Any time I'm fishing shallow water, a buzzbait is tied on and usually the first thing I try in the morning in the summer. Great search bait, reveals their activity level, attracts big fish, and even if you just get a blow up, it gives away their location.  

Top water jerkbait then a buzz bait, in that order.

8 hours ago, Joedodge said:

I have a 3/8 gold blade strike king I really like runs nice and true. I hate when a buzzbait runs crooked 

Fish will bend them and some just don't run out of the package. Bend the top wire with the blade to one side or the other. Kinda like the line tie on a crankbait.

If you’re not throwing a buzz bait around here, you’re missing out on a lot of fish and some big ones. My buddy won the Big Bass 250 on Lake of the Ozarks last fall on nothing but a 1/4oz buzzbait. 

1 hour ago, rangerjockey said:

Fish will bend them and some just don't run out of the package. Bend the top wire with the blade to one side or the other. Kinda like the line tie on a crankbait.

Oh for sure. Just hate a new one running crooked. I’m not the best at tuning them but I usually get them decent lol

30 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

Oh for sure. Just hate a new one running crooked. I’m not the best at tuning them but I usually get them decent lol

 

I’d say there’s no perfect way to tune a Buzzbait for everyone and it’s each anglers job to learn how to tune a Buzzbait to their liking.  Kinda like there’s no perfect jig weight or trailer.

 

I think I’m beginning to see why this and the frog and the jig work so well!

 

People just don’t even wanna mess with it!  They’re fussy baits!  But fussy baits catch fussy fish and those are usually the ones I am hoping to catch.

I once mentioned that excellent casting separated the average bass angler from the excellent bass angler. It's a pleasure to watch an excellent caster casting a 1/2 oz buzz bait.

Good Fishing

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

 

I’d say there’s no perfect way to tune a Buzzbait for everyone and it’s each anglers job to learn how to tune a Buzzbait to their liking.  Kinda like there’s no perfect jig weight or trailer.

 

I think I’m beginning to see why this and the frog and the jig work so well!

 

People just don’t even wanna mess with it!  They’re fussy baits!  But fussy baits catch fussy fish and those are usually the ones I am hoping to catch.

Well said man. I agree completely still

gonna complain tho haha 

I used to have an old Bass Pro buzzbait, I don’t remember the model name but it was the ones with the plastic 4-wing blade - it had a “perfect” bend in it and would do a lazy “S” curve on the retrieve. That thing got hit like gangbusters. I lost it in the brush and never could duplicate that action, but I swear that if I could, I could get rich off of it. 

I've often wondered, why not throw one of those frog baits that "buzz" when retrieved.

 

Like a Scum Frog or something. Look's like SPRO and some other companies make more premium ones now as well.

 

Way more versatile it seems.

 

Steady retrieve? Check.

Pop retrieve? Check.

Combo of the above retrieve? Check.

37 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

I've often wondered, why not throw one of those frog baits that "buzz" when retrieved.

 

Like a Scum Frog or something. Look's like SPRO and some other companies make more premium ones now as well.

 

Way more versatile it seems.

 

Steady retrieve? Check.

Pop retrieve? Check.

Combo of the above retrieve? Check.

 

Buzzing plastics and buzzing frogs work, but they are different action and Sound than a buzz bait and they’re less subtle.

3 hours ago, GreenTrout said:

I once mentioned that excellent casting separated the average bass angler from the excellent bass angler. It's a pleasure to watch an excellent caster casting a 1/2 oz buzz bait.

Good Fishing

I agree on both accounts. I have noticed that buzzbaits are just about the hardest lures to throw also.

19 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I agree on both accounts. I have noticed that buzzbaits are just about the hardest lures to throw also.

If you replace the skirt with a toad they become much easier to throw and plane better also.

A buzzbait that the blades spin on the cast are easy to throw, like The Original Lunker Lure  .

I have a buzzbait from many years ago. That thing has a giant blade on it. I have never caught anything on it, but it is really fun to throw as long as there is no wind.

I like them it's the bass that don't lately. Buzzbait,  walking bait,and popper are the 3 I always try. Last 2 years they only want the popper. 

 

Allen 

On 8/4/2025 at 1:13 PM, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

What buzzbait do you throw?

 

I only have one and it's 1/2 oz and I'm just not a fan of it.

 

I think I'd much prefer what you are throwing.

 

Oh, one last thing.

 

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!     

