Three reasons account for the increase. First, a flashing blade behind the prop moves the center of the target farther back on the bait, closer to the hook. With conventional buzzbaits, bass often zero in on the prop and miss the hook. At slower retrieves the spinner blade rotates, creating a different vibration in the water than most buzzbaits. At faster retrieves, the trailing spinner blade skitters along the top, flashing erratically and spitting water in an enticing way.
Second, the spinner blade creates drag, which enables the angler to slow his retrieve, and often, the slower you can crawl your buzzbait across the surface, the longer it stays in the strike zone and the better the fish’s aim.
Third, the trailing spinner blade improves the bait’s attractiveness on the drop. When a bass slaps at a buzzbait but misses, kill the retrieve and let it flutter downward like a stunned baitfish. The bass will wheel around for a second pass, usually, in order to pick off any minnows it may have injured in its initial attack. The fluttering, twirling spinner blade emits an erratic flash that draws attention.
Experienced buzzbait enthusiasts have come up with other modifications to improve a buzzbait’s performance or attractiveness. Most of us have held buzzbaits out the window as we drove down the highway. The rapid, continuous spinning of the prop accelerates wear, and as the aluminum prop rotates around the stainless steel wire the holes enlarge slightly. That produces a satisfying, fish-calling squeal and chirping on retrieves.
With conventional buzzbaits, it’s a simple task to straighten the wire bend, remove the rivet head, and slip the prop off the wire. Use a drill to enlarge the rear hole, and then reassemble the bait. While you’re at it, instead of just putting a bend in the wire to hold everything in place, try making a loop to clip on a Secret Weapon blade attachment.
Darryl Witwer, inventor of “The Tow Light,” says, “I’ve been a “BUZZIN-BAIT” fanatic for years. I have several “mods” I do to some, and they do help! .... I have several plastic blade baits that I’ve cut off one wing, and it gives a very different sound like bloop-bloop-blip. I also bend the hook to the side about a 1/2 inch on some. I take a long shaft [buzzbait], cut it in half [between line tie and head], bend an eye on each end, then hook them back together with a sturdy split ring. The fish have a harder time shaking the hook because it now swivels.”
Several factors determine buzzbait success. Here are my Top 10 Mistakes That Anglers Make Using Buzzbaits, from least (10) to most (1) important:
10. Selecting a weak, poorly constructed bait
9. Keeping it on the surface at all times
8. Using the same size and color for all water and light conditions
7. Using lightweight monofilament line
6. Retrieving it too fast
5. Relegating it to the post-spawn period and warmer months
4. Keeping it away from cover and brush to avoid hang-ups
3. Failure to add a trailer hook
2. Jerking the bait away too quickly on the strike
1. Not throwing them at all
Let’s consider each mistake and what you can do to avoid it.
Mistake #10: Selecting a weak, poorly constructed bait |
Choose a buzzbait that’s sturdily built, with heavy gauge wire and good quality skirt. The hook should be strong and sharp. Mustad Ultra Point is the sharpest, toughest point of any buzzbait or spinnerbait hook today. And make sure there is plenty of gap between the prop and the hook so that the fish can get to the point. |
Mistake #9: Keeping it on the surface at all times |
Vary your retrieve. The buzzbait is often most effective at a steady crawl, but try racing it, an erratic retrieve that alternates between frantic and a crawl, or “porpoising” the bait. That method is to allow the bait to slow down enough to drop beneath the surface from time to time. Doug Hannon, the Bass Professor, did a lot to publicize this technique a decade ago, and sometimes it works better than a steady retrieve. |
Mistake #8: Using the same size and color for all water and light conditions |
Remember that the buzzbait creates a silhouette against the sky overhead. An upward-looking bass sees a commotion, silhouette, flash, and some color, but it’s very hard to make out just what is up there. All the bass cares is that it looks alive and might fit in its mouth, so it attacks.
Buzzbaits work well at night and in low light conditions, including murky water conditions, and for those use bigger baits in darker colors. Switch to smaller baits and lighter colors, white or plain aluminum blades, and translucent skirts in extremely clear water under bright skies.
I like small, white or white with red accent buzzbaits for Kentucky bass. Where smallmouth are present, I often tie on a Chartreuse & White Buzzrbait.
