Building "Bucktail" Jigs - Lep Style

[Leprechaun]

So, its like 25 degrees out, I’ve already checked inside the boat, under the shrink-wrap - more than once today - gotta make sure the bilge-mounted 60W light bulbs are all lit and doing their jobs keeping thr temp up down in there. Turned the dehumidifier off, what with the water in the bucket forming a giant ice cube. No point in running that thing ‘til it gets above freezing. I AM a little obsessive about my "baby." Well, more than a "little" obsessive, I guess. Having it parked 6 feet from my house is the "great enabler" of my deeply-ingrained boat neurosis. I'll say this: as senior as it is, whomever runs this boat after me is gonna get one babied ride. That's fo' sho'!

Anyway, other than indulging my boat compulsion, right now there's not a lot going on in our favorite sport to keep my mid-Winter withdrawal symptoms at a minimum. Freezing while rolling around offshore on the hunt for a cod or two, or prowling the half-frozen shores of our local South shore creeks for a few white perch? Neither is my idea of a fun-filled day. So I guess right now there's not much to do fishing-wise, making it a good time to put together some fresh fluke "bucktails" for the coming season.

Over the past week I’ve received 30 jig heads from HTLureco, and a batch of 100 assorted 5” squid tails from my favorite Chinese Ebay vendor – and so I decided that today was the day to get jiggy with a little "fluke therapy."

First – if you do decide to go with this design for your lures for this coming season, please refer to my earlier post here: Bucktails for direct links to the appropriate Ebay offerings.

Pic 1 shows the 2,3 & 4oz HTLureco heads, the squiddie tails, the Eagle Claw #254 trailer hooks I like (4/0 for the 2 & 3oz, 5/0 for the 4oz and up jammies). Plus the little Home Despot wire ties that can be bought in bulk in those clear plastic tubes that are readily available in HD’s Electrical Supply aisle. Cheap enough and pretty darn good quality.

Another shot:

My first step is to use a Sharpie permanent marker to put the weight on the head. I don’t care to fumble around/guess when looking for the proper weight jig for re-rigging after a busting one off on a nasty snag - most especially on a "hot" bite. The better fish tend make themselves known on specific tidal intervals and I want to have my baits swimming down deep as much as possible during those periods . Anything that takes time from that endeavor is to be avoided.

Here’s a little interesting aside – HTLureco has started supplying their 2oz jig heads in the same sized profile as their larger 3oz models – just a good bit thinner, in keeping with their lower weight. Until now their 2oz head was much more compact. I dunno if this larger, more “Blade-like” jig profile will dig as deep as the older, more compact 2oz heads. For all I know, they might cleave the water even better than the older style, digging deeper. Ehhh, maybe not – I guess we’ll find out in May.

Pic 4 shows one of the squid tails with its “head” amputated – its important to retain that head, as it’ll find its way back onto the jig in due course.

Pic 5 has the tail installed onto the jig head. Don’t be afraid to shove it way forward. The 5”-sized tails are more than long enough.

Pic 6/7/8 show the small plastic wire tie and installation of the same. Make sure to put the wire tie
in front of the tail-retaining "bump" at the rear end of the head's casting. Also, Pic 8 shows the 4/0
trailer hook installed on the jig's "main" hook.

End Part One.

 

[West End Surf]

I see you cut a 'smiling bill' type beheading. Was that on purpose to help with expansion?

 

[Leprechaun]

Pic 9 details the trailer hook, with the squiddie’s amputated head pushed onto jig hook, so to act as a retainer for the trailer hook. There’s all sorts of things you can use for this purpose. I find that this method is plenty good enough. Just be sure to take care that the jig’s hook exits the retaining squid head EXACTLY in the center, as if its off center its much weaker and can sometimes be shaken off by a vigorous fish. A little care here goes a long way!

Pic 10 illustrates how the trailer hook “hides” nicely within a 5” tail’s tentacles. Perfect ambush location! A 4” GULP! Mullet or my personal fav, a 5” GULP! Jerk Shad on the trailer hook completes the deal. Really, really deadly! They don't know what hit 'em, once I give 'em the old "Capt. Mike B" full golf club swing. WHAMMO, fish on!

Pix 11 and 12 address the way I set up the squiddie tail(s) on the 3oz and up sized heads. Basically, I use two tails on those larger heads, one inside the other. I cut both squid heads off and then I “lube up” the one that I’ve chosen as the “inner” tail. Use your imagination here – I like nature’s “wonder lubricant” – good old spit for this. If you’re not of a similar mind, a little WD-40 goes a long way. It helps to have a small needle-nose pliers around, to assist in pulling the head of the inner tail up and through the outer tail’s head.

Lucky Pic 13 shows the tails installed onto the jig’s hook, but not yet pushed/pulled up and over the jig head’s “retaining hump”. It does take a bit of persuading, but “it ain't nothin’ more than a can o’corn” to do, as Keith Hernandez likes to say.

Finally, Pic 14 shows the completed 3oz jig "assembly," with the tools I use for this job. I banged out 10 each
of the 2,3 and 4oz sizes today, just a partial down payment on what I already know I'm gonna lose
over the first month or two of fishing the deep rough stuff. Its just the price of doing business out there. "If you
ain't losin', you ain't catchin'." And that's the truth!

