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Bucktails are a basic tool of muskie fishing. More muskies are caught on bucktails than any other lure. A bucktail has many advantages:

• Works in many situations
• Excellent search lure
• Best hooking lure
• Easy to retrieve
• All season lure
• Inexpensive

Description

A bucktail consists of a wire body, a spinner blade, a weight, and a hook dressed with deer hair, feathers, marabou, rubber skirt, tinsel, or a combination of these materials. In this discussion, the term "bucktail" includes only in-line spinner designs. Despite similarities of construction, I consider spinnerbaits a separate lure category because they are fished differently.

Why It Works

Muskies are primarily sight feeders, but also can sense movement in the water through their lateral lines. They are attracted to a bucktail's flash, vibration, and pulsating hair. A bucktail probably looks like a baitfish to a muskie.

Why It's The Best Hooking Lure

Bucktails hook fish better than other lures because when a fish grabs it the hair collapses and the fish closes its mouth on the hooks. There is no wood or plastic lure body for the fish to grab onto.

Why It's A Good Search Lure

Bucktails are designed for fast, straight retrieves. Because you don't "work" them, you can make more casts. Their flash and vibration "call" fish from a distance, which allows you to space casts farther apart. For these reasons, bucktails cover a lot of water quickly

When To Use Bucktails, And When Not To

Bucktails are often used to fish area-type structure such as weedbeds and shorelines. They don't work well in heavy cover, and you can't twitch or pause them. After dark, a muskie can find a surface bait easier than a bucktail. Most bucktails run too shallow to reach deep fish, although some bucktails can be used to fish deep weedlines and dropoffs by adding extra weight.

Tackle

A 7 to 7 ½-foot medium or medium-heavy action muskie rod casts average sized bucktails well. Small bucktails may require a lighter rod and line.

Casting and Retrieving

The standard method of fishing a bucktail is to cast beyond the target and retrieve quickly in a straight line. You may be able to trigger a following fish with a speed or direction change, or by executing a "J" or "figure 8" maneuver at the boat. When fishing a bucktail, don't let the blade stop spinning, or muskies won't hit it. Casts should be "line drives," not "fly balls," because you don't want any slack in the line when the lure hits the water. Engage the reel before splashdown and "pop" the rod tip to start the blade turning. In general, use fast retrieves in warm water and slower retrieves in cold water. You can make a bucktail run deeper by slowing down the retrieve. Conversely, by retrieving very fast, you can "bulge" it on the surface to use it as a topwater bait.

Choosing the Right Bucktail

Given the many styles, sizes, blades, dressings, and colors, how do you know which bucktail to use? Let the fishing situation determine your choice. Here are some factors to consider:

• Cover
• Depth
• Water clarity
• Temperature
• Light

Choosing the right bucktail is fairly simple when you think of lures as tools. As in everything else, you match the tool to the job. For example, to fish weeds growing near the surface, use an unweighted bucktail with a large blade, because this lure runs shallow. To go deep, choose a weighted bucktail with a small or narrow blade. In dense cover where treble hooks would hang up, try a lure with single hooks. (However, you should use treble hooks when possible, because you'll miss more strikes with single hooks.)

Blade styles. Large, wide, fluted blades have more "lift" and are associated with shallow-running bucktails. Willow leaf blades run deep, and also are good for poor water visibility because they put out more vibration. A small, cupped French blade lets you make fast retrieves without breaking the surface.

Lure size. In general, start with small lures in early season and progress to larger ones as the water warms up and baitfish grow larger.

Colors. Many anglers stick with "confidence" colors they consistently catch fish on. Many muskie fishing pros assert color makes little difference. Conventional wisdom is to use nickel blades in bright sunlight, subdued colors for clear water, and painted blades and fluorescent colors in dirty water or algae blooms. Manufacturers often combine contrasting colors to enhance visibility and attract a fish's attention.