Body Reverse-tied (hollow) bucktail, several stations (4-6 clumps)
Head Stiff bucktail reverse-tied and pushed back into a bulk head (2-3 clumps)
How to tie it
At the bend, tie in 6-10 long schlappen or saddle feathers splayed around the shank, with a generous veil of flash. This is the tail and most of the fly's length.
Move forward and reverse-tie a clump of bucktail: tips facing FORWARD over the eye, then fold the hair back over itself and lock it with thread wraps so it flares into a hollow cone (Popovics' hollow-tie).
Repeat reverse-tied bucktail stations up the shank, each clump flaring back over the last, mixing colors top and bottom; the hollow construction gives a huge profile that stays light and sheds water on the backcast.
For the final head stations use the stiffer hair from the base of the bucktail, pushed back hard with a hair packer to form a blunt, water-pushing head. The head is what makes a Buford wobble, glide and hang in the water on the pause.
Build a smooth thread head, whip finish and soak the wraps (and the head's thread dams) in cement or thin UV resin.
Optional: articulate two of these sections on a shank for a 10-12 inch '747' version.