So that's the way I put my "bucktails" together. Feel free to copy me, or improve. Just let me know if you
do build a better mouse trap. I'm always eager to learn something new.

Catch 'em up! Lep

 

[Leprechaun]

Hi West End Surf - good eye, but nah, its just how the cut of that head came out.

 

[West End Surf]

On freshwater I crush all the barbs on my hooks. This presented a problem with keeping trailer hooks on using tubing. I now use a hole punch and a lid from a 30.5oz folgers coffee container. I use a pin, like I find in my new dress shirts, to punch a hole in the middle and push on hook. It works better than anything else I've tried or bought. Maybe double em up if catching vigorous fish. A dozen pre punched takes up no space in your tackle bag if you "lose your head" and trailer. The hardest part is finding the little suckers in there.

 

[Leprechaun]

WES - that's an excellent idea! I will try it this coming season.

 

[Savvy18]

I've been "toying" with making my own jigs the last few years too. Wanted to experiment with different color combos. Originally I just wanted to make the heavier 4-6 ounce jigs because they're expensive but I soon had my friend making me unpainted jig heads from 1-6 ounces. I'm still tinkering with ideas and haven't landed anything over 6 lbs. on any of my "custom" jigs yet. I did drop a few very large fish though ?

 

[NYSharpie]

Pete’s specially designed bucktails work great, especially on the deeper, sticky drops. The first time I fished with Pete 4-5 years ago I learned quickly after losing 7 Spro bucktails that, if I was going to fluke on the deep, jagged shit, I was going to need to modify my technique. Pete was nice enough to let me in on his secrets and I have not looked back ever since.

I get my jigs made in bulk from Bluewater Lures in Southold. Chris hooks me up with a good price on 2,3 and 4 oz painted leadheads. I like white best because they are most versatile; however I caught my DD fluke last year on a plain 2 oz chartreuse without a skirt and only a 4” swimming mullet on back end. Chris rigs these with 6/0 black nickel hooks, sharp as hell.

I created my own variation, which works well for me. I use a single shirt, and find that white, pink and blue work best. There is also a UV irredentist shirt that is my go to most days.

I cut the tip off the shirts and slide them up the jig. I put a dot of gorilla glue on jig and slide shirt over, keeps it secure.

I use 4/0 open eye straight o’shaunnesy hooks as trailer. Once over, I crimp eye and use a small piece of airline tubing to secure trailer hook. I don’t thread it through, I poke it through one side and out other. Here is a pic.

 

[Leprechaun]

Hey Frankie - don't you think you'd have more success using rubber skirts?

Where do you buy those rubber shirts, anyway? The local S&M shop?

You hound, you!

 

[NYSharpie]

LOL! Don’t give away all my secrets

 

[pequa1]

Thanks Lep- I just ordered some HTLureco unpainted in 1 1/2 oz size. I do all my fishing from JI to Matzahpizza so if I need to go 2 oz or higher I have a bunch of bullet heads and smiling bills from Terminal Tackle for that. I will powder paint most in chartreuse and white, but with so many tails from my cold weather pursuit on hand I will probably just wind on a lot of hair. Like you I get extra enjoyment out of making my own lures as much as possible, although I doubt I will ever get a mold and melt lead !

 

[Pete21]

Hey Lep , how do you hook the gulp on the jigs with the trailer hook ? Do you only put it on the trailer hook ? Could you maybe show an image ? Thanks for all the info

 

[Leprechaun]

Nice name there, Pete!

I thought I made it clear in my first post that the GULP! goes on the trailer.

"Pic 10 illustrates how the trailer hook “hides” nicely within a 5” tail’s tentacles. Perfect ambush location! A 4” GULP! Mullet or my personal fav, a 5” GULP! Jerk Shad on the trailer hook completes the deal. Really, really deadly!"

A few pics for clarification purposes:

 

[EMILYROSE]

all good stuff here

 

[Pete21]

Thanks Pete just was a little unsure of how it would sit , thanks for the clarification.

 

[NYSharpie]

I’m a 4 inch mullet guy myself. If you are going to buy one color for the trailer hook, I say pearl white, works well with any color bucktail and tentacle color.

 

[pequa1]

Quick question:
Do any of you put those rubber or silicone skirts on the leadhead backwards, so that the "tentacles" puff out more instead of flowing straight back like bucktail hair ? (A couple of my freshwater bass jigs are made that way.)

 

[Leprechaun]

Yes, its fairly commonly done that way. Especially if you use the silicone skirts with the very fine tentacles. I’ve tried it with the skirts I use and found that it creates too much drag in deep water with any kind of current or wind drift. Have to go up at least one ounce in weight over the “normal” jigs, in order to maintain bottom contact. But in the Bay? Why not give it a try?

 

[pequa1]

Silicone skirts ? Like these?: Krinkle Cut Spinnerbait Skirts, Textured Silicone Skirts or Spinnerbait Skirt Assortment

 

[Leprechaun]

Yepper.