I have several different baits I throw, but in this circumstance I am talking about the dirty jigs scott canterbury 1/4 oz with the white blade and a white horny toad as the trailer.  Horny toads are heavy plastics so casting distance and accuracy is not a problem.  The 1/4 oz bait has a smaller blade so you need to work it a little faster than the ones with bigger blades, but adding a big trailer like a horny toad will cause it to be unbalanced and keel over if working too fast.  

 

FYI, I have almost exclusively (not 100% though) gone away from skirted buzzbaits to a toad, fluke, or swimbait trailered buzzbait without a skirt or trailer hook.  idk what it is about it, but if a fish hits the bait enough to get hooked, its coming in the boat unlike skirted baits.  I ditched the trailer hook because hookups were good and now I can fish it in heavier cover without snags.  

 

Hoks suk, go state!

I view lures as tools.  Just like the tools in my toolbox I use them when the situation requires it.  If I need to remove a screw I reach for a screw driver.  When I need a fast top water lure I reach for a buzzbait.  It’s the only fast top water bait I use.

33 minutes ago, dwtaylor said:

I have several different baits I throw, but in this circumstance I am talking about the dirty jigs scott canterbury 1/4 oz with the white blade and a white horny toad as the trailer.  Horny toads are heavy plastics so casting distance and accuracy is not a problem.  The 1/4 oz bait has a smaller blade so you need to work it a little faster than the ones with bigger blades, but adding a big trailer like a horny toad will cause it to be unbalanced and keel over if working too fast.  

 

FYI, I have almost exclusively (not 100% though) gone away from skirted buzzbaits to a toad, fluke, or swimbait trailered buzzbait without a skirt or trailer hook.  idk what it is about it, but if a fish hits the bait enough to get hooked, its coming in the boat unlike skirted baits.  I ditched the trailer hook because hookups were good and now I can fish it in heavier cover without snags.  

 

Hoks suk, go state!

 

I'll give them a try, can't wait for the fall.

 

Nice win in Ireland, you're gonna need a little more than Irish Luck come 9/6.   

46 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

I'll give them a try, can't wait for the fall.

 

Nice win in Ireland, you're gonna need a little more than Irish Luck come 9/6.   

Who knows.  

 

ISU will have 2 quality games before the cyhawk game and Iowa won't.  I don't think it will happen, but my biggest concern is if Iowa turned the page in a drastic improvement on offense.  Your new guy has a decent arm and some wheels on him and that can give a team fits, but overall ISU is used to athletic qbs in the big 12 and their defense is set up for it.  

 

Its almost always a close game between us but I think its as close on paper as it has been in recent years and ISU is starting to fill a more competitive roster with guys that play hard like Iowa has always seemingly been able to accomplish.  

 

I do think Mark Gronowski is the X factor in the game to keep their offense 2 dimensional.  ISU's secondary is better than Iowa's receivers but Iowa's OL group has a slight edge (very slight) to ISU's Dline group.  I think ISU has a good game plan to try to get the new guy to beat them with his arm and I think there will be a lot of punts.  

9 minutes ago, dwtaylor said:

Its almost always a close game between us

 

Sure is.

 

Mentally I'm preparing for a loss.

 

I'm definitely not putting any money on the Hawks.

 

Did that last year and lost a bunch. LOL

I don't doubt they work, but they do not work well around around here compared to most other topwaters. Which is too bad since cover water so quickly. 

 

The metallic "clangy" sound is I think what is to blame. I notice the same thing with the Jackall Pompadour. I can get bites, but not as many. Similar sound. Same for Mischief Minnow. 

 

I think the sound is too abrasive for clear water much of the time.

 

By contrast walking baits, wake baits of all sizes, frogs, ploppers: they all get bit.

Back when I first started fishing tournaments, I was paired with a boater that put us on fish early on. We were into culling fish after two hours. When he weighed in, not one of his original five was in his bag and almost everyone of those bigger fish he caught on a buzzbait. So, whenever I'm after bigger fish, there are two lures I reach for; a jig and a buzzbait.

6 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Back when I first started fishing tournaments, I was paired with a boater that put us on fish early on. We were into culling fish after two hours. When he weighed in, not one of his original five was in his bag and almost everyone of those bigger fish he caught on a buzzbait. So, whenever I'm after bigger fish, there are two lures I reach for; a jig and a buzzbait.

This^^^
 

Buzzbaits have always been more of a bigger fish bait for me than a numbers bait. I’ve had the same phenomenon with a Plopper/Choppo this year as well.

The gold buzzbait blades with a white or chartreuse skirt seem to have worked best for me. I wear those blades out.  A lot of people throw black. I throw black a night.