The Bucktail Jig Still Catches Everything. Here’s Why

We launched our boat that chilly December morning and motored straight across the Chesapeake Bay to the Bridge-Tunnel, just off Virginia’s Eastern Shore. My dad and I spent the day chucking white 1 1/2-ounce bucktails at the massive concrete pylons. It was miserably cold, with the wind biting through our best base layers, but the fishing was fantastic. We reeled in giant striper after giant striper. It was the fishing trip that made me fall in love with bucktails. I am bummed that only one grainy photo survives from that trip — a snapshot my mother nabbed once Daddy and I were back on dry land. We had been far too busy reeling in fish to worry about pictures out on the water. 

As a kid, I thought bucktail jigs were terribly boring, even though my father could catch anything on them. Like a fishing magician, he seemed to conjure fish of every size, shape, and color with them – from bluegills to lunker largemouths in fresh water and flounder, pompano, redfish, and tautog in salt. They have a profoundly basic design, and I would almost always pass them over to tie on something flashier, fancier, and more exciting. I didn’t realize then that a bucktail’s beauty is in its simplicity. These primitive artificial baits are just modest tufts of hair tied around a jig head, but when fished well, a bucktail realistically mimics every baitfish and minnow that swims—in fresh or salt water. 

Because they are so effective, bucktails are some of the most popular baits in the world. Any angler worth his salt will have at least a handful tucked somewhere in his tackle box, whether he’s after monster saltwater striped bass or farm pond panfish. 

History of the Bucktail Jig

The origin story of the bucktail lure is fuzzy. Some attribute the design to the ancient Greeks who used wool and rooster feathers to create a bucktail-like fly. Others claim North American natives were the first to fashion deer hair into fish-catching jigs. 

The Upperman brothers were the first to commercially produce bucktail jigs. Bill and Maury made them in their Atlantic City bait shop, pouring lead into lima bean-shaped molds, painting the cooled heads by hand, and then tying on real deer hair. Bill Upperman applied for a patent for his design in 1941. The patent was awarded two years later. It describes the lure design in fantastic detail, from the exact angle of the hook to the precise placement of the hair:(“the shank of the hook is bent or curved within the body to emerge at the top … and disposed in the plane of the bill of the hook and substantially inline with barb … [hair is] heavier at the top and bottom of the necks than at the sides so that they fan out”. 

The brothers’ simple, straightforward lures became world famous when the U.S. military included them in survival kits assembled for Navy pilots. 

Today, many brands tag the Upperman name on their bucktail packages as part of their description. Today anglers can purchase Upperman jigs in every size and color, some with catchy hunger-inducing names like “shrimp scampi,”  “broccoli cheese,” and “key lime pie.” Although plain old, boring white still seems to be the most popular variation. Undoubtedly, because it is usually the most effective. 

However, if you can’t find something that strikes your fancy, plenty of anglers make their own custom bucktails using lead molds, painted jig heads, and hand-tied deer hair. Landing fish with a homemade jig crafted with hair from a whitetail deer you harvested yourself is quite an accomplishment, one even modern anglers find deeply satisfying.  

Bucktail Hair

It stands to reason that a bucktail jig would be made with deer hair. However, the hair doesn’t necessarily have to come from the tail. Belly hair is also a popular source for jig-making. 

Deer hair has a natural buoyancy. Plus, it flares and sways as the jig head is pulled through the water, allowing the artificial bait to mimic the natural swimming motion of a baitfish. 

Deer hair is also highly receptive to dye. Bucktails with a two-toned skirt, particularly one with a darker top and light-colored bottom, are popular options because anglers tend to believe they look more like baitfish. Whether predator fish agree is up for debate.

If you talk to a purist, bucktails can only be crafted from deer hair. However, modern bucktails often feature different skirt materials, especially synthetic hair. Synthetic hair is a relatively new material for bucktails. It is less expensive than natural hair, comes in bright, eye-catching colors, and offers plenty of realistic swimming action. However, if you’re into tying your own jigs, synthetic isn’t quite as pliable and can be more difficult to tie than natural hair.  

