As a musky guide, Rob Manthei is always trying to improve his odds and “make a better mousetrap.” Bucktails are one way he does this. They are very easy to make and you can mix and match blades, colors, sizes and more. If you’re on the water and find a bite on a specific color pattern, it doesn’t take that long to duplicate a bucktail. Best of all, you can easily do some of this in the boat if you have some things tied up ahead of time.
Rob’s most used bucktail modification is mixing up tinsel and marabou. Most bucktails are made with two skirts which flare up and give a vortex in the blade. Over time they’ll wear out or get clipped off from the blades. Marabou on top of tinsel will give the lure a different look by inhibiting a lot of the vortexing and prevent the tinsel from getting sucked up toward the blade. They also adding more undulating action.
Steps for Making a Bucktail for Musky Fishing
Tools You Will Need:
- Wire former
- Split ring pliers
- Wire cutter
- Blow torch
Steps to Putting the Bucktail Together
- Start with a wire pre-twisted on one end. You can buy them already made or twist a standard wire yourself with a wire former. Then..
- Slide on a weight
- Add the tinsel skirt
- Add a spacer or bead
- Add the marabou
- Then add just beads or a mix of weights and beads. Just be sure that the weight in the front matches the weight at the bottom. If you have too much on one end or the other, the end or the front will hang down and it won’t run horizontally through the water.
- Finish with your clevises and blades of choice.
When it’s all put together, you want the bottom edge of the blades to just barely touch the top of the marabou skirt or whichever skirt is on top. If it’s too far up, you won’t get the fullness of the look of the bait on the retrieve. If the blades are down too far, you’ll get some of the skirt stuck in the top and will have some casts where the blades stall and don’t spin.
How to Add the Treble Hook
When it comes to putting the treble hook on, Rob likes to add a KILLER TAIL from Chaos Tackle. They’re preformed and slide right over the top of the hook shaft, they don’t inhibit any of the gapping in the treble, and the tail always turns directly behind the bait. Rob also likes to add shrink tube over the connection between his hook and the shaft of the bucktail rig to keep everything in-line and prevent the hook from swiveling. This also helps ensure a true straight retrieve.
Test your bait on the water and if it works, the fish will let you know. If not, snip it off and start over.
