proved this time and again that bait selection is not the primary factor for putting fish in the boat. If i'm getting many follows on bucktails with no takers then I start to narrow down techniques with the tails such as speed of retreive, colors, vibration (blade type), hair or rubber tails. Sometimes this is all it takes to make a difference for the day. I firmly believe just because every other muskie hunter out there is throwing hair too on a particular body of water that they still will produce. Location, boat control, conditions, and confidence in my presentation are what helps to put fish in the boat. Start chucking tails and you won't be disappointed. Good luck! | |
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Posts: 32884
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I have no less than 100 bucktails, no kidding. They work...all the time.
My biggest fish in Canada was on a Musky Buster Mondo, a megabucktail on the XX order made way back in the early 90's.
Several of my US caught fish over 50 were bucktail fish.
There's no really bad time to throw a bucktail, if a fish is going to move it could hit hair as well as any bait. I do think the bucktail is the best bait one can throw if the fish are really hot; they are easy to use,a true no brainer, cast and reel. Tricks include speed, s-l-o-w--to BURN, from popping the blade on the top like a topwater to reeling so slowly the lure nearly drags the bottom.
Colors are infinite, as are the materials the lures are now made from. Bucktail (real which is really doe,buck,both), synthetic, mariboo, living rubber, silicone, and more. Blades are sized from little to huge. Interestingly, the LOUDEST is a small Indiana, and that's what I have put on my customs, even the Mondo I caught my Wabigoon Pig on. Are the huge blades 'better'? They are if everyone is throwing them.
The hardware is pretty standard, so quality is usually in the wire diameter and blade. Beads and bodies,lead weights, etc. are fairly generic, but interesting variations are possible in the designs.
When it gets right down to it, the old Spoon Hook is not all that removed from the bucktails of today. | |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Iowa | My 3 favorite bucktails are and eagletail that the singles have been replaced with trebles and most recently the Double Cowgirl and Double X...the eagle tails are the perfect size in my opinion an time any place...and those Cowgrils and Double X's have so much lift that you really don't have to reel very fast to make them bulge under the surface and create that fleeing baitfish type action...also the way the "hair" pulsates through the water is increbile...It's also pretty hard to beat a blue fox vibrax or a ghostail but if I could have only 3 bucktails it would be a Black/Flame Eagle Tail, Christmas Tree Double Cowgirl and a Black and Orange XX...
Big Perc | |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | Like the others I have found Bucktails can work year round... I prefer ones with trebles over the single hook models, but think thats just a confidence thing more then anything else I guess... Bucktails I like are the Muskiefool Anomoly, Fudally's Musky Candy, and Don Musil's old Musk-a-doo bucktails... of course it never hurts to have a few Mepp's Musky Killers either, though I prefer the Mepp's Minnow over the ones with hair... I will attach a pic of the Anomoly...
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 anomoly.jpg (90KB - 210 downloads)
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Location: Athens, Ohio | As far as you last request, I do not think you can go wrong buying a Mepps bucktail. IMHO, theirs is the standard of the industry.
I like buckies best of all muskie baits. They are easy to cast, fun to retrieve, hook well, and don't wear me out like casting big jerkbaits all day. Most of my fish have come on bucktails. m | |
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| if you ever get the chance, ask Steve to play you his recordings of baits moving underwater...very very interesting stuff, and much of it is extremely surprising/counterintuitive. i'd love to hear what the #10 Colorados sound like, and i bet it would not be what i expected.
here's a cool modification i've been throwing lately:
(Reef Hawg...you might like this! inspired by the GP Thumpers i got from you...)
buy a MOJO XXX (triple!) - you can get them at Rollie's or Thorne's for about $25, so they're
the same price as a standard double CG.
cut off the rear/third treble and remove the extra maribou tie - this basically creates a XX with a slight bit
of shaft extending past the second treble, ending in a convenient loop.
attach a "hitchhiker" to this loop and screw one of your favorite salt
shaker tails onto the hitchhiker.
all the vibration of the XX blades, plus the teaser of that rubber thumper tail.
