Lack of Bucktail Success

[cheddar 86]

I apologize for the length of this post first off...but read more and maybe you can help. I fish highly pressured metro lakes. I've had the most success on lures that aren't bucktails. Seems to me every time I go fishing the only thing I hear is the clanking of double blades from other boats. So I'm assuming these fish are pretty conditioned to DCG. Anyhow the only time I get follows/strikes on bucktails is when I'm burning small willow leaf ones (the "bionic bucktail").

The bittersweet part of this is that the last two evenings I've had nice high 40 in fish hit my lures but I was unable to get a good hookset. The first one hit about half way back to the boat and I didn't get a good hookset before it jumped did a head shake and tossed the bait. The second one last night I was a bit more ready for mentally....felt the strike so I set the hook only to have the bait miss the fish. My GUESS is that they are half heartedly swiping at the bait and just barely getting the trailer hook at this high speed.

Anyhow I'm trying to do everything I can to improve my odds of hooking up with these type of strikes. My bucktail rod is a 7ft medium action (bends more than I like but great for long casts). My hooks are sharp and straight. The only thing I can think of is setting the hook the opposite direction of which the fish is traveling - which I didn't do either time. Both fish were perpendicular to my line and I could see them hit, but I naturally pull to the right to set the hook. It's difficult to anticipate the direction when you are cranking away.

Any comments, suggestions, or similar experiences? Maybe it just is what it is...exciting but frusterating action.

[MUSKY18]

Couple of things to try off the top of my head.

1. Do your rear hooks have shrink tubing on them? Keeps the hook out straight when running it through the water.

2. Upgrade your hooks to a bigger size. Don't overdue it and ruin the action of the bait, but if the hooks are small, they might not be penetrating the fishes mouth well enough to securely take hold. Go up a size in hooks and make them razor sharp.

3. I wouldn't worry about which direction you are setting your hook, unless the fish is at boatside following an eight, where you can see it. If you are to focused on which direction to set the hook, that instant might be what it takes to lose the fish. Feel the fish, set the hook HARD in any direction possible. If the hooks are in its mouth, just make sure they are buried. I don't think it is possible to set the hook too hard on a musky.

just my .02!

[cheddar 86]

Hey thanks...I obviously didn't think about the shrink tubing. I think I'll do a little modification to the bucktail as you mention and give that a shot - hey it works good for topwaters to have that hook out straight. Otherwise that trailer just gets pushed around.

[muskydeceiver]

You are on the right track. On lakes that see a lot of double blades I like to go to a single blade and BURRRNNNN!!!! I tend to move a lot more fish, but like you, I get a lot of swings and misses. Frutrating? Yes, but that is better than not seeing anything at all!

[DHanson]

I'm not a believer in the "superman" hooksets like bucher advertises. I feel there is such thing as setting the hook too hard and is responsible for losing fish. Setting the hook too hard you are basically ripping the lure out of the fishes mouth. A quick sweep of the rod is all that is needed IMO.

[cheddar 86]

I don't know why I get annoyed when I hear DCG clanging together, because I know they work, it's just that I like to "do the opposite" on pressured lakes.

Do you have the shrink tubing on your bucktails?

[propster]

I'm not sure two hits and misses are enough of a sampling to say there's a problem or that you're doing anything wrong or need to change. Sometimes they just miss, and sometimes they come unbuttoned, oftentimes more than we like. In my opinion it certainly doesn't hurt to have that back hook tubed, but if you're burning the bait, it's already running straight back, so I don't think you'll notice any improvement there.

[Nick Kuhn]

On certain days you just really have to be moving them to attract any sort of attention. It may just be that the small willow blade ones you can get up to the right speed while a DCG might just be moving a little too slow. I've had a lot of follows on slower double 10's but not many hits. Conversely I've had fewer follows burning double 8's but more strikes.

[50inchpig]

Fish at night. Period.

[Hoffer]

just have to add...was out last week on a local lake (not tonka) and my friend caught 3 Muskie in less than 2 hours...a 30, a 40 and a 42....

Dont know if this qaualfies as a "bucktail"....(maybe a midget bucktail )...but he caught them all on a #5 mepps orange and black.

[mainbutter]

Bucktails give the best hookup ratio of any lures out there, when a fish bites down, there's practically NOTHING except hook.

My bet would be that you need a stiffer rod for whatever bucktails you are using to really bury the hook in if you're using decent sized hooks. Even if sharp, a bigger hook needs more ooomph to get set well. If you're using anything bigger than a #5 blade with an appropriately sized hook, I'd suggest a stiffer rod.

To solve a problem of fish not seeming to be turned on by bucktails, well the obvious solution is to throw something else.

My suggestion for when bucktails aren't even getting follows would be something a little slow, and something that looks tasty and more fish-like (bulldawgs are an obvious suggestion here, but I hate to give the "bulldawg or DCG" suggestion). It's hard for fish to get turned off things that really look like food, and it's hard to resist something that looks like a slow easy meal. I've always considered bucktails and blades of all sorts to be used for a different kind of strike reaction than the kind you get off of live bait or even bulldawgs.

[JRedig]

Sometimes they get off, btdt way too much. I'd keep doing what you're doing, they'll get/stay pinned eventually...as suggested, 2 is not exactly a great sample size.

[cheddar 86]

Yeah I forgot to mention this has happened a couple more times last year too, but yeah I know what you mean too small of a sample size to factually say something is wrong. I really posted more of a sanity check, because I do realize things sometimes just don't work out - but being a guy that only sees a fish or two when he goes out wants to beat all the possibilities to death. Thanks for all the input guys.

Mainbutter - I've read and heard that they have the highest hookup ratio which is what leads me to believe that they are just not hitting the bait right or nipping - I've had this happen with topwaters before where I see them actually nip at the tail (I feel the tension) but don't get a good hookset - it seems more of a defensive type strike. Conversely I've read and heard that Suicks are lower hookup ratio baits - but I've had seriously a 99% hookup ratio over the course of my life fishing them - maybe just the slower speed & pauses allows them to hit it more accurately (plus 3 trebles).

I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing - it's all part of the fun right?!

[mroyten]

How are you identifying that your hooks are sharp? Just because they feel sharp to the finger tip doesn't equal sharp hooks. I'd suggest filing them. What I do to test if they are sharp enough is to poke the hook into your fingernail with moderate pressure to see if it inserts into the fingernail slightly. You can tell dull vs. sharp hooks easily this way - a dull hook will not be able to make a small insertion into your fingernail.

[JRedig]

Another thought...i've seen a LOT of fish try and eat/hit the blades...any hooks or way to put hooks in the upper half of your bucktails? What size is your rear hook? Almost never hurts to upsize.

[cheddar 86]

Mroyten - I do sharpen them with a file and to verify they are sharp I try to hang the lure on my fingernail - if the lure doesn't stay I keep sharpening.

Jredig - The particular bucktail has two trebles one of which is right behind the blade. I'm actually kinda curious what size they are - I'm going to have to print out a page I just found to compare to.