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Posts: 23
| Been making bucktails for about a year now and loving it. Anyone out there have any tricks or nuances they use when making them? I'm pretty dialed in but would love to hear any little tweaks you guys may have.
Thanks! |
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Posts: 358
| wire diameter and length affect vibration...fun to play with that....hollow beads vs solid beads, combinations of both...split ringed (mepps style) vs straight shaft have different actions / vibrations...clevis sizes...blade combos and types
the ones i make that pull the hardest are usually my best ones. fiddle around with stuff its amazing how different they can feel |
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Posts: 32924
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Check out the Basement Baits forum, too. |
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Posts: 59
| I like to use a thicker blade on my bucktails. I feel like the extra mass of the blades throws off a different vibration that fish haven't felt much. |
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Posts: 2308
Location: SE, WI. | Tyler, Unfortunately there was a reduction in the basement bait forums, and there is only 4 pages to research. Looks like all the great bucktail discussions and tricks fell off the table;( somewhere??? There was some really good tips and suggestions, that went bub-bye;) Maybe start up some new discussion there. Otherwise, U can always email me if you have Questions. I do mucho Mods! JD |
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Posts: 1348
Location: Pewaukee, WI | I will be selling off all my bucktail making materials in the near future. Be on the lookout for it. I will have everything from packages of Hedron magnum flashabou and Salt water flashabou to various sized egg weights to clevises, shafts, solid and hollow beads in brass and nickel, etc. just to mention a few items. I love making bucktails, but at age 81yrs. with health issues, it's time to pack it in. |
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Posts: 32924
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | jdsplasher - 4/9/2021 9:56 PM
Tyler, Unfortunately there was a reduction in the basement bait forums, and there is only 4 pages to research. Looks like all the great bucktail discussions and tricks fell off the table; ( somewhere??? There was some really good tips and suggestions, that went bub-bye. Maybe start up some new discussion there. Otherwise, U can always email me if you have Questions. I do mucho Mods!
It's all still there, just search by year at the bottom of the page, same on the entire forum set. If past years are not displaying try going to an early year and then reset to all years. Attachments ----------------  Untitled.jpg (100KB - 334 downloads) Untitled.jpg (79KB - 362 downloads) |
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | I like making the bucktail short. I.see many with a giant gap from the blade to skirt. The blade should almost touch the skirt when held vertical from the eye. If it touches it could have a hard time starting. I also like the bucktail to ride horizontal so the weight will be right where the skirt is secured not the hook unless the skirt is that short. Multiple skirts the heaviest weight is at the skirt closest to the blade. Just theory but makes for an easier target with the skirt and hook together. The shorter the wire the less chance of getting bent. I bend my clevises so they're straight with the solid bead which is small. |
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Posts: 51
| This thread got my attention because I also started making my own bucktails, thing is I never owned a bucktail before. Mostly because I fish from a Yak and the one time I tried one a friend let me use, there was so much pull that the thing just moved me towards the bait.
So what the heck might as well build some with smaller blades. Watched a couple of videos and looked at the ones that were selling around where I live.
My current setup for bucktails, working from back treble to blades:
Treble - 3/8 egg - skirt - big beed - skirt - treble - amount of beeds/bodies necessary to get the blades off the skirts.
Is this setup likely to get my lures running at an angle? |
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Posts: 59
| MKevin - 4/10/2021 8:36 PM
This thread got my attention because I also started making my own bucktails, thing is I never owned a bucktail before. Mostly because I fish from a Yak and the one time I tried one a friend let me use, there was so much pull that the thing just moved me towards the bait.
So what the heck might as well build some with smaller blades. Watched a couple of videos and looked at the ones that were selling around where I live.
My current setup for bucktails, working from back treble to blades:
Treble - 3/8 egg - skirt - big beed - skirt - treble - amount of beeds/bodies necessary to get the blades off the skirts.
Is this setup likely to get my lures running at an angle?
If your using small (less than #8) blades with that much weight in the back I think the bait will be at an angle. I would try doing what Todd M recommended and put the weight between the skirts, this works pretty well for getting most bucktails horizontal. You can put the big bead in the rear between the treble and skirt to help with spacing.
The bucktails I make come in 2 types, "bulgers" that have no extra weights that act almost like a topwater, and heavy weighted burners. The bulgers that have no added weight stay fairly horizontal with the big colorado blades balancing out the rest of the bait. The heavy burners have variable weight depending on blade size and type (bigger blades, bigger weight), but always have the weight about 1/2 way back from the top clevis.
Also, like I said above I really think that thicker blade helps put fish in the boat! |
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Posts: 51
| Rob C - 4/10/2021 10:30 PM
MKevin - 4/10/2021 8:36 PM
This thread got my attention because I also started making my own bucktails, thing is I never owned a bucktail before. Mostly because I fish from a Yak and the one time I tried one a friend let me use, there was so much pull that the thing just moved me towards the bait.
So what the heck might as well build some with smaller blades. Watched a couple of videos and looked at the ones that were selling around where I live.
My current setup for bucktails, working from back treble to blades:
Treble - 3/8 egg - skirt - big beed - skirt - treble - amount of beeds/bodies necessary to get the blades off the skirts.
Is this setup likely to get my lures running at an angle?
If your using small (less than #8 ) blades with that much weight in the back I think the bait will be at an angle. I would try doing what Todd M recommended and put the weight between the skirts, this works pretty well for getting most bucktails horizontal. You can put the big bead in the rear between the treble and skirt to help with spacing.
