Northwest Fishing Reports

Tired of paying the high price for Musky/Pike Bucktails?? I am. I did some research and I am biulding my own. Cool thing is that it is kind of fun to make them and you save money and can customize them too.

I too picked up a bucktail kit but havn't made anything yet. I'm clearing up a spot in the garage for a decent
workbench. Making homemade bucktails should keep me going through the winter months until the water warms again.
Maybe even try making a few spinnerbaits a little further down the road.
Jigman also makes his own bucktails.

i have been tying flies and jigs for a few years now. good stuff!

kevinb wrote:I too picked up a bucktail kit but havn't made anything yet. I'm clearing up a spot in the garage for a decent
workbench. Making homemade bucktails should keep me going through the winter months until the water warms again.
Maybe even try making a few spinnerbaits a little further down the road.
Jigman also makes his own bucktails.

This site has some good docs on making lures and a really nice catalog for getting a feel for what is out there and pricing. I too want to make some spinner baits as well. I am going t reproduce some of the spinners that I has sucess with at Silver and PO river for Tigers and Pike.

http://www.luremaking.com/

tnj8222 wrote:i have been tying flies and jigs for a few years now. good stuff!

Where do you buy most of your supplies??

I remember when I was a kid driving with my dad..usually in the hunting season. He'd stop on a dime when he'd see a dead skunk on the road. Run out and cut off the tail of a skunk,coon, or a fox. Wondering what the hell is he doing. Uh, getting fur for a bucktail..duh. He'd make his own bucktails for the spring. Modifying a Mepps spinner with his own specialty. You do what you gotta do Frank. By the way saw some of your work. Those bucks look good bro..!

muskyhunter wrote:I remember when I was a kid driving with my dad..usually in the hunting season. He'd stop on a dime when he'd see a dead skunk on the road. Run out and cut off the tail of a skunk,coon, or a fox. Wondering what the hell is he doing. Uh, getting fur for a bucktail..duh. He'd make his own bucktails for the spring. Modifying a Mepps spinner with his own specialty. You do what you gotta do Frank. By the way saw some of your work. Those bucks look good bro..!

That pretty funny since I already have one of my own fresh bucktails that I talked one of my buddies out of that just got a deer. Best way to bring the lure cost down is by getting your hair for free!

I've got a couple mulie tails in the freezer just in case. Not sure if I ever will make my own but ya never know.

Well in that case,I'm creating my own line kevinb's "Rat Tails" Then one day,...squirrel


Good look'n bucks their tollefs

kevinb wrote:Well in that case,I'm creating my own line kevinb's "Rat Tails" Then one day,...squirrel


Good look'n bucks their tollefs

Kevin,
You need to take a look at this link. With enough of them you could retire someday!

http://www.mepps.com/squirrel_tail_program/

Later,
Frank

Deadeyemark wrote:I've got a couple mulie tails in the freezer just in case. Not sure if I ever will make my own but ya never know.

Ya, that nice big tail would probably make a nice bucktail. I was given some horse hair today from a tail that was grommed so I think I am going to give that a try. Really long hair might work good for those big PO River Pike this spring. I will post a pic after I make one up if it turns out.

Yeah, I make my own. Although I have made my own, I have made them for others to field test but would love to target them someday.

Making them is a lot of fun and it is good to know that they will catch and have caught tiger muskies.



I dub thee the "Patriot" Red, White, and Blue tail and yellow feathers. One of my best (and very few might I add) moments of creativity. :cyclopsan Now go shake your tail feather.

islandbass,
Thanks for sharing. Man I have allot to learn it looks like. Those look really awesume. That gives me some great ideas.

back to the drawing board!

Great lures islandbass,I still need to setup shop in the garage.

Hey guys those are great looking bucks...how long are they? What size blades are on those? What guage wire are you using on the shaft and last question..do you both tie your own fur or feathers on those baits? Thanks, T

oh one more thing, a good place to get your harware/terminal stuff is through a place in Texas called Barlow's. They even have the woodies for crank baits and such..again, you guys do some great work keep it up.

tollefs wrote:islandbass,
Thanks for sharing. Man I have allot to learn it looks like. Those look really awesume. That gives me some great ideas.

back to the drawing board!

I am no expert by any means. After all, I mostly bass fish and have never even targetted a muskie, but I want to. I started making trout and pan fish inlines and thought about trying my luck at making bigger ones.

muskyhunter,

I haven't ordered from barlows yet, but the reputation precedes them as a great place to buy tackle making items. The wire gauge on those inlines are .051 and the french blades are magnum size 7 or 8s, can't recall for certain. The trebles were tied by lil' old me. Still learning that the color and material combinations are practically endless... Bucktail, flashabou, feathers, etc.

Kevin,

Thanks! We've definitely not to go fishing together, be it for muskie or bass.

islandbass wrote:

tollefs wrote:islandbass,
Thanks for sharing. Man I have allot to learn it looks like. Those look really awesume. That gives me some great ideas.

back to the drawing board!

I am no expert by any means. After all, I mostly bass fish and have never even targetted a muskie, but I want to. I started making trout and pan fish inlines and thought about trying my luck at making bigger ones.

muskyhunter,

I haven't ordered from barlows yet, but the reputation precedes them as a great place to buy tackle making items. The wire gauge on those inlines are .051 and the french blades are magnum size 7 or 8s, can't recall for certain. The trebles were tied by lil' old me. Still learning that the color and material combinations are practically endless... Bucktail, flashabou, feathers, etc.

Kevin,

Thanks! We've definitely not to go fishing together, be it for muskie or bass.

Thanks for the link tollefs,....I'mz gunna go scurl hunt'n

Islandbass,we'll get some smallies and ski's "Fo' Sho'" Probably in the spring and summer of coarse.
Don't worry about Fivemile..we can hit it soon. Last week yielded a few nibbles and a nice dirty towel from the depths..and thats about it#-o

muskyhunter wrote:Hey guys those are great looking bucks...how long are they? What size blades are on those? What guage wire are you using on the shaft and last question..do you both tie your own fur or feathers on those baits? Thanks, T

The ones that I made are a replica of the 3/4 ounce Mepps Musky Killer.
3/4 ounce
6 inches long
.40mm wire
#5 french blade
#3 stirrup clevise
2 5/32 solid brass beads
2 1/8 ounce solid brass bodies
#7 Slit ring
5/0 3X hook
hook dressed with bucktail or marabu for the base color
red saddle hackle and flashabou accent for the accent colors in the middle
red thread and head cement to hold it all together.

I did not know what I was doing so I started with trying to make something as close as I could to the bucktails that I have mad success with. I am going to use .51 wire and bigger blades was well as other beads to make them more custom and larger. Also going to make some tandum versions and some with longer horse hair that will have a swaying motion in the water.

It is fun to make them.

muskyhunter wrote:oh one more thing, a good place to get your harware/terminal stuff is through a place in Texas called Barlow's. They even have the woodies for crank baits and such..again, you guys do some great work keep it up.

Ya, barlows has a cool site too. I have a few others that I will dig up and post that will be helpful to anybody else that is willing to give it a try. Mepps is charging $8.00 msrp for a replacement treble with bucktail and I refuse to pay that when I can make my own for less than two bucks!