Bucktail is one of the most widely used materials for tying streamers, largely due to its unique characteristics. It creates bulk without extra weight, sheds water better than some synthetics, and adds movement and realism to your flies. In many ways, it’s the perfect material for streamers, size small to XL, but not all bucktails are created equal. Deer are wild animals, and the lack of deer farms means bucktails vary widely from tail to tail. Walk into a fly shop and look at their selection, and you’ll quickly realize the differences in size and quality. So much so that even the same dyed colors can vary slightly. Order a tail online, and there’s no telling what will show up. So what exactly should you look for in bucktails?
What Makes Good Bucktail
Good bucktail boils down to three basics: size of the tail, fiber length, and overall quality of the tail (hair quality, any tears, patches missing, etc.). Understanding these three things will help you find a bucktail that suits your fly tying needs.
Bucktail sizing refers simply to how big the tail is. Depending on the deer the tail was harvested from, this can vary. Typically, the bigger the bucktail, the better it will be for tying, as you’ll have more hair for more flies. This also usually goes hand in hand with fiber length, with bigger tails having longer fibers, but that is not always the case.
The next thing to reference on a bucktail is the length of the tail fibers. One tail may have fibers that are 4 inches long, while another may have shorter, 2-3-inch fibers. The biggest deciding factor when it comes to fiber length is the flies you plan on tying. For smaller clouser patterns, the shorter bucktail length is more than enough. However, if you’re planning on tying big musky bugs, longer fibers are required.
The last, and most obvious, criterion for good bucktail is the overall quality of the tail. You’ve likely seen tails with knots, tears, or even broken into sections. While you can still tie flies with these tails, it’s best to opt for fully intact tails. You’ll get more bang for your buck this way. It’s also important to inspect the quality of the hair. Good bucktails for streamers have hollow hair, which allows you to flair it around the hook and create a larger profile. Ideally, you want a tail with as much hollow hair as possible.
Finding Your Own Bucktail
Now that you know what to look for in a good bucktail, it’s time to put these skills to use and start shopping. The quick and easy way to get bucktail is to buy it online. This is also the worst way to buy tails. Many online retailers have stocks of subpar bucktails left on the shelves, which may find their way into online orders. We’re not saying this is always the case, but it can happen, leaving you with a useless tail.
For this reason, the best way to buy bucktail is in person. Head to your local fly shop and check out the different bucktails and color options in person. Get hands-on with the tails you’re interested in, open up the packs, and inspect the tail for size, fiber length, and overall quality. Things like the dye of the tail can even vary between tails, so buying them in person ensures your tail is the best quality. Another thing to look for is underfur, the wispy hairs at the base of the fibers. A general rule of thumb is that less underfur equals a better bucktail. When tying, this also means less time cleaning the fibers before tying them into the fly.
Simplifying the Process
If you don’t have access to a fly shop, or your shop doesn’t carry a wide range of bucktail, don’t worry. In our most recent Fly Shop Tour episode, we stopped at Musky Fool, a shop dedicated to all things musky fishing, and it just so happens these guys are experts in bucktail. So much so that they have their own dedicated line of premium bucktails. Gabe Park, shop manager, is the mastermind behind Musky Fool’s bucktail empire. He hand-selects each and every bucktail before dying them in-house. This painstaking process is not easy, but it’s the only way to ensure consistent bucktails make it to the user. When all is said and done, their team estimates they put their hands on every single tail at least six times. The end result is premium-quality bucktail that the customer is sure of every time.
Musky Fool takes bucktail buying one step further by grading each and every tail. The grading categories are AA, A, Clouser Grade, and Hair Jig Grade. Each grade is broken down by overall fiber length. The AA must have fibers greater than 4.5 inches, A is 3.5-4 inches, Clouser is 3.5 inches or less, and Hair Jig is picked for its fibers that don’t flair when tied. As a result, consumers, regardless of whether they’re shopping online or in person, know exactly what they’re getting. For fly tying fanatics, Musky Fool has taken the guesswork out of bucktails.
