Well, the time of year for the bluefish shearing off the back end of our plastics is here. Ask me how I know! LOL! In an effort to come up with a lure that is more bluefish proof, I was thinking of how the famed Trout Eye jig heads may work out with some bucktail skirting on them. Has anyone tried this idea out yet? I would love to get a Trout Eye jig head set up with the skirt colors in the pic.
Basic tying skills, and some practice is all you need to tie bucktail on a jig head.
I pour my own heads so have not tried tying on the Trout Eye heads, but shouldn’t be a problem to do it. Would probably be best to clip the keeper barbs off the head.
I like this head for bucktails, a Do It Molds Snootie style, which has a similar appearance to the Trout Eye when finished, but it’s also got a collar for tying on various materials.
I pour them with & without the weed guards.
Also, I tie bucktails on various other head styles. You’ll need some type of vise or other tool to hold the hook. It can be done in hand, but much easier with a vise. A thread bobbin to hold the thread spool, and I always recommend getting one with a ceramic insert or ceramic tube. The plain metal tubes wear out too fast and start cutting thread. Also need a way to cut the hair & thread. Scissors or razor blades work fine, (utility knife blades from a hardware). Any nylon thread can work fine. I use a flat nylon for smaller jigs & a heavier , round nylon thread for big stuff. You can get tying threads from a fly shop, some tackle shops, and from sewing or craft stores.
Painting should be done before tying. Vinyl paints work fine, and easy to dip the heads. The solvents in them are nasty, so do so in a well ventilated area. Otherwise, powder paints are what I use, produces a much more durable finish, but there’s more work involved as the heads have to be heated. For those Trout Eye’s, you would have to get them in the colors that you want. Dipping or powder coating would probably ruin the eyes on them.
As far as tying on the bucktail hair, work with small clumps, and not attempting all at once. The hair from about the top third of a tail is usually the better hair, but that depends on the tail, as they all vary. I buy small & medium size tails more than the big ones, as the hair is often a finer texture, and b
A few more bucktails that I’ve tied.
Nice handiwork!
Thank you! I started tying in 1966, so have been at it awhile. 
We we’re selling eye strike bucktails for a while but could never find reliable tiers long term. We still have a few left to sell on our site. You can always tie your own. Just snip the Barbs off
1966 13’ Boston Whaler “Flatty”
2018 Sportsman Masters 207
www.eyestrikefishing.com #predatorsstriketheeye
Great work BigJim… my cuzzin ties his own and always used them to catch the bigguns!
You can buy powder coatings in small vials at some fishing stores… set them using a heat gun, works great!
Capt. Garry Coats
Folly Beach & CHS
@DolphinChartersSC
Thank you! Yep, bucktails are fish catchers.
I have an oven for powder coating and buy most powder paints that I use by the pound.