The bucktails I make come in 2 types, "bulgers" that have no extra weights that act almost like a topwater, and heavy weighted burners. The bulgers that have no added weight stay fairly horizontal with the big colorado blades balancing out the rest of the bait. The heavy burners have variable weight depending on blade size and type (bigger blades, bigger weight ), but always have the weight about 1/2 way back from the top clevis.
Also, like I said above I really think that thicker blade helps put fish in the boat!
Thanks for the tips, I've already got a handful of them done but will try you and ToddM's way for the handful I have yet to build with the stuff I have, it'll be interesting to compare. The weight in the back I got from Doug Werner in his youtube video and his reason for doing so was for castability IIRC. Thought that made sense for synching the lure but i could see how it could really affect tilt on the retrieve.
Another mistake I made was assume that the #blade was consistent across blade types. I ordered both #8 colorados and indianas and obviously found out that colorados are much bigger. Kicked it up a notch on my second order. Neverthelss, these much smaller blades might have their time and place anyway. I doubt any musky here has been across a double #8 indiana bucktail so who knows, that might turn out to be a good thing. |
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Location: 31 | I always preferred solid lighter wire for casting, the trade-off was the bait had to be reworked more often. I like a larger eye and good gap before the clevis to help make cleaning the slime off easier, otherwise just be mindful of the end of the blade not hitting the skirt windings and have some fun. This is the good stuff... |
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Posts: 2308
Location: SE, WI. | sworrall - 4/10/2021 8:54 AM jdsplasher - 4/9/2021 9:56 PM Tyler, Unfortunately there was a reduction in the basement bait forums, and there is only 4 pages to research. Looks like all the great bucktail discussions and tricks fell off the table;( somewhere??? There was some really good tips and suggestions, that went bub-bye. Maybe start up some new discussion there. Otherwise, U can always email me if you have Questions. I do mucho Mods! It's all still there, just search by year at the bottom of the page, same on the entire forum set. If past years are not displaying try going to an early year and then reset to all years. Cool, didn’t know all the blast from the past posts existed. Tyler, try going back to 2015, and 2016. Some good bucktail tips seem to be posted those years especially. Some really good people sharing their skills back then. Many you don’t hear from anymore;( Elijah Keller has a bucktail post that has 43,000 + views, aka Fishfinder101. Did some impeccable work tying. He started his post 2/17/2014. JD |
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Posts: 59
| MKevin - 4/10/2021 10:11 PM
Thanks for the tips, I've already got a handful of them done but will try you and ToddM's way for the handful I have yet to build with the stuff I have, it'll be interesting to compare. The weight in the back I got from Doug Werner in his youtube video and his reason for doing so was for castability IIRC. Thought that made sense for synching the lure but i could see how it could really affect tilt on the retrieve.
Another mistake I made was assume that the #blade was consistent across blade types. I ordered both #8 colorados and indianas and obviously found out that colorados are much bigger. Kicked it up a notch on my second order. Neverthelss, these much smaller blades might have their time and place anyway. I doubt any musky here has been across a double #8 indiana bucktail so who knows, that might turn out to be a good thing.
No problem.
I haven't seen that video from Doug but his explanation you provided makes sense. I've made bucktails with weight in the middle and in the back. I've found that with the weight in the middle your still able to get some good distance and accuracy. I will admit I don't fish much in big wind, but I can imagine the rear weight will help in those conditions.
Those Indiana blades can be dynamite. I have a 7'' bucktail with a single #8 indiana blade that I love throwing. I feel like its a good alternative to the musky mayhem showgirls that every other muskie nut on my waters use. I also have a few 6'' bucktails with double #6 colorados that I use for burning. You can really crank those suckers quick with the small blades. |
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | The Indiana blades will create less drag and lift. You can also mismatch the blades making one bait with each blade on it for something different. If you make an articulated bait like a mepps double 8, a great bait in it's own right, put a bell sinker on the hinge if it's spaced just right the blades hit the sinker making an extra vibration. |
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Posts: 23
| This is all amazing stuff!! I got pretty dialed in last season with how mine will run, this year I have been doing a lot of experimenting with combos and blade varieties. I've made a few Mag #9 double fluted baits that run super nice in the water you can keep them nice and high. Some 7/9 stuff has been fun messing around with as well. It has definitely been a great hobby to get through the winter itch (don't care much for ice fishing, I'd rather be on the mountain snowboarding).
Thank you all! |
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Posts: 20248
Location: oswego, il | I've made some indiana/french blade combos. They spin very easy but they don't seem to give off much vibration. Not caught a fish on them yet. |
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Posts: 1541
Location: Brighton CO. | Been making my own the last two years and making too many but it's fun. On longer tails weight in the middle on singles I like a heavy body also for casting smaller sizes I make a weighted leader for casting length and running depth. |
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Posts: 1315
Location: E. Tenn | When using two different size blades, which goes in front, the larger or smaller?
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Posts: 1541
Location: Brighton CO. | Smaller. |
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Posts: 2373
Location: Chisholm, MN | chuckski - 4/24/2021 8:34 PM
Smaller.
I usually put the big one in front and they work perfectly. I don’t think it matters much. Try either one out. |
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Posts: 390
| miket55 - 4/23/2021 9:24 AM
When using two different size blades, which goes in front, the larger or smaller?
The one with most lift. Might take some trial and error. |
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