How to Make a Bucktail Skirt Lure

Bucktail skirt lures are simply lead-headed jigs with a skirt made of real or synthetic deer hair. Bucktail lures are especially effective at drawing strikes because of the way their skirts move beneath the water. When retrieved through the water, the skirt undulates and closely resembles the motion that minnows and other small fish make as they swim along. Bucktail skirt lures are available for sale, though some anglers prefer to build their own.

Things You'll Need

  • Deer hair
  • Clear cement
  • Heavy thread
  • Jigs
  • Scissors
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut a piece of thread to 12 inches in length.

    • 2

      Hold the deer hairs in one hand and make a straight cut to even their tops. Also trim the bottoms of the deer hairs so that they hang about 1/2 inch below the bottom of the jig hook.

    • 3

      Locate the spot where the hook connects with the jig head and wrap the thread around this spot three times. Coat the wrapped thread with cement.

    • 4

      Place the bucktail around the shank of the hook so the top of the bucktail is flush with the jig head. Push the bucktail into the cement.

    • 5

      Wrap the thread around the bucktail four times just beneath the jig head and coat the thread with cement. Continue to add bucktail to the jig until you are satisfied with its profile.

    • 6

      Wrap the rest of the thread around the area where the bucktail meets the jig head.

    • 7

      Apply cement to the final layer of thread, coating the thread completely, and then let the cement dry for a day or two before using the lure.