Tuning a Bucktail Musky Lure:
We have seen a lot of posts on various chat boards about bucktails not running correctly or not tuned right. Some lures you will purchase now and then are not tuned correctly right out of the box regardless of what the manufacturers say. Most manufacturers, including us, have strict specifications on all terminal tackle but during mass production of these small parts and terminal tackle many are not made perfectly. For this reason it is a good idea to know how to tune your bucktails, crankbaits, jerkbait, topwater and other musky and pike lures to ensure they run correctly.
Spinning:
A spinning bucktail can be caused by a few things. One, the bigger the blades, the more likely you will see some spinning. You need to make sure you have a good leader with swivels in them to ensure your line does not get twisted and tangled. One way to help a spinning lure is to put a slight bend or curve in the entire body of the lure. Many professional guides do this to all of their big double bladed bucktails right out of the package. Another solution is to put a 45 degree bend right behind the eyelet of the bucktail. Caution should be taken as to not alter the area around the clevises though. One last cause of spin may have to do with the clevises being out of tune and this is included in our next paragraph.
Blades spin together:
Sometimes your blades can spin together or will not separate at all during the retrieve. This can be caused by the blades sitting together or they are on top of each other and not allowing water to cavitate in between them. This can be solved by slightly bending one of the blades or cupping it more. Another cause of blades spinning together can be caused by a clevis that is slightly out of parallel with itself. We have included a picture of what this can look like (see below). The fix for this is simple. Take a pair of needle nose pliers and slightly squeeze the clevis together. Do not apply too much force though as you can squeeze the clevis shut on itself. Basically you want both ends of the "horse shoe" on the clevis to be parallel to each other so they will spin with the blades correctly. This is one of the bigger culprits of improperly spinning blades on the big double #10 and double #13 bucktails made today.
Thank you and good luck musky hunters!
We have seen a lot of posts on various chat boards about bucktails not running correctly or not tuned right. Some lures you will purchase now and then are not tuned correctly right out of the box regardless of what the manufacturers say. Most manufacturers, including us, have strict specifications on all terminal tackle but during mass production of these small parts and terminal tackle many are not made perfectly. For this reason it is a good idea to know how to tune your bucktails, crankbaits, jerkbait, topwater and other musky and pike lures to ensure they run correctly.
Spinning:
A spinning bucktail can be caused by a few things. One, the bigger the blades, the more likely you will see some spinning. You need to make sure you have a good leader with swivels in them to ensure your line does not get twisted and tangled. One way to help a spinning lure is to put a slight bend or curve in the entire body of the lure. Many professional guides do this to all of their big double bladed bucktails right out of the package. Another solution is to put a 45 degree bend right behind the eyelet of the bucktail. Caution should be taken as to not alter the area around the clevises though. One last cause of spin may have to do with the clevises being out of tune and this is included in our next paragraph.
Blades spin together:
Sometimes your blades can spin together or will not separate at all during the retrieve. This can be caused by the blades sitting together or they are on top of each other and not allowing water to cavitate in between them. This can be solved by slightly bending one of the blades or cupping it more. Another cause of blades spinning together can be caused by a clevis that is slightly out of parallel with itself. We have included a picture of what this can look like (see below). The fix for this is simple. Take a pair of needle nose pliers and slightly squeeze the clevis together. Do not apply too much force though as you can squeeze the clevis shut on itself. Basically you want both ends of the "horse shoe" on the clevis to be parallel to each other so they will spin with the blades correctly. This is one of the bigger culprits of improperly spinning blades on the big double #10 and double #13 bucktails made today.
Thank you and good luck musky hunters!
Muskie hunter and musky hunters. This page will give you the muskie411 on tuning your new Grunt muskie and Nortehrn pike fishing lure. We sell great Muskie lures and Northern Pike lures. Super Cisco lures are not associated with the Rapala Super Shad Rap lure or the Normark Corperation. Super D swimbaits are not associated with the Magnum Uptown Bulldawg or the Musky Innovations company in any way shape or form.
Copyright 2008 Grunt Lures
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