Talking Buzzbaits

[shootermcbob]

I have been making a concerted effort to get bit with buzzbaits the last few trips out. So far....nothing.

I have tried Cavitron, black  skirt with red blade and shad colored skirts with gold blade, clacker style with black skirt/blade, white skirt and blade boogerman? I think. I have also tried some other 3/8 buzzbaits with different blade/skirt combinations.

 

I fish from the bank and generally cast along the bank to my left and right, several times, then fan cast the area in front of me. I have tried a few different color combos and still nothing.

 

I have not had rea good success lately anywhere, but i have caught a few fish on different lures in same areas I had just fished the buzzbait.

 

What tips do you guys have that might increase my chances of getting bit?

 

Thanks in advance.

[dday07]

Do try diff. speeds? Has that  little bit  of success been with other top water lures? Should be a little easier to catch them during the day this time of year but still best morning and evenings. p.s. also have better luck with  some ruffles on the surface

[Marty]

 

I have not had rea good success lately anywhere, but i have caught a few fish on different lures in same areas I had just fished the buzzbait.

 

Were those different lures that caught fish in the same areas also topwaters? If they were, then I don't know what to say, but if they weren't there's a good possibility that they weren't willing to come up to the surface.

[quanjig]

The slowest retrieve possible and still keep the bait just bubbling and gurgling on the surface.

[Bair]

Dont be afraid to work it below the surface. Ive caught a lot of fish burning the buzzbait next to cover and then killing it next to potential ambush points.

[Mike2841]

The only times I've caught fish on a buzzbait is right as the sun is going down. Also I fish it just fast enough to keep it on the surface

[retiredbosn]

Buzzbaits are one of my favorite things to throw. Biggest on a buzz was my pb at 8lbs 14oz scale weight, smallest was a bluegill. My absolute favorite is a double prop gold blades with chartreuse and white. I've caught bass burning the bait as fast as I could get it, to slow rolling creating a huge wake, the bait stayed below the surface. I'll throw one just about any time, mix it up, go fast, slow and every thing in between. I don't use the ones with a clacker. I break mine in by either tying them outside or holding them out a window while driving. I've had best success around cover.

[RNSkeeter]

Best success for me is around cover, especially vegetation. Right as it hits the water, pull up about a foot with your stick to pop the bait up on the water, meanwhile you engage the spool and start reeling your pole back down to normal position - but with a slow retrieve. If you coordinate it right it, the bait should start churning the second it hits the water. This also keeps the baits momentum slow so it stays in the strike zone. I've seen some guy burn the handle when his buzzbait hit to try and get the bait up on the water, he wasted a good 1-2 feet of his strike zone with a blazing fast bait and I know he was losing fish. 

 

I always felt it was a bait that surprises the fish into striking - getting bit either a second after you first hit the water, or pulling right over a hole or point in some vegetation. Rarely have I ever been bit on just a bare bank.

[Mattlures]

I love Buzzers. I fish them as slow and perfectly steady and fish them parallel to the shore line. I usually fish them 3-5ft out from the shore. The best buzzers for me have always been the loudest squeekers. I don't like clackers. I don't like double blades or long arms or anything extra. Just a good basic design that squeeks loudly. Color has made no difference.

[Bluebasser86]

Any idea what your water temp is where you're fishing? In a lot of places across the country the water temps are getting down towards the lowest end of the effective temperature range for a buzzbait. As long as it's above 50 I'd just crawl them along as slow as you can while keeping it on the top. My experience is that when the water temps cool off it's sometimes best to go against the typical way of thinking that buzzbaits only work early or late or during low light periods. For me when the water is cooler like this my best buzzbait bite is usually after it warms up a little bit. It also tends to catch far fewer numbers but much better average sized fish for me this time of year. I've had some great buzzbait bites during hot, sunny days during the summer too though. 

[Jolly Green]

Dont be afraid to work it below the surface. Ive caught a lot of fish burning the buzzbait next to cover and then killing it next to potential ambush points.

X2

 

You may not get that spectacular topwater strike, but you may at least get bit.  

[bkohlman]

As many have said......as slow as possible to get the water to gurgle. 

[s freud]

Great thread. I have been working on this lure of late as well. Does anyone use trailers with these or is that just for spinnerbaits?

[dday07]

Great thread. I have been working on this lure of late as well. Does anyone use trailers with these or is that just for spinnerbaits?

Def. use a trailer on smaller buzzbaits and most of the time i don't on a larger buzzbait but people differ on that one.

[Deleted account]

Is in not November in Ohio also?

