Hi Skip,

I hate to waste any material when I'm fly tying. I think this most come from those early childhood days of desperately searching the house for materials and never having enough stuff to tie flies with in the first place. The only really effective use I've found for recycled bucktail is beetle backs humpty style. Tie a pretty good of used bucktail on to the top of the hook shank with the excess hanging over the bend of the hook. Tie it down well. Bend the excess back toward the eye and tie it down and trim it like you would an Elk Hair Caddis. It makes a simple, effective fly but I'm not sure how jig colors are going to match beetle colors. Good luck. 8T