Vegetation variances around the south provide tons of choices for predator fish to forage from. Each type holds various bugs and insects that fish, like bluegill, eat on a regular basis. As most anglers know, bluegill is a choice of food for bass. But, not just bluegill hang around the vegetation. There are shiners, minnows, chubs and other smaller fish that seek out the insects and bugs as food. This draws the bluegill, crappie and smaller panfish to the vegetation which, in turn, draws the bigger predator fish like bass, pike, catfish, pickerel and a host of other larger predators to forage.

A really good lure that simulates the baitfish and panfish is a bucktail.

The Bucktail Pro is a solid example and comes in four sizes and eight colors. Each color is designed to simulate baitfish and small panfish. The bluegill color is a fascinating representation of the prey of bass.

The construction of the Bucktail Pro is not modest. It is made with a premium extra strong hook, ball bearing swivel, baitfish pattern colors, smooth willow blade, prism eyes and crystal flash accents on each side to help pull in light and provide extra flash like scales.

Give it a try and use a Bucktail near vegetation casting to and from the vegetation. You can also parallel the vegetation to simulate cruising baitfish. You can also use it to find fish closer to the bottom. The heavier sizes are great in deeper water to bounce off the bottom or use a stop and go retrieve.

One forgotten way to use this lure is the open water blind casting technique. For instance, if you know there is a sunken hump, ledge or deep grass line that turns into a sand bottom or close to a ledge, stay way off these types of structure and blind cast to them using different types of retrieves, colors and sizes. You’ll be amazed at the quality of fish you can pick off these areas.

If you really need to pump up the presence of this lure, you can always add a two-inch grub to the back. Some anglers like to add a button tail or even half of a plastic craw. They cut the craw in half and add the claw section to the back. This is a great way to enhance the bait for even more sound, flash and vibration.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.