[retiredbosn]

I'm definitely one to urge u to change up your retrieve. Sure working it slow produces, but there have been days that I couldn't work the buzz fast enough, that particular reel takes up 28ipt. My pb came by burning the buzz through duck weed/water meal, I was literally throwing that green soup a couple of feet in the air off of the props. I've also caught them by keeping the props under the water creating a wake. Let the bass tell u what they want.

[michang5]

I use a trailer hook with my Cavitron. I've only been fishing for a few months, and the Cavitron is the ONLY lure I haven't lost and had to replace. Paint's all chipped, but it still catches fish -- under the right conditions.

Last time fishing it: early morning, very cloudy so it was even darker than usual, cold front had rolled in and temps were cool for central Texas. There was even a fog on the small pond I fish. I had a spinnerbait tied on, but decided the conditions were too perfect not to switch. Caught a 2.5 pounder on third cast. One of the few times I think I've made the right call/adjustment based on the conditions.

[papajoe222]

The other thing you may try is a different location.  Most water that is accessable from shore gets fished heavily and fish will eventually shy away from those areas, or at the very least become extremely wary.  Look for a spot with an abundance of wood or weed cover.  Most bank fishermen tend to avoid those areas in fear of loosing gear to the ever present snags.  Those are prime buzzer locations.

As far as presentation speed is concerned, don't give up on an area until you've tried slow, moderate and fast retrieves. I was catching them two weeks ago in water that was 52 degrees reeling fast past ambush spots and then slowing to a crawl.  If I just reeled fast or slow, I wouldn't get any takers.

Also, remember that your lures are tools designed to get a specific job done. A buzzer is like a hammer, but sometimes what you need is a pair of pliers. 

[shootermcbob]

Lot's of good tips.

 

The little bit of success I have had was on moving lures, but not topwater....stuff like spinnerbait, red-eye shad, etc.

 

I have tried fast retrieves, and really slow, but nothing in the middle and nothing with varying speeds during same retrieve.

 

Thanks for sharing. I am going to give it a shot again tomorrow.

 

Also, In response to question regarding water temp...I am not sure what the water temp where I fish.

[Bobby Uhrig]

Im still catching bass on buzzbaits -The water temps are around 56 degrees and the bass are just slurping them down. I am catching them in less than 3 feet of water around hard cover-tree-rocks -stumps. Just casting down shorelines and reeling them in slowly and they just disappear and ya feel the weight of the fish. I am fishing the sunny side as well as wind blown banks. I can catch them on buzz baits when the temps dip down around 49 degrees-I have caught them colder but often in very shallow water. I believe its the warmest water being in the sun and the warmer water stratifies and blows with the wind.A few degrees warmer can make all the difference in the world.

[shootermcbob]

Thanks for the replies. Bobby, I figured you would chime in at some point. I am currently using two different cavitrons....both 3/8 ounce...one shad colored with gold blade, other black with black blade. No luck yet.

 

I am undeterred, and will keep giving the buzzbait a shot.

 

I am fishing down the banks as well, mostly rip rap, both sides of a major state highway so I am getting windblown, non-windblown, sunny, and not so sunny.

fished from 10 am till 3 pm today. Threw the buzzbait at each stop/down each bank where I could walk....nothing ....yet.

[michang5]

I've re-scanned this thread and see lots of suggestions on how, where and at what water temp to throw a buzzbait. Only see a few short notes on when.

Granted I haven't fished for very long, but my buzzbait fish have been very early (before or right as the sun rises) or late (sunset to when it's just officially dark).

Most of what I've read suggests the same pattern of success based on time of day.

[shootermcbob]

I have been throwing the buzzer each time I go, at every spot , just to see what kind of results I get.

[Bobby Uhrig]

Early morning and early evening is just a fallacy in my years of buzz bait fishing. I have caught bass at every time of day and night there is. High skies-rainy-hot you name it. It all depends on the daily and hourly conditions and moods of the fish. I have fished tournaments and cleaned their clocks on mid summer 100 degree days.

 

What I do find important is to match the size of the buzz bait to the lake /wind conditions. I find the 1/4 oz gets 10 times the amount of strikes than the 3/8 when there is little or no wind/chop on the water -while the 3/8 gets more strikes when it is windy. My theories on that-Sometimes with too much wind/chop the bass don't see or hear the commotion. It gets drowned out. That's where the 3/8 larger blade/profile shines.With a smother less choppy lake surface the 1/4 oz attracts their attention and dosent get "drowned out"

[michang5]

Good stuff. Listen to the man!