What do you throw a buzz bait on?

[michael1]

Just a standard 3/8 or 1/2 oz buzzbait, what do you throw it on? Size and power of rod, line type and such? Just curious what most of you guys think.

[MN Fisher]

7' Medium-Heavy Diawa Aird-X with a Pflueger Supreme and 30# Power Pro braid.

[FishTank]

7' MH St. Croix Avid with a Shimano Curado K and 40lb Seaguar Braid. 

[MountainMan83]

Daiwa T3 MX 8.1 with RCS 1016 spool, 12lb big game mono on top of a Daiwa Cronos 7'3" MH Fast rod. 

[DitchPanda]

7ft medium heavy moderate fast Falcon Bucoo trapcaster...Abu Garcia Revo sx 7.3:1...15lb izorline xxx copoly 

 

[jimmyjoe]

   7'-01" MH/F Mojo Bass rod, Citica 200i w/ 12 lb. Big Game. Just got a Mojo Bass Glass H/M after Christmas that I'll try out this year. I've never wanted too stiff a rod tip for any topwater, including buzzbaits.    jj

[JediAmoeba]

7'3" Daiwa MH Tatula XT with a Daiwa Tatula CT Type R 8.1:1.  Straight 30# Braid.

 

I will say that I have learned not to jerk like a crazy man though.  With a fast tip and that power you can easily rip it right out without hooking up. 

[PhishLI]

7'3" MHF 13 Omen Black 2 . Daiwa Fuego CT 8 speed. 15 LB Trilene Big Game.

[Fishes in trees]

I've thrown them on a variety of different rods over the years.  What these rods have in common is between 6'6" and 7'4", rated at MH  but with more flex in the tip than a worm rod.  Hard to describe, but I know it when I feel it.   Currently I use either a 6'8" Fenwick AETOS or a 7'4" BPS Extreme.   I throw buzz baits on 15 to 20 lb mono.

[garroyo130]

6'8" MH All Star Classic (older model), Curado K 6.2:1, YZH 15lb

 

most importantly ... Cavitron

[michael1]

I was kind of asking because I have a Shimano SLX 6'10" MED EX-FAST rod that I have 10 pound Sunline Sniper on that I use for jerkbaits and I was hoping to use that set up for top waters like poppers and buzz baits. While that line might not be ideal for buzz baits would that rod work or is a medium just not a good idea?

[NHBull]

7' GLX MH, 30lb braid 

[garroyo130]

If your concern is the weight of the rod, I would throw it on the rod with the line you have. You might not want to fish it that way but you can get an idea as to how the rod will handle the drag of the buzzbait. 

[FryDog62]

ALX IKOS Buzz rod.  7ft Medium-Fast 1/4-3/4 oz on 12 lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid.  

[Boomstick]

I may throw it on any of my MH rods, but the rod I would normally use would be a Daiwa Tatula Glass 7'2" MH/MF rod with 12lb mono. I normally use 3/8oz buzzbaits, and I would ideally use 15lb line too but the mono I have is 12lb so that's what I'm using.

[CountryboyinDC]

Almost anything I have, so long as it doesn't have flurocarbon line.  I've thrown them with an Ugly Stick when river fishing with a spinning reel (those rods typically have 20 lb braid), my topwater plug rod (6'6 St. Croix Premier M/F with 12 lb mono), a 7' MH/M St. Croix Premier crankbait rod, all the way up to a 6'11 H/F Falcon light pitching rod with 50 lb braid.  I  may get a little more accuracy from the topwater plug rod and so forth, but once I get used to casting them, I don't really find one a ton better than the other.  With the heavier rod with braid, I do tend to hook more with a trailer hook than the primary hook.  I'm picky about a lot of other things, but a buzzbait setup isn't one of them.  I do prefer a fast reel, but I can make do with a 6:1.

[Log Catcher]

I normally use a 6' M BPS Bionic Blade rod with a 1st generation Revo S in 6:4.1 with 12# Sufix Siege line.

[Bluebasser86]

6' 10" All-Star spinnerbait rod. It's without a reel right now but probably going to be the new KK Speed Demon if the Corona virus doesn't eat my reel before they ship it. I use 17lb Pline CXX.

[Kyle S]

7'0" - 7'3" MHF rod and a higher gear ratio reel i.e. 7.1 and up...and 30-50lb braided line. Heavier mono can do the trick also! Good luck

[Catt]

Another All Star fan ?

 

Pro Series PR827C

6' 10" Medium Heavy Fast

 

Lew's Speed Spool SSG1H 6.8:1

 

Berkley Big Game 20#

[NittyGrittyBoy]

River fishing- 6'6 MH w/ 15lb big game

Lake or pond- 7'0 MH w/ 30lb PP

 

And as stated, Cavitrons are a must ?

[MIbassyaker]

6'10" MH-MF, 15lb big game

7'5" MH-F, 15lb big game

[OnthePotomac]

In 1999, Rick Clunn designed a rod then sold by BPS for top waters.  I picked one up on a close out sale for $80 and it is a 6'6" MH 3/8-1.5oz, 10-20lb and it has a really "whippy tip" on it for top waters.  It is great for buzzers (and many other baits) on a Curado 200I with 17lb XL mono.  I would say Rick really knew what he was doing.  Love that rod.

[RB 77]

On 3/5/2020 at 10:16 AM, michael1 said:

I was kind of asking because I have a Shimano SLX 6'10" MED EX-FAST rod that I have 10 pound Sunline Sniper on that I use for jerkbaits and I was hoping to use that set up for top waters like poppers and buzz baits. While that line might not be ideal for buzz baits would that rod work or is a medium just not a good idea?

 

Rod is fine, line is too light IMO though. I use MINIMUM 12, but prefer 15-20 for top water. Always mono (or braid IE: Frogs) for top water as well, never flouro. However, 10 lb Sunline Sniper is my GO-TO worm fishing line. 

[Fishes in trees]

To the original poster - my buzz bait choices are based on 40+ years of experimentation.  There was a time in my fishing life when I thought 10 lb line was pretty heavy, so why would I throw a buzz bait, where casting distance & covering the water is important on such heavy line?  I threw quarter ounce buzz baits on 6 lb test.  At that point in my fishing life, quarter ounce seemed to be the size to go with.

 

Point of this rant is that over time you change your mind.  I don't own any quarter ounce buzz baits - haven't for a couple of decades.   As I've gotten schooled in where are the best areas to throw buzz baits, throwing them on 6 lb line seems pretty silly to me.

 

Point is - use what you got and maybe adapt here and there.  Should it work - ok - not so much? - reason to upgrade when finances permit.  There is a point in your growth as a fisherman when you more or less limit your dependence on other folks opinions and learn more to rely on what you think.  When you start you own decision making in one area, then that attitude flows over into other fishing decision areas.