What buzzbait?

[Ballpark Frank]

Hey guys, I want to start trying to fish buzzbaits again and want advice on which "brand" and weight I should get. I worked on soft plastics almost all of last year and am ready to start a new bait challenge. I only want to get 3 or 4 and want to stick with one weight for now. As much time as I devote to spinnerbaits(essentially since I started fishing), you would think that I would have a few. All I have are two "el cheapo" from the bargin bin, one in black and one in white. I was thinking about getting 1/2oz baits in black, white, chartreuse, and red. I am looking at Booyah(regular and counterstrike), Fishbelly Ninja, and Reaction Innovations Squeaky Dolphin. I really like the RI Dolphin and have had excellent experience with several of their products. Any advice would be appreciated.

Oh yeah, this is what bait I am dedicating my 6'9" Carrot Parabolic to. I have had the rod for awhile and have yet to fish it. Does this sound alright? I have always heard to use a moderate action/crankbait rod for buzzbaits, am I wrong or just misinformed?

[Sam]

Anything Cavitron.

Any size depending on the body of water and size of fish.

1/4 ounce for rivers and ponds; larger sizes for everything including rivers and ponds.

Black skirt early AM or late PM or on cloudy days.

White or white and chartruse for clear skies.

Blade can be silver, black or gold. Everyone has an opinion on blade color.

Just be sure it is a Cavitron that that you are making bubbles with the lure (not in the bathtub) to attract the fish.

And read about buzzbaits on this site or in books and magazines. There are some tricks to use, like ALWAYS USE A TRAILER HOOK, and other tips.

Have fun.

[Catt]

Get yourself 3 or 4 different brands because with buzz baits they all sound different and sound it the key with buzz baits. Silver & gold blades will cover all situations even nights, while some prefer black blades at night I like the light reflection given off by these two. I don't worry about skirts when buying buzz or spinner baits because they are so easy to change.

Tips for changing buzz bait sounds:

Bend the rivet behind the blade upwards to produce a high pitched squeal

Hold the sucker out the window of your truck on the way to the lake; this will elongate the hole in the blade producing a rattling type sound.

Bend the arm down until the blade slightly touches the head producing a clacking sound

Buy baits with a clacking blade attached

Buy baits with holes in the blade

[roadwarrior]

I have been having very good luck with the 3/8 oz Cavitron Buzzbait (black on black). The lure comes on plane immediately, creates a nice bubble trail and produces a unique "chirping" sound.

Regarding the rod:

A buzzbait is fundamentally a swimming jig. You need a rod with a firm tip for hook-sets, definitely NOT a parabolic rod.

8-)

[Big Tom]

I would suggest Cavitron as well.  You can pull the thing out of the package and see that it is an awesomely made bait.  You will find no better customer service either.  

[booneangler]

not to high jack the post but what makes a good buzz bait rod?

[roadwarrior]

not to high jack the post but what makes a good buzz bait rod?

I fish a Medium Power/ Fast Action baitcasting rig. Buzzbaits have quite a bit of air resistance, so a lighter rod seems to load and cast best. I prefer baitcasting reels for all "fast retrieve" lures. Since a buzzbait is basically a swimming jig, I want a firm tip for a forceful hook-set. Single hook lures should be "driven in" the fish's mouth.

8-)

[Ballpark Frank]

Thanks guys, just got back from the shop. I ended up with six total; 1 Cavitron 3/8 Black and 1 Cavitron 3/8 Chartreuse, 1 Booyah Counterstrike 3/8 White, 1 Booyah 3/8 Limescicle(with clacker), 1 RI 1/2 Red/Black and 1 RI 1/2 Black/Yellow. I am going to spend the next few mornings after work figuring them out. I appreciate the advice very much. I'll probably be asking several questions in the next few weeks. The advice I got last year about plastics was great and helped alot.

RW, thanks for the info about the parabolic carrot. I was misinformed. I guess the carrot will have to be dedicated to the Rapala DTs. Since you said a firm tip, what action would that be; fast or extra fast? Would my BCR803(that I haven't sold yet) be good for buzzbaits? If I need to post this in the Rods section let me know.

[bocabasser]

try the reaction innovations squeeky dolphin. i have had great success with it, and you can fine tune it to make different sounds and spins of the  blade.

[Bobby Uhrig]

Basspaddler-Thanks to all of the guys who responded to the post- and the kind words about Cavitron. There are some really good buzzbaits on the market. What I find in buzzbait fishing as well as all other fishing is technique. Do something a little different -such as the retrieve. just like with spinnerbaits -crankbaits-worming-flukeing-Just do something different-be erratic-think outside the box. I find that by doing something different will often provoke a strike. What I do with buzzbaits is see if they want it slow ,fast, erratic you have to find the code.When fishing in the back of the boat -especially in a tournament-I cant tell you how many times I would tick off the guy in front using the same bait but just doing something different with it..You can out catch him at any given time. With buzzbaits and all other baits-let the fish tell you how they want it-try different techiniques. If you do the same old thing-you will have the same old results. sometimes thats good but most of the time you can put a few more fish in the boat doing something a little different-especially in a tournament-Try popping the buzzbait every 10 feet. Just give it a little snap of the rod tip and man I cant tell you how many times I have caught a fish by doing that. Bass are opportunists. I truely believe that the bass think another bass missed that bait and it attacks it out of greed. Its buzzbait time-the most vicious strikes I have ever gotten have been on buzzbaits. No matter what brand you buy-you will have a blast- Oh crap i Just got my new catch phrase for cavitron -picture it in the commercial-Buy a cavitron and have a blast-while the bass blows up on it- Ive got to get the hell out of here. CYA's

[roadwarrior]

Thanks guys, just got back from the shop. I ended up with six total; 1 Cavitron 3/8 Black and 1 Cavitron 3/8 Chartreuse, 1 Booyah Counterstrike 3/8 White, 1 Booyah 3/8 Limescicle(with clacker), 1 RI 1/2 Red/Black and 1 RI 1/2 Black/Yellow. I am going to spend the next few mornings after work figuring them out. I appreciate the advice very much. I'll probably be asking several questions in the next few weeks. The advice I got last year about plastics was great and helped alot.

RW, thanks for the info about the parabolic carrot. I was misinformed. I guess the carrot will have to be dedicated to the Rapala DTs. Since you said a firm tip, what action would that be; fast or extra fast? Would my BCR803(that I haven't sold yet) be good for buzzbaits? If I need to post this in the Rods section let me know.

Fast or extra fast will both work fine. The BCR803 is probably perfect for buzzbaits and spinnerbaits.  What don't you like about the rod?

[Ballpark Frank]

RW, the BCR803 is a Mossyback and stays a home most of the time. I have gotten to where I am using the MBR783 IMX for plastics and my BCR854 GLX for jigs. I was looking to sell it to finance a MBR782 IMX. Thank you, I may have found a purpose for it that I didn't know about.

I think I'll mount my new Energy PT Burner on it, and give the buzzbaits a "spin" in the tomorrow morning.

Oh it's 10:00, I should have been in bed 2 hours ago.