It's my favorite time of the month again, Mystery Tackle Box time. I got my box yesterday and as usual it was a pleasant surprise. Every month I assume the high dollar item will be the best thing in the box. However this month I'm super excited by a couple of the less expensive items the box, the Z-Man Project Shroomz Micro Finesse Jig and the Z-Man Crusteaz. The shroomz jig was made specifically for the ned rig which is one of the most efficient finesse rig I've fished and the crusteaz is the trailer for it. I'm definitely purchasing some more to add to my jig box but these two products made my March Mystery Tackle Box worth every penny.
Lucky Craft LV-0 Description: Lucky Craft's new LV-0 is a super shallow running crankbait. It is designed for fishing shallow grassy cover when a traditional lipless crankbait would dig too deep. It also works great over dee weed beds that grow almost to the surface. The small lip on this bait makes it run higher in the water column allowing the angler to just retrieve this bait over the tops of the weeds. The LV-0 is equipped with brass and glass rattles that have unique sound unlike other rattling lures. This is unique bait that was built for special situations, and will help you put fish inthe boat when other techniques fail. Length: 2-3/4" Weight: 1/2oz Class: Sinking Hooks: Belly Hook #6; Tail Hook #8 Max Diving Depth: Surface Line: 10-12 lbs Color: Ghost Baby Bass Price: $14.99
Z-Man Project Shroomz Micro Finesse Jig Description: A skirted, Midwest finesse-style mushroom jighead that's known to entice strikes in tough conditions, the ShroomZ Finesse Jig's 100% silicone skirts in custom-designed patterns provide a realistic appearance, lifelike action, and tantalizing slow fall rate that is simply deadly on finicky bass. Weight: 1/8oz. & 3/16oz. Hook: Size #1 black nickel jig hook Weed Gaurd: Dual multi-strand wire weedgaurd Color: Pond Scum (6 colors available) Price: $4.99
Z-Man Crusteaz Description: This miniature crustacean imitation is perfectly suited for any application where fresh or saltwater gamefish are feeding on small crabs, crayfish, sandfleas, ghost shrimp or other crustaceans. The uniquely shaped body can be rigged in a variety of manners, and the twin u-tail claws produce attention getting action on both fast and slow retrieves. Size: 2" Color: Pond Scum (8 Colors Available) Price: $2.99
Cabin Creek Baits Salty Creature
Size: 5" Color: Green Pumpkin (15 colors available) Price: $2.24
This is not my photo and unfortunately I'm not sure who to give photo credit to
If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. Bucktail jigs are smallmouth bass candy. It doesnt really matter where you are in the country, as long as you have smallmouth bass in your area then you probably do or at least you should have some bucktails in your tackle box.
I've personally been using bucktails for smallies for several years. However as of late I've been trying to perfect this method of fishing. In fact my journey to becoming a better bucktail jig fisherman started with me searching the web and that only yielding limited results. That's what brings me to this post, giving a detailed how to article for fishing bucktails for smallmouth bass.
As with any other type of fishing you're pretty much going to start with matching the hatch when it comes to bucktails. That can't be more true when it comes to smallmouth bass. No matter where they live, be it in creeks, deep rivers or northern shield lakes, smallmouth bass eat the same things. The number one meal on a smallmouths menu is gonna be crayfish followed by bait fish then hellgrammites. If you can mimmic any of those three you're gonna catch smallies with bucktail jigs.
Jig Size: So what size jigs should you be using for smallmouth? That depends on the waters on you're fishing. For example for catching smallmouth in shallow water, creeks and streams you'll want to use 1/8 oz. to 1/4 oz. jigs. In fact most applications are gonna be fished with 1/8 to 1/4 oz. jig. However in deep, swift current rivers like the detroit river, depending on where you're fishing you'll want to up your jig size to 3/8 oz. As a rule though, no matter where your fishing you want to use the lightest jig you can get away with so you can achieve the most natural action possible. I personally only tie 1/8 and 1/4 oz. jigs for smallmouths as when I'm chasing smallies even on big water I'm fishing relatively shallow.
Rod & Reel Setup: Throwing these small jigs doesnt require much in the line of equipment. Fishing bucktail jigs is pretty much a finesse technique like fishing the ned rig or shaky head so the same equipment used for either of these will work for bucktails. Rod: You wanna use a 6.5 foot to 7 foot medium to medium/light spinning rod with moderate to morderate/fast action tip. The light rod will make casting the lighter jigs much easier. While the moderate action will help load the smaller jigs for longer cast. In addition to getting to longer cast the moderate to fast action will give you enough backbone to get the jig out of mud with no problems unlike slow action rods like Ugly Stiks which will flex with encountering structure and mud. Reel: You'll want to use a 20 to 30 series spinning reel spooled with 6lb to 8lb test line for fishing bucktails. I personally spool my reels with 30lb braid attached to a 8lb flourocarbon leader as the two have the same diameter. This gives me a little more casting length and more confidence for fighting bigger bass.