To add variety, other hair (especially rabbit) and feathers (like marabou) can be tied around a jig head with or without deer hair. Rabbit hair is finer than deer hair and produces unique underwater movement. Stop a rabbit hair jig in the water, and the hairs flare, mimicking a stressed baitfish’s flaring gills and fins. Soft, fluffy marabou, traditionally made from stork feathers but now mainly sourced from domestic turkeys, creates a natural fluttering movement, undulating even in still water. 

Plenty of bucktail aficionados fish a bucktail jig just as they come — lead head, hook, and hair. Others prefer to sweeten the deal by adding a trailer.  Popular trailers include fresh fish or squid strips, live eels or minnows, pork, and soft plastic grubs and worms. A trailer can add spicy action, color, and realistic scent to attract apprehensive fish.  

The Best Bucktail Jigs

There are a ton of good bucktail jigs out there, but these are some of my favorites.

Bucktail Jigs Are Versatile

The bucktail jig may seem unsophisticated, but its elementary design makes it incredibly versatile. They can be fished virtually anywhere, from the shallows to deep water. They work just as well in still ponds as in rolling surf. Cast them, troll them, jig them, it doesn’t matter. They can be fished as-is, enhanced with fresh bait (like strips of squid, cut bait, or shrimp), or embellished with a soft plastic trailer. 

In freshwater, bucktails are enticing enough to land largemouth and smallmouth bass, pike, muskie, trout, shad, catfish, crappie, bluegill, and sunfish. Head to the coastline and a good bucktail will fill your cooler with redfish, striped bass, flounder, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and speckled trout. If you want something that will put up an epic fight, bucktails can be used to catch tarpon, big cobia, and mahi mahi.  

Bucktails are credited with helping land multiple record-book catches, including the New Jersey state record 90-pound, 6-ounce cobia that Len Andalis hooked on a white bucktail while he was flounder fishing.  The South Carolina state record gag grouper, which weighed 50 pounds, 4 ounces, was caught by Jim Lasher using a cut-bait enhanced bucktail. 

Plus, bucktail jigs are more durable than many soft plastic lures. They can battle with multiple aggressive and toothy fish, like bluefish, mackerel, pike, and speckled trout, and they still come out mostly unscathed. While assertive fighters may eventually shred the hair off of a bucktail jig,  you can always take it home, tie on some more, and use it to fish another day. 

How to Fish a Bucktail Jig

Like its simple design, working a bucktail can be relatively simple — Use a slow to moderate retrieval speed and run the jig at the depth where fish are feeding. While this basic approach can and often does work, really successful bucktail fishing can be a bit more complex.

You can add even more enticing movement by pausing the retrieve or bouncing the rod tip. Sometimes just those slight variations are enough to trigger a strike from reluctant fish. 

You can adjust the depth of the jig by changing the speed of your retrieve. Reel it faster, and the bucktail will skitter along the top of the water or scoot it just above a weed bed. If you need to reach deeper fish, let the jig sink before you begin to reel. A slow retrieve will let your jig work around deep structure or along a drop-off. 

The best way to work a bucktail jig depends on water depth and conditions, the species you’re targeting, and sometimes the changing moods of the fish. If the fish don’t seem interested in your jig, keep experimenting until you get bit.

Read Next: The Only 8 Lures You Need to Catch Fish, Anywhere

Jig Sizes

Bucktail jigs come in a variety of sizes. The larger the jig head, the heavier it weighs. Large jigs are generally designed to catch larger fish. Heavy-headed jigs (one to three ounces) are also easier to fish deep and work well in roiling surf or fast-moving currents. Smaller, lightweight jigs (¼ to one ounce) are perfect for fishing still or shallow water. Tiny, “micro” jigs (⅛ ounce) are a fun way to catch panfish light tackle. These super-small bucktails move just like grass shrimp or tiny baitfish. 

Final Thoughts on Bucktail Jigs

Bucktail jigs are true classics of the angling world that still earn their keep in the modern age. Their remarkable versatility makes them effective in nearly any water condition, attracting a wide range of fish species. Bucktails surely deserve a spot in every tackle box.