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Baits 003.jpg (113KB - 180 downloads)
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Posts: 921
Location: Apollo, PA | Now that looks very cool. Thanks guys, now your making me think | |
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| Bucktails probably catch muskies better than any other bait, ice out until ice up! New cutting edge bucktails like the Shumway Flasher, the Muskie Fool Anomaly, the Musky Mayhem Double Cow Girl, the Mojo XXX, and Dutch Lures 15 inch monster bucktails are really great improvements to the smaller sized staples like Mepps Musky Killers and Musky Marabous | |
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| Oh, and don't forget my friend Todd's crazy creations the TM tails  | |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I love TM tails, I will throw a few tomorrow for sure!! | |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | I am without a doubt a "Bucktail Guy", Nearly 70 % of my fish are caught on them and they are without a doubt my confidence bait. They are my all time favorite to "move" fish even when I am not catching them. Theres always a color combination that seems to work to fit most northern lakes, and the patterns are easy to predict. Today there are a million choices out there, I will disagree with the opinion above that todays bucktails are better for catching fish. They certainly look flashier to the eye, but if you were to buy nothing but a Mepps product you could do a lot worse. Nothing wrong with these 30 dollar bucktails, but give me a Mepps Marabou and I am more then content. They consistently catch fish, and they consistently perform. | |
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| Has anyone heard of Harassers? Probably the best build Bucktail ever. | |
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| I've been making my own bucktails for as long as I've been fishing muskies.
When I look at my log, many if not all of my first 40 muskies were caught on bucktails or Suicks, then Reef Hawgs start showing up, then more and different gliders, then my own stuff and HR's and lately spinnerbaits.
I find that I've moved away from bucktails since the advent of better spinnerbaits. Spinnerbaits are waaaay more versatile and the best part is that they are almost totally weedless and snag-proof.
I take along a box with about 20 bucktails in it, but they see little action. There are just better lures to use in place of bucktails.
Bucktails have one quality that I really like. When you slam the hooks into a fish with a bucktail, they usually stay stuck. They are great hookers, but so are spinnerbaits, and spinnerbaits are more weed proof, snagproof and in recent years they have become stronger, better made and have taken the place of the bucktail in my arsenal. I can run them deep, shallow or in between. You can buy great spinnerbaits, or go to Stamina and buy all of the components and roll your own.
My box used to have more hair than a Grateful Dead concert, now it more closely resembles Slamr's head.
Beav | |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | Just a note on the Muskiefool Anomoly, it is NOT a $30 bucktail, but rather I think its about $13 plus S&H, will double check that to be sure, but if more not by much.... Save some cash and pick one of these up instead.... | |
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Posts: 3861
| "My box used to have more hair than a Grateful Dead concert, now it more closely resembles Slamr's head."
Now with that I actually laughed out loud. Way funny, Beaver. I have, let's see...6 Grateful Dead stickers on my boat. Two on my Explorer. I wear only Jerry ties to work. I'm wearing a Dead shirt holding the fish in the pic on the left. A shelf of Dead books. Over 100 shows, I think, which is not that many at all when you consider true road folks. But I did mine from '74 until the St. Louis shows immediately prior to the last 2 Jerry shows in Chicago, plus lots of Jerry Band and Bob Weir Band(s), and I've got the time spread on my side. Now Beaver, you know that Slamr is an experienced, in all the correct ways, Dead fan, right?
Oh, bucktails? Here's the three I like best: Buchertail 700, Hirsches Ghosttail original, Mepps Muskie Killer. Colors depend on where you are fishing. And colors matter a lot.
Edited by Ranger 9/14/2006 2:38 AM
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Posts: 921
Location: Apollo, PA | I truly appreciate all the feedback on the bucktail issue. Thank you so much.
Even though i am 50, i missed the "Dead" Experience. (Unfortunately for me).
I troll Willeys Spinnerbaits in weedy and open water areas, but sorry to say, do not cast them.
Maybe this is lazyness on my part. Pikiespawn | |
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Posts: 7036
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | My old age has moved me more and more to the bucktail side of things, throwing the wood all day makes the back tired much faster now than it used to. For any kind of edge or deep weed break situations I'm throwing XXs, Mepps Mariboos, VoodooTails (a VERY underappreciated bait, http://www.voodootails.com ), or Windells Double Harrassers.
I like the XXs for big fish situations or when speed is called for (I use a 8'6" HEAVY diamondback custom from Frank's Custom Rods with a 6600CL Morrum with power handle, its a stump puller). I can keep this bait within a foot of the surface, but keeping it up is work. However, you do need to make sure you're using a stiffer rod with a powerful (wide spool) reel or you will get "claw hand" pretty quick. It DOESNT "burn out" reels, thats more from starting reeling before the spool stops, but its definitely the kind of bait you should have your gear set for.
The Mepps Mariboos I'm throwing with a med action GLoomis with a Abu Torno reel on it. Nice light action for a smaller bait, which I'll throw when I'm looking to bomb casts out there and be able to retrieve minus much effort.
For the Voodootails and Windells, I'm looking to go pretty fast to really fast and have an 8'6" Lamiglas with a 5500CS Pro Rocket that can bomb casts out, and bring them in FAST.
