Buzzbaits come back on their side

[Fishingintheweeds]

I don't really have much interesting background for this post. My buzzbaits come back on their sides. I've tried different things with different kinds of trailers...no change. I understand the whole idea of something being misaligned but can't quite get it right. It seems like this would be the right place to come to get a clearer explanation of what can cause this and what to do to fix it. 

 

Can anybody help?

[jbrew73]

If you are using a cavitron be prepared to be told you’re doing something wrong.

[scbassin]

What Brand are you using?

[5by3]

Hold the hook between your thumb and your index finger and look down the wire towards the line tie to check if the blade is directly aligned with the hook. 9/10 times, this is the issue. Also make sure that the little piece of wire that is bent down to hold the rivet in place is straight and not crooked.

 

Another thing that helped me recently is to bend the blade away from the head a bit to make more of a gap. You can even put a little bow in the wire between the line tie and the hook.

 

If none of these work, buy a new buzzbait! ?

[craww]

Good luck...I’ve tried all the tweaks  over the years with minimal success.

 

I will say going forward if you’re throwing them on braid they tend to fare worse. The cushion of mono really shines here. 

[DSTN]

I've tried some of the tricks mentioned above to tune buzz baits with so-so results. What I have had the best luck with in getting them to run more upright is to find the retrieve speed where they start to run on their side and keep my retrieve slower than that.  

[Log Catcher]

I think 5by3 got it right. I have fixed Cavitron buzzbaits that ran on their side side by checking and bending the wires back in line. I hold them by the line tie end to check them. I can't say about the difference in braid and mono as I have never used braid for anything.

[Fishingintheweeds]

Wow. For being so simple these sure can be kinda complicated to use. I will have to try a couple of these things. It seemed like I was having some success on showing the retrieve but it was not something that seemed for sure and consistent. And I'm not sure if it matters if that is the cause but I have been trying to use braid for these. 

[Team9nine]

It's mostly physics, and the relationship between head weight and blade size, plus drag. Tweaking the wire arms may help a little, mostly closing the gap between arms, but as long as the blade spins freely, you'll need to add weight to the hook shaft, slow down your retrieve, or swap out blades to something smaller. Also watch the drag created by the skirt and any trailer.

 

A simple test is to simply remove the skirt and trailer (naked) and see how it runs. If it runs fine like that, then you can probably get by just adjusting skirt and trailer. If it still rolls with nothing but blade and bare hook, its a design issue.

[Big Rick]

I use braid on ALL my buzz baits. If I have on that's rolling to the side I tune the blade toward the opposite side. You can also tune the blade to make your bait run under docks and limbs. However, I have had a few that just would not run right and I trashed them. 

[keagbassr]

I would say if the hook is up on the surface you're reeling to fast but if its just off to  one side a little I wouldn't worry about it. When the bass want a buzzbait they'll get it.

[craww]

My comment regarding braid vs. Mono is referring to buzzbaits not getting bent/off kilter as easily with mono vs braid.

 

The arm of the buzzbait is the only thing that can give between the hook and where the line is tied when using braid. With a nylon line there is Cushion. Similar to snatching someone out of the mud that's really stuck w/a proper strap vs a chain. If you go to snatchh somebody from a roll with a chain it's likely something at either end of that chain is going to break. Having been a buzzbait fanatic for years Ive been blessed with a great deal of really big fish on them. For me, there is a noticeable difference in how quickly they get out of tune and don't plane correctly throwing a line with no stretch. We have a striper run  on the river here and it really shows up when they get to pulling on them.