Thursday, February 19, 2009

Bucktail Jigs

Bucktail jigs have been dubbed the most versatile lures to use in saltwater. While plastic bodied jigs have become popular with many fishermen, I still catch lots of fish on bucktail jigs or leadheads. They are also easy to make yourself.

If you are into molding your own, you can buy molding supplies (melter, molds, hooks, etc) from Do-it Molds, http://www.do-itmolds.com/. This company offers top quality stuff at good prices. If you don't want to bother with the melting and molding aspect, you can buy molded jigs from http://www.njtackle.com/.

Once you have the molded jig, you want to paint the heads. I use powdered paint sold by Do-it. The leadhead is heated and then dipped into the powder. What comes out is a shiny and durable finish which can be further cured by reheating in an oven. The fun part is adding bucktail. I like to tie in thirds. I tie in the top first, then do the front and back. Build the thread to an even consistency and knot it off with a whip finish. The hairs of the bucktail should extend about an inch past the hook, although that can vary. The thread is then coated with head cement for durability.

Some of my favorite bucktails that I make are the hotlips in the large sizes (over 1 oz.), flathead in smaller sizes (under 1 oz.) and the spearhead jig. These jigs, when plastic curly tails are added to the small jigs and pork rind is added to the bigger jigs, catch hundreds of striped bass a year for me here in RI. Yes, bucktail jigs are still hot these days!