If I had only one buzzbait, though, I’d choose the Midnight Snack. Its black skirt, prop, and spinner blade works well in every condition, creating a stronger silhouette for low light situations, yet without alarming fish in bright light conditions either. | Mistake #7: Using lightweight monofilament line | Your line shouldn’t even touch the water if you retrieve the buzzbait on the surface. Even if you porpoise the bait, only two or three inches of line are submerged, so heavy lines aren’t a problem. They are not going to alarm the bass. If you intend to get your bait and fish out of heavy vegetation or from way back in the brush, consider spooling up with 30 to 50-pound test superbraid lines. | Mistake #6: Retrieving it too fast | As with spinnerbaits, the general rule is that the slower your retrieve, the longer your bait remains in the strike zone... the easier target it makes... the more strikes you’ll get... and the higher your hookup ratio. | Mistake #5: Relegating it to the post-spawn period and warmer months | I’ve seen just too many times when a buzzbait, fished at the “wrong time” or “wrong season” puts fish in the boat. I’ve caught buzzbait bass every month of the year, including the winter months from Arkansas to Florida, and at every time of day. I learned a lesson on Lake Ashbaugh in northeast Arkansas when a tournament was won by an angler running buzzbaits along log jams and among the willows through the heat of a bright, hot June day. Some competitors tried buzzbaits first thing in the morning but gave up early and switched to plastics as the sun rose. A buzzbait’s calling power can pull bass from underneath shady cover or from the depths where they retreat for the day. | Mistake #4: Keeping it away from cover and brush to avoid hang-ups | Put the lure back where the big bass hang out. A buzzbait is ideal for reaching those targets. It can be cast accurately, dropped quietly on the surface by thumbing your reel, and retrieved over, though, and under the thickest junk on the lake. More importantly, it’s strong enough to extract bass from these same places. Just tie on heavy lines and use a stout rod. I prefer a 7 foot, medium heavy graphite casting rod with a soft tip for accurate casting. One of the finest rods in this class is the All Pro AX7MCHA. | Mistake #3: Failure to add a trailer hook | Fully one third of the bass I catch on a buzzbait are on the trailer hook. That’s why every Secret Weapon Buzzrbait is packaged with one. We include a short length of surgical tubing, too, which acts as a trailer hook keeper, but that binds the hook so it sometimes ends up pointing off to one side. This increases hang-ups around cover. To allow the trailer hook to swing freely and track true, slip the hook on and then turn the tubing sideways and impale it on the main hook. Or use a small plastic tab punched out of a coffee can lid as a keeper tab.
For open water, increase your hookups by turning the trailer hook point-downward. Even better, use a treble hook trailer. Set the trailer hook on the deck of your boat so it rests on two tines. Rotate it until the eye is parallel to the deck, and then clip off the tine pointing upward. When you slip the trailer onto the main hook be sure the two remaining tines point up, and in this way the bait can still slide over vegetation, limbs, and rocks without snagging.
For all topwater baits, flashes of red attract more hits. The critical factor is that the red should be moving in relation to the bait. That means a strand or two of red in a white skirt, like the Secret Weapon Bleeding Minnow, or a red willowleaf spinner blade clipped behind the prop, or a red trailer blade that wobbles behind the skirt will all add to the productivity of your buzzbait. | Mistake #2: Jerking the bait away too quickly on the strike | Jerking the bait away too quickly on the strike is probably the most common cause of missed strikes. Wait until you feel the weight of the bass pulling on your line before setting the hook.
James Thum, who buzzes up big bass on northern Mississippi reservoirs, suggests, “The best thing I ever started doing when using a buzzbait was to make my cast and start looking for my next target; that keeps me from trying to set the hook too early. When a fish hits the bait I lose that split second that you would jerk the bait away. I was always told to pay close attention; well, I never learned, and it paid off.”
If you see the swirl or strike, or feel the bass slap the bait without tugging on it, drop your rod tip and let the bait flutter down as through it were a stunned minnow. Often you’ll get a second shot at the same bass.
Don’t just keep reeling at the same pace. If the stunned prey approach doesn’t pay off after three or four seconds, toss a Driftwood Lures Flippin’ Shad or other follow-up bait back into the strike zone as quickly as you can. Unless you’re fishing a tournament, just free-spool your reel and drop your rod on the deck, pick up your follow-up rig, and fire away. The quicker you follow up, the higher your odds of connecting. |
Mistake #1: Not throwing them at all |
Seeing, hearing, and feeling a monster bass blowing up on a sputtering, spitting buzzbait is one of the most exciting experiences freshwater bass fishing offers. If you’ve relegated your buzzbaits to the back of your tackle locker, pull them out, make a few modifications and upgrades, and put them back to work for you. The biggest mistake you’ll ever make with a buzzbait... is to leave it in the tacklebox. |
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