Where to fish: In small rivers, creeks and and streams you want to focus on fishing the runs and pools. As well fish any eddies created by large rocks and log jams, simply cast above them and jig your way down past these spots where waiting smallmouth will be. Bridge pilings are also perfect smallmouth attracters so definitely target any bridge pilings you come across in the same way you would any other eddy.
Gravel flats and the base of dams are also amazing places to fish with bucktails. These rocky areas hold crayfish, small baitfish and hellgrammites which make them a buffet for hungry smallmouth. In fact if you see if a shallow flat that has a bunch of holes in it target that area especially as those holes are crayfish dens and the smallies will be cruising those looking for an easy meal.
If you see schools of baitfish being pushed to the surface or in deeper water on your sonar, these are perfect times to break out your bucktails. In the case of bait fish that are pushed to the surface, cast your bucktail in the middle of the fray and start twitching when your jig gets just below the school. Within seconds you should hook up with one of the bass that are pushing the baitfish. As for suspended baitfish, you want to vertically jig the bucktail just below the school as that will be were the predators will be waiting.
Also in cold deep water for suspended bass another tactic you can use is the Float-N-Fly technique. Pretty much for this technique you're suspending your hair jig about 11 to 13 feet below a small bobber on 4lb to 6lb test. When fishing the Float-N-Fly rig you wanna use a 9ft. to 11ft. noodle rod in order to cast with such a long leader. For the Float-N-Fly rig you'll be fishing it along channel edges, deep points, bluggs and steep banks while twitching the bobber lightly to give the jig action. The great thing about the hair jig is that you dont need much to give it action as the bucktail has a very lifelike action on its own.
To Trailer or Not to Trailer: Normally when you're using jigs for bass its not
uncommon to attach a soft plastic to your jig as a trailer. However in most cases this is not necessary with bucktail jigs as the bucktail has a very lifelike action on its own. If you want to use a trailer though probably the best trailer you can use is a pork rind, yes an old school porkrind. If you're gonna fish with a fly-and-rind rig it'll work best if your porkrind has a contrasting color to the bucktail. The other trailer you'll want to use for bucktailing is a twister tail. Another option to a trailer is to tie a bunny buckail jig, in this case the zonker strip will function as your trailer. When: Most people assume that bucktail jigs are only cold water baits. However bucktails are a year around pattern, especially for smallmouth bass. You just have to know the patterns of the smallmouth in your area in order to target them with bucktail jigs effectively. Howevever, the spring and fall will be the best times for fishing with bucktail jigs as smallies are feeding heavily in preparation for winter or the spawn.
Colors:
When it comes to colors, it's pretty simple. Consider where your fishing and what forage is in that area. For schooling baitfish go with lighter colors and for bottom dwelling forage go with darker patterns. Here is a list of some of the more productive color patterns for smallmouth bass.
White
White and blue
White and red
white and pink
White and chartreuse
Black
black and blue
black and gold
black and white
brown and white
brown and orange
brown and yellow
black and yellow
olive and black
olive and yellow
olive and orange
Rust
Rust and black
rust and yellow
rust and orange
About two and a half weeks ago I was on facebook doing my usual scroll and like session. When an ad popped up in my timeline for what seemed to be a great deal on custom painted jerkbaits. Initially I was just going to ignore the ad and keep it moving to the next random picture, meme or political post, but who could pass up five dollars for custom jerkbaits.
With a quick click I was on the Limit Out Lures website browsing through the products. My first thought was that these baits look too good to be only five bucks a piece. My next thought was, "The baits look good but how is the product?" With that I started my usual google search to see what people have to say about Limit Out Lures. Once again that got me just positive reactions from peoples reviews of the products online. So, why not? Let's order a few of these puppies up and see how they work out.
Fast forward to this evening when I get home from work and there is this bag waiting for me on the computer desk. This has to be my order from Limit Out Lures. Overall I'm impressed with the product and will definitely be ordering more. Additionally I'll be doing some youtube videos with them soon, one of which will be a give away, so stay tuned for that. So without further ramblings from me, here are the three jerkbaits I picked up.
