Buzzbaits
Advanced Top Water
by: Chad T. Keogh (Badchad)
When fishing my buzzbait, I always add a stinger hook. Unlike most anglers though, I use a #6 Mustad Triple Grip treble hook when fishing fairly open water.
If the bass short-strikes and gets only the Triple Grip, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to throw the hook. If he gets the main hook and the treble, he’s NOT getting off. When I’m working the lure around dense weeds, I use the traditional Mustad 3/0 Pro-Stinger Trailer hook, so I can catch more bass than vegetation.
To become a better buzzbaiter, you must concentrate on two key areas of your technique. The first is to master having the lure be in forward motion the instant it touches the water.
I accomplish this by slowly stopping the spool of my baitcaster with my thumb near the end of the cast and quickly engage the reel a split second before the Buzzer’d hits the water. This way the buzzbait is immediately spluttering along, instead of spending the first two feet of the retrieve under water.
The second area you must master is being able to retrieve the buzzbait as slow as possible while still staying on the surface. The key to achieving this is to hold the rod tip fairly high. I hold mine between the 10 and 11 o’clock position while I slowly crank my baitcaster.
The fact that you can’t get a good hook set from this position is irrelevant because you want to drop your rod tip when you get a strike. You then quickly reel up the slack, feel for the pressure of the fish on the line and pull back hard. Trying to set the hook to quickly is a common error with beginners, which usually results in an empty buzzbait flying back at their heads at Mach 1.
