Buzzbait

Category: Techniques

A buzzbait is a surface lure featuring a wire frame with a rotating blade on the upper arm and a skirted jig head on the lower arm. When retrieved, the blade churns the surface creating a distinctive gurgling, clacking sound and a bubble trail that attracts bass from long distances through both visual disturbance and vibration. Unlike other topwater baits that are worked with rod tip action (walk-the-dog, popping), buzzbaits are steady-retrieve lures — cast them out and reel them back at a speed that keeps the blade breaking the surface. The key is to begin the retrieve before the bait hits the water (start reeling during the cast's descent) so the blade is churning on contact. Buzzbaits excel in low-light conditions — dawn, dusk, night, heavy overcast — and around shallow cover like grass edges, laydowns, lily pads, and dock lines. They are excellent search baits for locating active fish quickly, covering water almost as fast as a spinnerbait but with the added explosive visual of a surface strike. Trailer hooks (a free-swinging hook added to the main hook) dramatically improve hookup ratios, which are the buzzbait's primary weakness — bass frequently miss the lure on the initial strike. Most strikes come from directly behind the bait, so a trailer hook extending past the skirt catches short-striking fish.