I'm just an old retired guy stumbling along the bank.  I fished buzz baits for years.  Never caught a fish.  First time out with my Whopper Plopper 130 in Loon, I caught a 3 and a 4 and missed three other blowups.  I realize there are many places with pads and other surface vegitation where neither Whopper Ploppers or buzz baits can be fished.  In areas like this, we all throw hollow body frogs with success. 

 

Since Whopper Ploppers and buzz baits are both best is mostly open water, why carry buzz baits.  

 

Or am I wrong...And I have been wrong before.

 

  

Buzzbaits can be fished in heavy cover (laydowns) where a plopper's trebles will get snagged.

I've only used them a couple of times, but I have yet to catch a fish on a whopper plopper. Buzz baits definitely still have a place in my tackle box.

21 minutes ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

Buzzbaits can be fished in heavy cover (laydowns) where a plopper's trebles will get snagged.

This^^^

The Whopper Plopper has made buzzbaits obsolete for me personally. I don't fish a lot surface or just barely subsurface vegetation. The WP simply catches more fish and has better action. My opinion only. Everyone has what works for them.

Welcome

There is a big difference between the sound a WP and a buzzbait give off.  Heck, there's even a difference between buzzbaits. Some days that difference can be the difference between catching and not catching,

WP style baits have been around the muskie fishing population for decades and those guys still throw big buzzers.

 

 

1 hour ago, KHL12 said:

I'm just an old retired guy stumbling along the bank.  I fished buzz baits for years.  Never caught a fish.  First time out with my Whopper Plopper 130 in Loon, I caught a 3 and a 4 and missed three other blowups.  I realize there are many places with pads and other surface vegitation where neither Whopper Ploppers or buzz baits can be fished.  In areas like this, we all throw hollow body frogs with success. 

 

Since Whopper Ploppers and buzz baits are both best is mostly open water, why carry buzz baits.  

 

Or am I wrong...And I have been wrong before.

 

  

Yeah, you're wrong. Buzzbaits will never become obsolete - 

1 hour ago, KHL12 said:

I'm just an old retired guy stumbling along the bank.  I fished buzz baits for years.  Never caught a fish. 

 

  

You're telling me you literally fished a bait for years that never even produced 1 fish???

Clear water, dingy water, heavy cover, no cover, a buzzbait stills outfishes a WP for me almost every single trip. And yes, I usually have both tied on, and throw them both quite a bit. (I'm a die hard topwater guy) The buzzbait consistently has a better hook-up ratio for me too. I like the WP, but the hype around it still surprises me.

Apples and oranges....different sound, different hooks, you can change trailers on buzzbaits...both will have their place.

3 minutes ago, 38 Super Fan said:

Clear water, dingy water, heavy cover, no cover, a buzzbait stills outfishes a WP for me almost every single trip. And yes, I usually have both tied on, and throw them both quite a bit. (I'm a die hard topwater guy) The buzzbait consistently has a better hook-up ratio for me too. I like the WP, but the hype around it still surprises me.

Fully agree, but this year, the rat has also out produced the WP, especially in the morning 

The main advantage of a buzzbait is you can fish it in thick cover. IMO the main advantages of a whopper plopper is that it can be paused, and in the wind the 130 and 190 sizes can stand up to some sizable waves before their actions start to get affected. More so than any buzzbait I've fished. But even if those things were equal the sound and profile differences alone are enough you should still own and fish both. 

Some lakes they only hit the WP for me. Other lakes they only hit a buzzbait. Fish want something different at every lake I fish. No rhyme or reason to it. I fish both.

No

A black buzz bait at night is an awesome lure.

 

Buzz bait and whopper will always have enough differences in action and "fishability" to keep them both relevant. However, if someone finds a way to make a Whopper Plopper squeak......

 

 

I've fished buzzbait with success for 30 + years.I havnt bought a whopper plopper yet , and probably won't. Between these two, I'll stick with buzzbaits.

The WP 90 and 110 have both been good for me, eapecially the 90. Still love a buzzbait though. Not going away for me.

There is so much grass where I fish, whopper ploppers, Zara spooks and other top waters with trebles are almost impossible to use in most situations. Weedless frogs and buzzbaits are the top water choice for me.

Around weeds/cover throw a Toadrunner... not as loud and obnoxious as a WO but same

concept.  Works

Seriously? The plopper has a way of finding weeds I didn't go NK were there! The 90 is a great creek Smallie bait, and the 130 i

44 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

I've fished buzzbait with success for 30 + years.I havnt bought a whopper plopper yet , and probably won't. Between these two, I'll stick with buzzbaits.

s a hog caller... But don't take away my buzzers!

Personally I don't like buzzbaits. I own a few but they've always been so awkward to fish for several reasons. 1.) Clunky. 2.) Has to be burned to stay on top of the water since it has 0 buoyancy. 3.) Unable to pause. I've caught fish on topwaters on pausing. 4.) Cannot be slow rolled. I've caught fish on top water slow rolling.

 

I know it's more resistant to debris, but I probably won't throw any top water in those conditions anyway. Out of those two, I vote for WP personally.

No bait is obsolete.  Ploppers are just popular right now, just like frogs, rats, senkos, flukes, etc.  In the 90's, it was slug-gos, power worms, spinnerbaits, zara spooks, etc.  They all work if you get the right color, speed and depth.

A buzzbait thrown back in stumps and brush is one of the most, if not the most, exhilarating experiences a basser can experience. Feel sorry for those who have never had it...at night from the bank it can flat out scare you close to the bank...man vs. the bass beast...

 

good fishing...

Oh, did my heart sink when I saw the title of this thread.

 

I have tried whopper ploppers's and they just don't fit for me. Dust collectors now. I had better luck with them for largemouth but for smallies, The buzzbait is king. There are times when I will fish an entire day with the same Buzzbait tied on and never think about taking it off.