In my opinion the bucktail jig is the most underrated and under utilized bait in the fishing world. It's an unfortunate fact that many of us see see a bucktail jig and categorize it as a bait that is strictly for cold water situations or a bait that's strictly for striped bass and fluke. Well, we couldn't be further from the truth when it comes to bucktail jigs. They are probably the most versatile ever to be utilized by all fisherman. The bucktail has been responsible for catching more fish in salt and freshwater than any other bait outside of live bait. This is due to the fact that in the water this simple bait does an amazing job of imitating any bait fish you can think of. And as we all know all predatory fish eat just about any fish smaller than them. With more and more people using bucktail jigs on youtube they're making a huge come back in the fishing world, going from a few fishermen secret weapon to being a weapon of choice for many anglers. In this blog post I wont go into tips and tactics for using bucktail jigs because I'll be doing 3 more post to cover the tips and tactics that'll catch you fish with a bucktail. However this post is just a match the hatch post which will list some of the bait fish that bucktail jigs mimic.
Matching the Hatch: Below is a list of the forage species that Bucktail Jigs imitate.
Shiners:
If you have freshwater then you have minnows and shiners. In most cases, with the exception of Golden and rainbow shiners, shiners a silver sided snack for predators. So pretty much any color patter will work as long as its a light color. So when tying up hair jigs to imitate shiners your main objective is to match the general size of he shiners you're seeing. As well as have your colors tied up based on water clarity moreso than anything. My choice of colors for shiners are white, white and blue, white and chartreuse and white and pink. But no matter what color I'm using with any silver sided bait fish i'm tying in flashabou to cause the jig to reflect and refract light like the scales of a bait fish. Keep in mind that shiners a schooling fish so find the schools and work your bucktail jig in the same area of he water column just below the school. Why just below? Because most predatory fish will work the schools of shiners from below. So if your jig is just at the bottom of the school then it's considered a straggler and an easy target for any predators lurking below. Shad:
Shad, like shiners, are silver sided meals on wheels for most predator fish. Shad range in size from 1 inch all the way up to 20 inches depending on species and age. As a result you want to tie up bucktails ranging from 2 inches to 8 inches in length to match shad lengths. In order to tie the larger sizes you'll have to use jig heads that have a longer profile like ultra minnow heads and banana head jigs. As well you'll want to tie not just plain bucktail jigs to match larger shad but you'll want to tie preacher style bucktails and bunny bucktail jigs. As far as colors go you're pretty much using the same color patterns as you would for shiners. As well the general schooling behaviors of shad are similar to shiners so you can fish your bucktails in the same way except for one notable exception. When the water temperatures drop to 45 degrees some of the shad population have a die off. So you want to mimic the die off once the water temps get below 45 degrees. You do this with sharp hops off of the bottom to mimic struggling and dying shad. Sculpin, madtoms and gobies:
When I'm fishing waters that have any of these three species of bait fish I go with bucktails that are either brown, olive, black, olive with a black top and yellow with a brown top. As all, sculpin, madtoms and gobies are all bottom dwelling bait fish I keep the hair jigs bouncing close to the bttom or swimming just above the bottom. So no high hops as the these species will retreat to rock crevices when in danger so this is what you want to imitate. On average each of sculpins, gobies and madtoms range in length from 2 to 5 inches as a result you want to match that size. It's not hard to match these sizes with just bucktail jigs. However for longer lengths and a change of action using bunny bucktails or preacher style bucktails will give you a better chance of matching.
Often times areas that have sculpins, gobies and madtoms will also have rockbass. In the case of imitating juvenile rock bass the same patterns will work. The only difference is you'll use a red eye instead of a dark colored eye.
Bunker:
Bunker also known as menhaden are striper and bluefish candy. Where ever you find a school of bunker there is a very high likelihood you'll find striped bass and bluefish nearby. This is especially true with peanut bunker, juvenile bunker, because of the large schools they roam in. It's not uncommon on the Long Island sound to come across a school of striper and bluefish blowing up on peanut bunker. For this reason when you're fishing for striper or bluefish you want to have bucktails somewhere in your tackle box.
On average bunker grow to between 12 and 15 inches in length. However when you're matching this forage species you're matching the juvenile bunkers size. So 3 to 6 inches is the size you wnna go with
Sand Eels:
Sand eels are another major forage source for striper, bluefish and fluke. Pretty much the same patterns you'd use for matching bunker will work for matching sand eels. However with sand eels you can add chartreuse, pink and black and purple to your bucktail stash as these colors work great when mimicking a sand eel hatch.
