For those who throw the buzz bait, can you tell me exactly how you fish it.  Slow water, fast water, the rapid area, shallow 1-2' or deep.  Is it always upstream, cross stream, down stream?

For those who throw the poppers-same thing, up, down, cross etc...? 

I figured the smaller poppers were for fly rods suskydude, but I figured you might have stumbled on something so I had to ask.  Fish on.  John.

No. Buzzbaits dont work for river smallies. Especially 1/8 oz black at about dusk dark in the hottest part of the summer. They just dont work. :

Couldn't have said it better myself, they really, really suck! ;D

Sorry if I can not read sarcasm on the interwebs, but this is a joke yes?

I was planning on trying out a few buzzbaits this weekend on the Shenandoah.

I believe they are tongue-in-cheek comments of the first order. ;D They don't want you to try buzzbaits cuz they work so good. Leaves more bass for them. :D ;D ;D

i have started using some buzz baits on the river. yesterday evening they were really going after it. Adding a trailer hook makes for more hookups. The downside of the trailer hook is that smaller fish get it hooked farther back and its harder to get out.

Not a big buzzbait fan, poppers do it for me. I know plenty of guys like the buzzbait for the river though.

Topwater during the low water periods of summer is fantastic. Shallow water is the key, so 2-3 feet avg is good. I target push water, riffles, chutes, as well as shallow flats with smooth moving laminar flow.

In my experience time of day doesn't matter much. When the water is low and warm, and the sun is high and blazin, I kill it in the riffles.

I give my vote to this one!

No. Buzzbaits dont work for river smallies. Especially 1/8 oz black at about dusk dark in the hottest part of the summer. They just dont work. :

Couldn't have said it better myself, they really, really suck! ;D

Sorry if I can not read sarcasm on the interwebs, but this is a joke yes?

I was planning on trying out a few buzzbaits this weekend on the Shenandoah.

I believe they are tongue-in-cheek comments of the first order. ;D They don't want you to try buzzbaits cuz they work so good. Leaves more bass for them. :D ;D ;D

Exactly.

Upstream, downstream, cross stream?  A little help?

Not that hard.

Answer:  Tie on buzzbait.  Use trailer hook. Throw.  Reel fast enough to make bait stay on top.   

Not being smart here.  This just is NOT rocket science.  You will not catch fish on a lure in the tackle box.

Let you in on another trick:  The fast sections where you can just cast down stream and just hold the bait in place on top are awsome after dark in hot weather.

Not takin' ya smart in your answer-I use the rocket science statement alot ;D  I was just wonderin' if up or down was best--I like the tip about staying in the fast current, thanks.  I haven't used topwater hardly at all on the creeks and rivers and I just wanted to make sure I was fishing it right.  I haven't been out in two weeks 'cuz I screwed my elbow up in the kayak--HOWEVER...I'm goin' out with a fellow member on this site on Sunday-gonna hit the Big Darby and hopefully slay the smallies.  Thanks again for the help.  Fish on.  John.

I generally fish them across the river or bring them upsteam against the current. The current will push the buzzbait to the surface and keep it there, allowing for a very slow retrieve.

John, try that same thing with the current and jitterbugs.  I love a buzzbait over the grass mats in summer. Remember.  You are fishing for quality not quantity.  I leave the spinning gear in the truck and grab my baitcaster spooled with at least 10lb mono.  It is currently spooled with 40lb Power Pro. 

Hey Ern, I was curious about the jitterbug--one of my absolute favorites on a lake--I even use the bigger muskie size jitterbugs and the bass I got on it were always nice bass.  I was wondering if it would produce in a river/creek.  Bigger better, or smaller?  Good god I'm pumped to go tomorrow!  Thanks for your help too iceintheveins, greatly appreciated. 

And one more question for the popper throwers in creeks/rivers...do you work it fast or pop, sit etc...?  Fish on, John.

I got introduced to jitterbuggin many years back by a couple of guys that were fishing the larger ones on heavy spinning gear spooled with 15-20 lb mono.  I laughed at the tackle as I thought smallmouth fishing in streams was a ultralight tackle game.  There result proved me wrong.

To Buzz or not to Buzz That is the Question,,lol,,,going to have to give it a try,,,,BUT,,,,,In the May issue of Bassmasters,,,there is an article about using Buzz Frogs for River Smallies,,,Has anyone tried it yet,,,or has it been a secret,,,I tried it early last month without sucess but they wern't hitting anything else either,,,going to give it another try next week.   How about it,,,anybody out there feeling froggy,,,,,,

Yep.

When working the buzzbait, there is alot of constant commotion of the bait on the surface...is the popper worked the same way, or slower, pop, twitch--again, small rivers and creeks?  Thanks, John.

They'll work, especially if there's a lot of fish flies and other insects hanging on top of the water.  I just wouldn't go too big, get a small sized one.

I've got a question I hope you all can help me out with here.  I've got 3 kinds of buzzbaits and every time I tie one on and retrieve it, the bait works to the side instead of a straightline back to me.  I've bent the wires and tried to get it to straighten out, with the exception to the titanium wire, which can't really be bent without it snapping back into place.  I've also varied my retrieve, super fast to super slow and I still get a crooked return.  Because of this, I don't feel comfortable with it being a natural look and it's frustrating.  ANY IDEAS OR TIPS WOULD RELIEVE THE STRESS I FEEL ABOUT THIS.  I'm sure it's an easy fix, but I'm apparently a little slow.  Fish on, John.

Actually you can use the side running ones to you're advantage. Try paralleling them to shorelines. I have had the same issues, once you catch a few fish on them they tend to run diff. nothing you can do but adapt their use.

double bladed white/chart got a 19.5 in. smallie just under 4lbs. not a high percentage bait for me tho. its just not in the strike zone long enough. i like the poppin frogs better. good luck.