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Posts: 18
Location: Amsterdam, Holland | how do u guys fish ur bucktail spinners and spinnerbaits?
I normally just cast and retrieve and occasional stop the lure or lift it a bit, or a slight jerk of the rod. But I have the feeling I can do more with them. How do you guys fish your bucktail lures? IN what occasions do you use them? Shallow waters? Weedline? Deep waters? etc
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | In my opinion one of the most critical aspects of fishing a bucktail is starting the lure moving forward before it even hits the water. Total control of the lure to track it through weeds, keep it at a particular depth, run it at a particular speed, and accomplish all of this in a short 60' cast requires that the bait is running when it hits the water.
I use bucktails in fishable weeds, on the edges, on the flats, and in and around standing timber and stumps that are fishable. If I want the same basic presentation in a snagfree lure, I use a Spinnerbait. Constant speed once I decide what I am up against with the bite, seems to be important too. I keep the retrieve consistant, all the way through my 'L' at boatside. |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | As far as the retrieve goes I will never stop a bucktail. The bait loses all action when stopped. Once or twice a retrieve, and especially when I see one chasing I will give the bait a burst of speed and then return to my normal retrieve. This burst of speed will make a tail come alive. The hair will flare and pulse. The burst of speed will also make a fish speed up to maintain contact. When you return to your regular speed the combination of the hair flaring and the bait backing up right in the fishes face will more times than not result in an attack.
I use bucktails in a variety of spots. My favorite is over the top or along the side of weedlines, but don't rule out rock reefs or even open water. With different blade types you can get the bait to run at various depth levels making it a very versatile search bait in nearly all situations. |
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Posts: 2061
Location: Belgium | The blade style and the depth at which I want to run the bait more or less dictates how I fish it. I like to burn a small handmade willowbladed bucktail (5.5-6") over weeds in deeper water or when fancasting over open water adjacent to weeds or structure. I never found a slow retrieve to produce well for me with this style of bucktail. As speed is the key with this type of presentation I do not stop the bucktail.
When I fish waters with a lot of weeds in them, I use bucktails with either colorado or fluted blades that I retrieve slower. I try to trigger strikes by speeding up occasionally to create a bulge for a few feet and then I slow down a little. It's all in the turning of the reel handle. When I fish deeper water with these lures, I try to pull and pause the bucktails. I learned this trick from one of the In-fisherman video tapes. Al Lindner didn't use a straight retrieve but pulled the bait for about 3 feet and then paused a second or two, then he pulled again. This makes the bucktail go up and down as well as straight ahead. It also makes the bucktail pulsate.
I have a tendency to straight retrieve large bucktails. I'm talking about 9-10" long. They usually have a large blade and that makes it difficult to move the bucktail with twitches and such.
It can be worth the effort to add some wild twitches occasionally when straight retrieving it at slow speeds. A friend of mine jerks his bucktails rather than cranking them back to the boat. It's a funny sight but he does catch fish. On some of his lures he uses duct-tape to stick the blade to the wire shaft and he then jerks his bucktails. They glide up and down and side to side like a glide bait. Never saw him catch one that way though.
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Posts: 1916
Location: Greenfield, WI | One aspect that I do, almost as religiously as figure eighting, is putting a major rod tip single sweep as the bait gets close enough to the boat to see it. This abrupt sweep will cause a major change in direction of the bucktail, without changing the bait's vibration. It is another change of direction, similar to a figure eight, only out away from the boat.
It doesn't under any circumstances replace a boatside figure eight. |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | Pretty much a straight retrieve with me, usually under the surface only about a foot or two. I may do a little pumping of the rod but not much. If I am using a bait like Fudally's Musky Candy then I Burn the bait back to the boat just barely below the surface. |
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Location: Illinois-Indiana | Like SVL, I like to put some sort of change in direction out away form the boat to trigger a following fish. Worrall hit it on the head when he said to have the bait moving before it hits the water, this will keep you above the weeds and cut WAY down on tangled lures. Another good idea is to keep your rod tip high in the air for the first few cranks when fishing shallow weedy areas, then gradually lower your rod tip back to a normal position for the rest of the cast. This will keep you up on top and out of the weeds.
I like to change speeds like Norm stated, I think this counts for many fish striking instead of just following. |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | In deeper water (10 ft or more) I usually run a lure like a Mepps Giant killer because the blade style allows me to get the lure deeper. I usually retreive at a fairly slow speed with a few "bursts" added in. I also use this same lure for burning because it will run deeper than more traditional bucktails at a higher speed.
