Arbogast buzz plug

[Jtrout]

I found one a while ago put a new hook on it and havent tried it. Any body use it of have any tips?

[3rdDon]

I just got one on clearance at academy and came here to get some info. Not a great sign that I'm the first response lol

[georgeyew]

I have one that I've thrown once in a while. Even though I don't see why it won't catch fish, I have not caught anything on it yet. I had a couple of blow ups on it, but the fish did not get hooked. So I switched out the frog hook with a treble. I love the weight and how far it can cast. I have a feeling that 2017 is the year that I'll get a fish on that lure.

[primetime]

They make good Christmas Ornaments? I never liked that lure the day I saw Bill Dance using it on TV with his Dancin Eel.

 

I feel like the way it is designed is a good way to miss fish? I would rather just use the Whopper Plopper but I am sure if a Big Bass grabs it and really wants it it will catch fish.

 

The above post has it right, changing it to have more hooks would probably make it much better, I know the Rebel Frog is tough to hook fish on and both are Pradco Lures, but that double hook is just not enough to land enough strikes from my limited experiences.

 

The concept is good, a floating buzz bait you can pause is legit, landing fish and not getting snagged is the issue I think. I get bad feelings about lures and I notice the same 6 have been at Dicks for the past 2 years. If it were half Price, Give it a shot. Bill Dance was catching fish on every cast so it must be so.

 

 

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, primetime said:

They make good Christmas Ornaments? I never liked that lure the day I saw Bill Dance using it on TV with his Dancin Eel.

 

I feel like the way it is designed is a good way to miss fish? I would rather just use the Whopper Plopper but I am sure if a Big Bass grabs it and really wants it it will catch fish.

 

The above post has it right, changing it to have more hooks would probably make it much better, I know the Rebel Frog is tough to hook fish on and both are Pradco Lures, but that double hook is just not enough to land enough strikes from my limited experiences.

 

The concept is good, a floating buzz bait you can pause is legit, landing fish and not getting snagged is the issue I think. I get bad feelings about lures and I notice the same 6 have been at Dicks for the past 2 years. If it were half Price, Give it a shot. Bill Dance was catching fish on every cast so it must be so.

 

 

Well, he probably has to wear the same clothes for 6 days to film some episodes. 

 

On the Arbogast site there's an article about a pro catching an 11 pounder on this bait.

http://www.arbogastlures.com/articles/dudleys-new-personal-best-bass/

[papajoe222]

I haven't tried the Whopper Plopper, but have used the buzz plug on a number of occasions, mostly when the bass were missing a slow moving buzzer. I bought it to replace one of my last TwoFers, which they are a poor replacement option for. 

The biggest flaw is the body shape. I suspect it is shaped so it floats with the tail down. Problem is, I've never gotten a hit while it wasn't  moving and a fish closing its mouth on that fat body and big blade has little chance of getting hooked as you pull it out of its mouth. 

I removed the blade and added it to a Spook, added some weight to the tail and ended up with an awesome topwater. I added the hook to a Rocket Shad, so the only thing wasted was that alien body. 

[Jaderose]

Tips?  Yes...go ahead and put it in the drawer or wherever you put baits that "seemed like a good idea at the time".  That's where mine is.

[smalljaw67]

We've actually done rather well on them.  My buddy who received his as a gag gift from his brother caught his personal best on it 2 years ago, a 7lb 9oz largemouth which is a giant in Pennsylvania. I have really got into good smallmouth with the Jr. model and if there is one complaint I have, it is that they should have had a stinger treble on the bottom and a fixed single hook on the back. I say that because the fish like to key in on the big body and when it is moving they miss the rear double hook, but we have no shortage of strikes on it. I prefer the Jr. model which is still pretty big but I get more hook ups with that, I'd say 75% of my buzz plug Jr. strikes result in a hook up, where as 60% of the regular model get hooked up. The one thing to remember is that the buzz plug isn't a magic bait, it has a time and place where it does work well, for me it is when the fish are blowing up left and right on my buzzbait without getting hooked, and it happens a lot on the waters I fish, that is when I use it. I don't get many hits pausing it, but I do get a lot when I reel it slow and then stop for 4 or 5 seconds and then start again, that also happens to be when I get most of my hook ups, so give it a shot, you may do well or you may have a Christmas tree ornament but you won't know until you try.

[the reel ess]

As with almost any topwater bait, they'll almost certainly do better on smaller, weedier or woodier, shallower bodies of water. I fished a big, barren lake for years with very few topwater bites from bass. The window of opportunity is smaller on the lake than the pond. Since I fish a lot of ponds, I like goofy topwater baits most of all. They're just plain fun. The Whopper Plopper looked goofy to me too, but I see video after video of people catching big bass on them.

[Bigbarge50]

Own it and still yet to catch a fish on it.  As others have mentioned the rear hook set up is strange.  

 

Their are a bunch of other Pradco topwaters alone I would throw before I throw it again.