These small fish are bottom dwellers that like sandy and small smooth gravel sea beds so keep this in mind when fishing with your bucktails. So swim them along the bottom or jig it with small hops rather than high jigging motions to imitate these bait fish. Squids
Cephalopods like squid are very common feed for large saltwater predators. The sky is the limit when it comes to the colors of bucktails you wanna use to imitate squid. This is due to the fact that most cephalopods like squid are capable of changing colors in order to camouflage themselves or given their moods.
In most cases squid will school just like bait fish which attracts the attention of predators. However this is with one major difference, their major habits and schooling takes place at night. So be looking out for a night time bite. As well due to the size of squid most squid patterned bucktails are heavy thus are used in vertical jigging techniques. When tying squid patterned bucktails you wanna use a hair stacker so the buck tail can be uniform and add a couple strands of long grizzly hackle to imitate the two longer grasping tentacles of squid.
Octopus
Like squids, octopus are cephalopods that have the ability to change their color to adapt to their surroundings or show moods. So when matching octopus patterns if you'll want ot match to the given species you have in your area. However due to the ability to alter their pigments you can pretty much go with whatever colors that will give you the best suit your water quality. One major thing you want to think about though when matching octopus is their behavior. Octopus don't school and hunt like squid do. They are bottom dwellers so keep that jig skimming the bottom when imitating an octopus. Don't get me wrong octopus are great swimmers but their normal behavior is to sit near the bottom where they are safest and can find an easy meal.
My hope is that you got a bit more understanding about fishing with bucktail jigs by understanding the forage that the jigs imitate. Stay tuned for multiple follow ups to this post, going into more depth about the different species you can target with bucktail jigs. Thanks for reading and tight lines
I was sitting here just a little while ago working on a blog post about fishing with bucktail jigs and I hear my neighbors dogs start barking. Not the happy I'm glad your home bark that dogs use when their owners come home but that who are you get out of my territory bark they use whenever someone they don't know walks past their yard. So knowing the difference and being the nosey neighbor that I am, I peaked out the window to see who is the cause of all the ruckus. Not to my surprise it's the post lady, I don't know what it is about postmen that dogs hate but thanks fido for hating my local post lady. Because today you're territorial barks signaled the coming of my February 2017 Mystery Tackle Box.
So without any further yapping from me this is what was in my Mystery Tackle Box:
Lucky Craft Slim Shad D-9 Company Description: The greatest advantage of the slim shad lure is that it will cause the fish to stop in their tracks. It produces extraordinary results in clear water, especially when the fish are not responding to any other style of fishing. Another key feature of the slim shad is its castability. The baits center of gravity (weighted by tungsten) facilitates sharp angle turns and long casting distances. This lure also moves well in fairly deep water, and the body houses a built in gravity-center shift system. Length: 2 3/4" (70mm) Weight: 7/16oz. Class: Floating Hooks: Belly Size #3, Tail Size #4 Max Diving Depth: 8-9 ft. Line: 8-10lbs Color: Pearl Threadfin Shad (available in 14 other colors) Price: $15.99
Lunkerhunt Kraken Jerkbait Description: The Lunker Hunt Kraken series jerkbait incorporates all of the great characteristics of top performing jerkbaits. Its body shape has been designed to cover water and generate strikes. It has an erratic action in the water that drives fish crazy. It's particularly effective when fish are active and anglers are trying to get a reaction strike. Weight: 1/2 oz. Length: 3 3/4" Hooks: Size #4 Class: Floating Diving Depth: 0 - 6.5 ft. Color: Make it Rain (available in 4 other colors) Price: $3.99
Bruiser Baits Stick Worm Description: The tantalizing quiver of the Stick Worm makes it great to pitch, flip or jerk along the bottom. The rigging options are endless as it can be used in tons of fishing situations. It can be texas rigged, carolina rigged, wacky rigged or you can drop shot it. The added hook slot gives you great weedless capabilities while still getting that solid hook set. Size: 5 inches Color: Watermelon Candy (available in 13 other colors) Price: $2.15
Big Bite Baits Real Deal HD Craw Description: The brainchild of Bassmaster Elite Series pro, Russ Lane, the Big Bite Baits Real Deal HD Craw offers the same incredible action as the original in a handfull of custom airbrushed colors. The realist craw profile of the HD Craw lives up to its name, delivering an ultra-lifelike appearance and a unique texture that you won't find anywhere else. Like the original, the HD Craw can be fished with the claws together or separate - for two distinctly different but equally effective presentations. Loaded with an incredible amount of detail, the HD Craw is the next best thing to live bait. Length: 4 inches Color: Black/Brown Craw (available in 3 other colors) Price: $5.99
