How Well Do You Know Bucktail Jigs?

Day or night, spring or fall, New Jersey or Maine—if you don’t have an variousness of bucktail jigs in your surf bag, you are not transmissible as many fish as you could be. The bucktail jig’s pulsing hair combined with a fluttering trailer looks as working as any hard-bodied plug or soft-plastic bait. A straight retrieve is all that’s needed to bring the lure to life, but snapping the rod tip or pausing the retrieve will trigger strikes from pursuit fish.

You can tenancy where a bucktail jig swims in the water post by adjusting the speed of your retrieve, keeping it whilom a weedy bottom, or dropping it overdue a submerged boulder or into a trough where big stripers lie in wait. In terms of versatility, the bucktail is the ultimate striper lure. It can be fished near the surface or on the bottom, jigged vertically, or retrieved like a plug. It can be tied sparse to imitate a thin-profiled sand eel or with uneaten hair and feathers to mimic an sultana bunker. From unshut beaches to backwaters, quiet trophy to ripping inlets, there’s unchangingly a situation that calls for a bucktail.

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Andrus Jetty Caster


This archetype jig is tied with extra-dense bucktail hair to slow its sink rate and alimony it whilom the rocks in shallow water. It first gained popularity at Montauk Point, but is productive on unshut beaches, virtually boulder fields, and in when bays. Misogynist in sizes from ½ to 3 ounces.

Andrus Rip Splitter

Tied with a thinner profile than the Jetty Caster, the Rip Splitter is designed to get a little deeper in waters with strong currents. It is mortiferous in inlets and withal shorelines with deep, fast-moving water. Misogynist in sizes from ½ to 4 ounces.

SPRO Power Bucktail

SPRO gave their archetype Prime Bucktail a surfcasting-specific makeover to create the SPRO Power Bucktail. This jig features a heavy-duty vaccinate that will hold its shape versus anything that swims in the surf. The jig moreover has uneaten bucktail hair and a forward-positioned line-tie to modernize its swimming whoopee and hands glide over rocky bottoms where big stripers lie in wait. Misogynist in four sizes (1, 1½, 2, and 3 ounces) and two colors (white and chartreuse).

Jeck’s Bucktails


These beautifully made bucktails became misogynist for sale in February 2015. Jeck used a decade of wits fishing the Cape Cod Canal to craft a jig that could stand up to the rocks, currents, and large toned found in the Big Ditch. They are tied on Mustad hooks with tails built up in thin layers to modernize durability. In the water, they requite the impression of large baitfish, making them perfect for tempting big toned throughout the Northeast surf. Large eyes, unique colors, and a combination of premium bucktail hair and hackle feathers requite the Jeck’s Bucktails a lifelike appearance. Misogynist in sizes from ½ to 5 ounces.

S&S Rockhopper Pro

Available in a large variety of colors including favorites like yellow scratch, sand eel, and blurple, Rockhopper Pro bucktails requite fishermen plenty of options for jigs that “match the hatch” or stand out in the surf. Tied with uneaten hair to slow the sink rate, the Rockhopper Pro moreover has a hackle trailer that adds a tantalizing fluttering whoopee to the jig.

Trailers for Bucktail Jigs

While strictly optional, many fishermen wouldn’t think of fishing a bucktail without a trailer. Trailers add action, color, and sometimes scent to a bucktail presentation. Options vary, depending on the target species, the location, and the baitfish present. For fluke, fishermen use trailers to add scent from synthetic baits like Berkley Gulp, cut baits such as strips of squid or fish, or whole baits like sand eels, spearing or live minnows. Striper fishermen use trailers to add action, color, and uneaten length to their presentations. Options include hackle feathers tied into the jig, soft-plastic baits, synthetic trailers, and natural pork rind trailers.

A little increasingly than seven years ago, Uncle Josh Morsel Company spoken that they would no longer be offering fishing lures made from pork products. This ended a 93-year run of producing pork rind lures that began with Allen P. Jones and Urban Schreiner scarification “frogs” out of fatback during a summer when the very amphibians were tough to come by. The official reason was that pigs today are stuff brought to slaughter at a younger age, and the fatback and skin that Uncle Josh required was too thin to make durable fishing lures. But, there is a silver lining. Today, Uncle Josh products are when on shelves with a redesigned synthetic formula for their jig trailers.

Fat Cow Jig Strips

Fat Cow Jig Strips are a new generation of fishing baits made from a durable synthetic material that will never dry out.

Berkley Gulp

Berkley Gulp baits are misogynist in a variety of styles. These heavily-scented soft baits are a unconfined wing to any bucktail jig.

Captain Bruce’s Ottertails

Ottertails are scented synthetic trailers misogynist in 9 sizes and 11 colors. Otter Tail trailers share many of the features of pork rind trailers, such as tautness and fluttering action, but they don’t dry out or rot if left on the hook. Otter Tails are misogynist in three sizes and six colors.

Uncle Josh Sea Rind Trailers

Uncle Josh formerly made jig trailers from pork rinds, which are extremely durable. They went out of merchantry years ago, but surfcasters can rejoice, as they have been re-engineered and are misogynist once again.

Hackle

Some bucktails are tied with hackle feathers that function like trailers, extending vastitude the bucktail’s hair and undulating in the water. The hackle doesn’t significantly slow the sink rate of the jig, making it a good nomination for fishing deep, fast-moving water.

Comparing Bucktail Jig Trailers

Making the nomination for your trailer can be challenging, and knowing what they squint like underwater can be a big help.

Watch this video to observe the differences in whoopee from variegated trailers.

Related Content

Article: Bucktails in Boulder Fields for Stripers

Article: The Versatile Bucktail Jig

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