When fishing shallower I also like to bulge my bucktails, and add in a lot more "flairs" that NWild eluded to. However, on occasion I will slow way down, but not stop, my lure instead of always speeding up the lure. This was very effective last August when nothing else was working for me.
The slowing down of the bucktail aslo works well for me when casting shallower and retreiving deeper. If I cast to shore on a clear lake, the first few feet is sometimes all sand. But after 10 feet or so you will see a distinct black line which is usually a bottom content change and a depth change. When I hit that line I will slow my retreive way down to let the lure "flutter" deeper. I will often contact fish at this location.
I also like to do what SVL and Musky Fever stated about the direction change prior to getting to the boat. |
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Posts: 87
| one thing i like to do is cut the bait to one side then the other right before its close enough to start you figure 8, so it makes an s right before it go's into the hard corner on the figure 8. Many fish come from way back and charge it. |
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Posts: 66
Location: Wales Wi. | Something I always do is match my speed (blade selection) to water clarity. In darker water I slow way down just fast enough to keep the blades cranking and in clear water I go to willow blades and burn um..in both cases I puff the bucktail on the retrieve. |
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Posts: 600
Location: West Bend, WI | For the most part if I'm throwing a tail.I'll be bulging it over a weed flat. |
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Posts: 2361
| I am never too excited about fishing deep, thus I have one retrieve plane for my bucktails, high.
All my variations in retrieve stem mainly from changes in bucktail design and generally I only throw 4 specific tails, a magnum Boo, a funky chicken, a Mepps musky killer, and a Mepps tandem musky killer. The retrieve speeds on these, fastest to slowest, funky chicken, mepps, mepps tandem and magnum boo. I have not seen anything bucktail wise to convince me that these 4 models don't give you excellent coverage of speed and size.
A couple of follows on one model will almost invariably cause me to change away from it as extremely as is possible, ie if they follow the chicken or the single mepps, I will go to the magnum boo as a response, and visa versa. If the bucktail rolls over as you retrieve it, I can't stand it and it's gotta come off! I used to go with big profile in frontal periods or times when I thought they might be particularly active, but now I am much more likely to burn the mepps single, or the chicken depending on water clarity. If dusk means bucktails, it is always going to be magnum boo going right under the surface, and the slowest presentation of any I make.
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Posts: 389
Location: Presque Isle Wisconsin | This is a great thread because it contains much of what seperates the varying success rates and skill levels of Muskie fishermen.The standard toss it out and whenever your ready reel it in approach used by most bucktail tossers will most often produce less than spectacular results overall.
By contrast a skilled,thinking and knowlegeble guy will consistently out-produce the aforementioned guy many times over.Incorporating some of the moves suggested in the posts above will turn a bucktail into a deadly weapon in many appropriate circumstances.Worral's advice to snychronize the tail and have it moving immediately is an abosolute MUST.Likewise speed and directional changes(even slight) are critical.Using the right size and type of blade are evn more critical;For instance on one of my early season "black Holes" I cant boat a muskie without ticking the still low growing cabbage tops with a deeper running willowleaf blade.Nothing else will make them hit a bucktail on that lake at that time-PERIOD!
On another small but clear lake in the summer period when the sun is shining,its absolutely necesary to use a black blade. Hair color doesnt matter on this lake, but if the blade isnt black you are not going to boat a fish.
I could list a lot more subtelties of the common bucktail ,but those points illustrate what the other posts ahve indicated;namely that bucktail choice and retreive options are critical to boating more and bigger fish with this type of bait.
Two things that have worked for me over the last few years to put 50" class fish in the boat with tails are: !.) using double bladed Marabou tails dressed with a Gapen tail for very stained water and,2) Modifying an Eage Tail with large plastic in the shaft to enhance the action over open water for suspended fish. There is so much that can be done to improve the catch rates etc with tails and a lot of great suggestions in the above posts to consider and use.
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | I pretty much straight retreve them with the noted exception of the ocasional pulse in speed to trigger. If I want to fish deep I'll usually go to the heavy spinnerbait. A single bladed spinnerbait will "helicopter" nicly on the fall, like in an pocket in a weed bed. I have used spinnerbaits way more than bucktails but this year I have stocked up on bucktails and will give them a lot more time. |
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Posts: 184
Location: Rockford Il 61108 | I read an article from Bucher one time, and tried his idea. Ill throw one bucktail out let it sink and throw another out. Then i grab the first pole and reel it in. After this, i reel in the second pole. Sounds crazy but ive had numerous musks in the boat. I dont know why but it works in deeper water. Fifteen to thirty feet of water. It might just be the different angle on the retrieve but i dont know. If nothing else is working that day i will go to this action. It seems to work.
Good luck and stay persistent |
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