Buzzbaits for River Smallies

[BigMike]

I posted this on the Mississippi North Forum and didn't want to leave this forum out:

After reading another post, I thought I'd start a topic to talk about buzzing for river smallies.

Buzzbaits are quite possibly the easiest way to fish for bass outside of a bobber & livebait (who still uses live bait? ). It's a do nothing lure: just cast & retrieve the lure across the surface... it's that easy. That is why buzzbaits are so popular among bass fishermen. However some times are better than others when fishing buzzbaits. One of the times when throwing a buzzbait is a must is anytime you find yourselves fishing for river smallies! Buzzbaits are possibly the best way to cover water, locate active fish, and reveal/catch the biggest bass in a hole or section of the river. Whenever I hit the river, a buzzbait is always tied to one of my rods! I believe FM's very own Kevin Turner wrote an article in a major fishing magazine about fishing buzzbaits exclusively on the river (great article KT!!!) and I'd love to get his input to this topic.

Here are some tips on fishing buzzbaits on the river (feel free to add to this guys). Although buzzbaits are a do nothing lure - there are some variations that one must keep in mind when fishing buzzers. The first is change up retreaval speed. Some days the bass will nail a buzzbait at a high speed, other days you'll get nothing but blowups and missed strikes until you start slowing down your retrieve. Buzzbaits are a search lure so don't be afraid to slow down your retrieve - you are still covering water faster than many other lures (although some will disagree with me on this). A rule of thumb for me - reel just fast enough to keep the buzzbait buzzing on top of the surface. A 3/8oz buzzer works great for this - especially if you can get a big blade on a 3/8oz bait. And against popular belief, I think the larger the bait (3/8, 1/2, 5/8oz) buzzbaits can actually be fished slower than the smaller weights because their blades are bigger.

Color can be a big difference too. On a recent outing, a white buzzbait was the ticket. I had tried a black one and nada, switched back and bam. I usually have a few colors readily available. If you don't seem to be getting the hits/blowups, switch to a contrasting color: ie if you have a light color on, switch to a dark color. I prefer whites, blacks, & reds (if you can find reds). A rule of thumb for color: low light = dark colors, sunny day = light colors. FYI - be prepared to deal with your occasional northern, but the benefits far outweigh the occasional hassle of a slimer!

Buzzbait modifications. Here are a few basics that I would suggest. Trailer hooks are a good thought if you still seem to be missing fish on blowups. For reference, I use a 3/0 trailer hook when I feel I need one. Also, add a plastic trailer. A plastic trailer can be a great addition to a buzzbait, plus it is a good disguise for the trailer hook. If you get into modifying the blades, try snipping the blades and angling them at different angles. Also drilling holes in the blades can produce a different sound & attraction. Holes will help produce a nice trail of bubbles & adds to the surface noise. A 1/8 drill bit should be perfect.

One last piece of advise. When fishing any type of topwater (especially buzzbaits) you are going to have missed strikes. Always take the 10 seconds it takes to throw a follow up lure - preferably a plastic. Tubes, senko/stick baits, worms, hellgramites, flukes, etc... are all great follow up baits. On a recent outing, BigLakeBa$$ proved this theory to work. I had missed several BIG blowups on a buzzer and BLB came in right behind me within seconds and immediately the same fish nailed his plastic. He pulled the day's biggest smallie using that method. And don't let the colder weather deter you from throwing them either, you'll be surprised!

So on your next outing, don't forget the buzzbaits. They are a great weapon when fishing for river smallies.

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Mike
TJ Tackle Pro-Staff

[turn_in_poachers]

Post deleted by turn_in_poachers

[Dan Wood]

Great information Mike! Buzzbaits are definitely a very productive lure for both LM and SM bass. They are a great way to cover water for active fish and are famous for fooling big bass.

I'd like to echo the comment regarding color. One color seems to outproduce another under certain circumstances - not sort of outproduce, but night and day difference between certain colors (same action/model buzzbaits). I have had a tough time accepting and understanding why color would play a role at all on a lure buzzing across the surface, but it sure does seem to be the difference some of the time.

Speed is very important. Change-up speeds until you find something that works. Sometimes it will be as slow as you can go and still keep it on the surface (my most often used speed for buzzbaits). Sometimes they like it faster and sometimes you'll need to change-up the speed during the retrieve. There are no rules with buzzbaits. Change colors and experiment with speed until you start catching fish.

Buzzbait bites aren't always "on". There are days that you could toss a buzzbait all day and not get a bite. It is a good way to start - because you can cover water fast. But don't make the mistake of sticking with it too long. I like to fish buzzbaits when the water temps reach low to mid 60's and up on the lakes.

One popular belief is that buzzbaits are dawn and dusk lures. Although this is the time fish are most active and you should have more action regardless of your technique, this isn't the only time to use a buzzbait. We have some of our best luck during the middle of the day on buzzbaits for big fish.

We had a 5 fish bag of 21 lbs. this past weekend. Buzzbaits accounted for a couple of the better fish..

[This message has been edited by Dan Wood (edited 09-13-2004).]