However, more and more I'm fishing shallower and shallower (Worrallian influence) and the spinnerbait is taking the vast majority of my time over the in-line bucktail. I'm using Violent Strike spinnerbaits (contact Keith Worrall, you wont be disappointed) in mostly his larger sizes, throwing both the willow leaf and round-bladed designs. For some reason, I havent done as well over rocks and off of breaks with spinnerbaits, but maybe thats because I'm throwing the in-lines more in that situation. I do believe that the shallow shallow SHALLOW slop (at least in the spring and summer) is an overlooked fish holder, and I've been hitting that more this year than in the past, and having action from a lot of nice fish. For this application, I like the longer 8'6" Lamiglas, which has the backbone and length to pop the bait up and OVER the weeds as the spinnerbait comes through.
Thus endeth the sermon (can anyone tell I'm avoiding starting my work day), and I'm sure that many would say "get a 7'6" ___ rod and a basic ___ reel and you'll be fine", but thats just me. I dont buy many lures, but I make sure I have the rod/reel set up to be able to work the lures I do have, the way I want to.
And Ranger: Now Beaver, you know that Slamr is an experienced, in all the correct ways, Dead fan, right?
Is that good, or bad? Either way, I really wish my boat had a tape deck, being that I have about 75 bootlegs that would make for good times on the water. | |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Lambeau, nice!!! you'll have to pay Greg Peterson some roylaties for that one. Really, that is a good combo. I'll have to take some pics of my triple takes(9" shads with the 10 colorados), and mini triples(6" shads with a bit of marabou up front but nothing as big as what you have there) and send to you. Or why don't we just trade( I like that idea...)
As for bucktails, it seems like success with different types goes in streaks with us. I guess it is why the wife and I have racks jammed tight with ummmm.... too many different makes and types, and each type has had their day in the sun so I had to buy every color and size of each. Fun to look at them on the racks now and remember the wheres and whens. Now that I have been using spinnerbaits so much, my inline use has suffered some. It seems like the new and effective model creations just never end...to the definate chagrin of my wife..... That said, they are all tools, and learning the basic whens and wheres earlier would have saved me alot of money on overkill purchases. Heavy thin ones with frenchies for speed, big light ones with colorados for bulging and night..etc etc..One can take a half dozen along of different styles and really run the gamut, then get more precise with color. The hot lure thing can come into play too, and it really does seem like fish on certain waters, or during certain years will really show preferance to a certain style, color, blade, or combo of above. Just wish I was better at determining that quicker....
Edited by Reef Hawg 9/14/2006 8:20 AM
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | you can't go wrong with mepps. my favorites are cats tails, ghost tails, mepps, shumway flasher,
llungen tails, and roz-tails.
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| here's a cool modification i've been throwing lately:
all the vibration of the XX blades, plus the teaser of that rubber thumper tail.
i put this mod through it's paces today.
it works.
!!! FISH EAT XX !!! | |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | some of my favorite bucktails are Roz-tails, ghost tails, and cats tails. | |
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Posts: 1237
Location: South Portsmouth, KY | lambeau - 9/12/2006 7:51 PM
if you ever get the chance, ask Steve to play you his recordings of baits moving underwater...very very interesting stuff, and much of it is extremely surprising/counterintuitive. i'd love to hear what the #10 Colorados sound like, and i bet it would not be what i expected.
here's a cool modification i've been throwing lately:
(Reef Hawg...you might like this! inspired by the GP Thumpers i got from you...)
buy a MOJO XXX (triple!) - you can get them at Rollie's or Thorne's for about $25, so they're
the same price as a standard double CG.
cut off the rear/third treble and remove the extra maribou tie - this basically creates a XX with a slight bit
of shaft extending past the second treble, ending in a convenient loop.
attach a "hitchhiker" to this loop and screw one of your favorite salt
shaker tails onto the hitchhiker.
all the vibration of the XX blades, plus the teaser of that rubber thumper tail.
Lambeau is that triple xxx a mojo standard color or is it a custom color? Where did ya find the color at? Thanks!
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| i got that XXX in an auction here on M1st last year, so i guess it's kind of a "custom" color in that regard.
that lure with that mod is the one i got my "lifetime fish" on this fall.
Luke can make you most anything you want as far as marabou and blade color combinations.
stop by and talk to him at the Muskie Mojo booth at the Chicago show (i'll be there too) or drop him a line.
http://www.muskiemojo.com
email: [email protected]
phone: 763-443-7092 OR 612-799-2034 | |
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Posts: 20211
Location: oswego, il | The anomoly is a neat bucktail. I do not know if every one sounds like muskyboy's anomly does, but his, the blades hit and it sounds just like a rattle trap coming through the water. You can actually hear it in the water like a rattle trap. He put his best of 07 in the boat with it, I was all too happy to be the netman. | |
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