Natural Selection: Catch More Fish with Bucktail and Marabou Jigs

Natural fibers, including bird feathers and animal fur, have a long and storied history in fishing. Fly anglers have relied heavily on them to reproduce numerous preys and temp their favorite gamefish in both freshwater and saltwater. Despite the advent of attractive artificial materials, countless flies—whether intended to mimic insects, baitfish or crustaceans—continue to include real feathers and fur among their main components. Of course, drifting dry flies for trout in a mountain stream and dabbling a faux shrimp for bonefish on a sandy flat are far from the only applications for natural materials in contemporary angling. In fact, feathers and fur are enjoying somewhat of a renaissance in lurecraft, as anglers rediscover their versatility and their innate ability to trigger bites.

FUR-TIVE CREATIONS

Bucktail has been utilized to fashion lures for centuries, and it remains one of the most common natural materials used by lure makers today. As the name implies, bucktail refers to the long, thin and soft hairs found on the tail of whitetail deer. Once harvested and dried, bucktail can be easily dyed to produce a material—in every imaginable color—boasting an enticing appearance and a superb action in the water. When tied to a lead-head, for example, the jig subtly pulses, emulating the movements of baitfish and other forage during the retrieve. A few twitches of the rod tip at the right intervals is usually all it takes to make any fish tracking the lure turn from a curious window shopper into a determined buyer.

Especially for bass and walleyes, bucktail jigs are traditionally called into action during the fall, winter and spring months. These are cool- or cold-water periods when a “less-is-more” approach and downsizing your offering can be the keys to putting fish in the boat.

A slow, swimming retrieve as you work a bucktail jig through the middle of the water column will cause the lure to “breathe” while largely maintaining its profile. A more aggressive hopping, however, will force those long bucktail hairs to collapse along the hook shank on the upstroke, only to return to their original position as the jig falls toward the bottom. Said motions make the lure appear erratic, much like an injured critter attempting to avoid predation or to merely keep from floundering. As the jig suddenly darts upward, it frequently heightens the interest of any marauders in the vicinity. The lure’s ensuing drop, precisely when most bites will occur, proves just too much of an opportunity for the fish to pass up.

The most productive bucktail jigs have hairs about 4 inches long. This length affords the maximum amount of expansion and contraction of the lure’s profile as the angler works it through the water. While some folks like to enhance a bucktail jig’s appeal by tipping it with an artificial or live-bait trailer, this will often have the opposite effect, hindering the natural flexing and breathing of the bucktail hairs.

When it comes to tackle, consider presenting bucktail jigs with a sensitive, high-modulus graphite rod to detect subtle strikes, and a low- or no-stretch braided line with a fluorocarbon leader to ensure every movement of the rod tip immediately results in the desired jig action.

DESIRABLE FLUFF

One of the hottest techniques in competitive bass fishing entails using what are often referred to as hair jigs. In reality, such jigs aren’t dressed with hair at all, they are tied exclusively with marabou feathers, which were originally obtained from the African marabou stork but have long since been procured from domestic turkeys. Marabou jigs land squarely on the must-cast list for bass anglers, especially during spring and fall in northern waters teeming with smallmouths.

I learned most of what I know about fishing marabou jigs from Bassmaster Elite Series angler and 2023 Bassmaster Classic champion Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson, one of Kenora, Ontario’s, most famous residents. Commonly called “the fluff” by smallmouth specialists, well-tied, hand-crafted marabou jigs undulate seductively as they swim. They are typically light in weight, rarely over 1/8 ounce. As such, most marabou-jig-eating smallmouths are taken from relatively shallow water, mostly less than 10 or 12 feet deep. And while this is still a jigging situation, marabou jigs are typically presented about halfway down the water column in whatever depth is being targeted, rather than hopping them along the bottom.

What does a marabou jig emulate? That’s a hard question to answer. Perhaps it looks to the bass like a small baitfish, a leech, or an aquatic insect like a large emerging mayfly or hellgrammite. The only thing it likely doesn’t imitate is a crayfish, as these crustaceans rarely swim long distances in the middle of the water column. It probably doesn’t matter what the fluff is supposed to mimic, because the proof of this jig’s usefulness is in the high catch rates that anglers enjoy when smallies are chewing on marabou.

Present marabou jigs using a graphite spinning rod that is both sensitive and long enough to launch these light lures a significant distance. Thin-diameter braid will promote long casts and transmit any subtle takes back to the rod. Since these small jigs are primarily used in clear, cool water, a long fluorocarbon leader is recommended to keep the angler’s connection with the lure concealed.

Though it may seem silly at first, a do-nothing presentation is often best. It only requires a somewhat slow and steady retrieve that keeps the jig several feet off the bottom. That’s where the fluff will cast its spell and coax bites from some of the biggest smallmouth you’ll come across.

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