In a mixed article using information both new and old (recycled, but updated), we will try to discuss this seemingly unused (still) method this side of the Atlantic.

Lets ask a question:

What is a bucktail? Known herein as (bt).

Well it's probably the most versatile lure ever made, so much so in fact that you wouldn't ever need to use anything else,i mean even every U.S navy seal gets one in his/her survival kit.

They come in a vast amount of weight's and you can fish them with or without trailer's,the best size's i've found from the shore angler's point of view are 1/8 oz, 3/16 oz, 1/4 oz, 3/8 oz, 1/2 oz and 3/4 oz,but sometimes the slightly heavy one's come in handy,the best colour's I've found to use in daylight or in the pitch black of night are all white,white,and did i mention white,the best way's of fishing these are to just have enough weight for the bt to lightly trip bottom with a slow to moderate retrieve and not plough the deck,to get the right size bt for the job at hand is the hardest part,you can alter the bt's descent through the water column buy changing the weight of the bt and the type and length of the trailer to get the perfect combo,the type's of trailer we use are uncle josh pork-rinds 270s,sluggo's and curly tails.

Question: Why even bother fishing the bt ?  Answer: Because they catch fish,end of.

The best approach to fishing them is to cast them up current(if present),and fish them with a slow straight retrieve(when i mean slow i mean slow) this is called swimming the bucktail, or, use a stop and go retrieve, let them swing through wet-fly style or practice the best and more advanced feel (On the drop techniques). The deal is that fish spend about 70%+ of there lives on or near the bottom in pursuit of food and much food falls to the bottom so put the lure where the fish are,the other great thing about these lures are they are cheap to make,so for all the guy's that don't like losing lures in bottom structure your prayer's have been answered with bt's.

Keith ? How do you fish your bucktails ? A simple answer please.

We use 240S pork rinds and sometimes, the black pork trailers
behind a series of heads. Normally in the 1/4oz thru
3/4oz even in fastish water as long as its fairly shallow,
say less than 10ft.

This is true even when skishing. Use as light a bucktail as possible.

We'll work in edges of current, or, in direct current when
we are in a position to cast upcurrent to get a lighter
bucktail down and floating.  (The fat content in the pork rind can sort of offset the weight of the jig (in the water). The jig doesn't float, its just a phrase that describes the feeling of your rig being balanced completely with your surroundings. 

The trick is to just retrieve (rod tip up mostly) at a
speed where the bucktail JUST trips occasionally the
bottom. In the daytime you can be slightly more
aggressive, but it don't catch any more fish.
Stop start retrieves also work well.
Pork rinds add buoyancy but sluggo's add more buoyancy.
Just swap and change sizes around at certain spots till
you see a pattern forming then...

Keep records of what weights work best and where and
when.

Taken early morning on the skish (Route 1:1), the bucktail scores again. Drifting though moving water, just lifting and bouncing the soft plastic  trailered bucktail on a 1/2oz smil'in bill jig head. Overall bait length, 7". A nice little Bass on a short focused trip. Ideal start to the day IMHO.

Kevin wrote a post on the internet a while back that's sort of got lost in the ether. We'll reproduce it here for completeness.

Tie a 'Bucktail Jig'

Well here goes,a tutorial on how i tie a bucktail jigs,by the way this
isn't the only way before someone says something.
First off,what is a bucktail and why use them.
Basically bucktails comprise of a shaped leaded hook with animal hair
or synthetic materials in various weight's and shapes for a number of
different situations,for this tutorial I'm using a jig called a smiling
bill or sometimes referred to as a hot lips jig.
When choosing a jig be sure to get the right type for tying,the one you
need will have a flare collar as opposed to a spike or ring set up
which are used with plastics etc.

These are the jigs i use,the picture shows sizes from
1/4oz, 1/2oz, 3/4oz, 1oz, 1 & 1/2oz.

For this tie I'm going to use white, my personal favourite. So to get tying this creation we need a few tools.

top. fly vice left to right.bodkin,whip finish tool,thread holder & thread,scissors,hair stacker.
The whip finish tool and stacker aren't essential item's, just nice to have.

OK,step 1) clamp your required jig in the vice and whip the thread over the tag
end and wind down to the collar,cut of the tag end of the thread,i use
a medium to heavy rod whipping thread in red for all my jigs because
you can really pull down on the hair to get it tight.

step 2) grab yourself a good pinch of hair and cut as close as possible to
the skin.

step 3) as you can see i hold the hair with my left hand,now with my right
hand i remove the loose hair and fluff by slightly pulling at the end
I've just cut while making sure not to let go with the other hand,this
will remove all the crap you don't want in there.

step 4) now for this you can either use the hair stacker,which you just put
in the hair and bang it down on the table a few times,remove the bottom
and carefully pull the hair out,if you don't have a stacker,just hold
the hair and cut the end of the hair to level up.

step 5) Right now you've cut the hair and levelled it up,now present the
hair to the jig.

Right now you've presented the hair to the jig,you need to hold it down,now put 3-4 turns of thread around the hair,tight enough to hold the hair in place but loose enough so you can move it slightly.

step 6) right now spread the hair around the whole jig and make sure it's as even as possible.

step 7) right now undo 1 turn of thread and pull tight,this will lock down the hair,continue to wrap the thread around the jig and build up a good solid hold on the hair.

step 8) now finish off the jig using either the whip finish tool or several half hitch's by hand,cut the thread off close to the jig and coat the thread with zap a gap glue or similar.

Like i said before,this is how i tie my bucktail jigs,as for fishing them,that's up to you to learn.