Bucktail Basics & New Water

Written on 05/13/2020
Chas Martin

If you are planning on scouting and exploring new muskie water this season then you MUST make sure your basic bucktail skills are in tip-top shape! From casting and synchronizing to bursting and figure-8 fundamentals, the importance of possessing each one of these bucktails skills is just as important as the next. Without just one of them, you are very limited in what you can achieve in your scouting endeavors. Casting accuracy extremely important with blades and it is especially challenging when you are faced with a stiff breeze like I am in this episode. Watch the cast that catches this awesome musky in this episode, as I am careful to manage the casting distance so that I do not overshoot into the Lilly pads and grasses. If you watch very carefully, you will see that I do not cast directly up to the edge of the Lilly pads either. I stop the cast a tad short to avoid hanging up in the super-thick grass that is growing right under the surface. And from the moment the blade of my 700 Buchertail strikes the surface, you will be me burst the lure forward with speed by thumbing the spool and engaging the reel immediately. These very subtle, but critically important details, make all the differences when casting a lure like a Buchertail. This particular musky stayed down deep during most of the fight so you will see me keep my St. Croix LEM90MHF up at a higher angler. If they stay down, you go up! Listen to my reel as I hit the spool release and engage free-spool in the case that the big muskie goes on a power run at closer range. This is especially important if the fish is not hooked well as you want to limit the pressure applied. Another very important topic covered in this video is where to look first when scouting new muskie waters. Main lake points are my first places to scout as they are a natural ambush spots for big predators of all types. Make sure to explore all of the areas around the points to be sure to find the secondary ambush spots. Sometimes the secondary spots, like the one where I caught this musky, are the best places to find the giants…. just off the beaten path!



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