It’s summertime, and that always makes me think about one of my favorite ways to catch bass — throwing a buzzbait. Truthfully, I like throwing a buzzbait anytime the water temperature reaches about 50 degrees — whether it’s warming in the spring or cooling down before winter.
If the conditions are right and the lake’s topography sets up correctly, a buzzbait can produce some truly big bites from the prespawn all the way through fall. What I’m looking for is shallow water with relatively flat contours, some type of cover nearby and water that isn’t overly clear. Grass, wood, rocks and docks are all excellent targets. If visibility is 2 feet or less, it’s usually buzzbait time for me.
The buzzbait has played a role in each of my last four events this season. I’ve weighed a lot of fish on one lately because the conditions have lined up perfectly. I caught fish on it at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and the Arkansas River in Oklahoma, and both Lake Murray and Santee Cooper Lake offered plenty of prime buzzbait habitat. At Murray, the patchy grass setup was especially conducive to it.
Let’s talk about tackle for a minute. I believe the rod is one of the most important parts of an effective buzzbait setup. It needs enough power to handle big fish, but it also needs a good parabolic action to absorb strikes and keep fish pinned. That softer action is especially important because I throw my buzzbait on 50-pound-test Sunline Siglon AMZ braided line.
My rod of choice is the 7-foot, 3-inch John Crews Icon Series Swim Jig rod from Cashion Rods. It features a medium-heavy power with a moderate-fast action that’s perfect for buzzbait fishing. I pair it with an 8.1:1 Seviin GX Series reel spooled with Sunline braid. From there, I make the longest cast possible and bring the bait back around cover.
One thing many anglers don’t realize is a lot of buzzbait strikes happen within the first few cranks of the reel handle. Staying off the target and casting beyond it so the bait comes naturally through the strike zone can lead to some explosive bites. When a fish does strike, I strongly recommend using a reel-set as much as possible. Instead of making an aggressive upward hookset, keep reeling and let the fish load the rod. Doing so will dramatically improve your landing percentage.
I love buzzbait fishing so much that Missile Baits recently finished development of the new Buzz Wagon buzzbait. I decided to build this lure because I simply couldn’t find one that offered all the features I wanted in a single package.
In a lot of ways, it’s similar to what Jason Christie did with his Kovert Series spinnerbaits. Jason is one of the best spinnerbait anglers in the world, and he designed a bait that allowed him to do exactly what he wanted. I’ve fished those spinnerbaits, and they’re excellent. That same philosophy guided the design of the Buzz Wagon.
The Buzz Wagon is a toad-toter style buzzbait built around a 3/0 Gamakatsu Flip/Punch hook. The 5/16-ounce model features .051 wire for durability, along with approximately a 1/4-inch turndown that helps the bait run slightly deeper while creating more separation between the hook and blade for improved hookups. We also incorporated a sleeve on the wire that the blade contacts, producing a loud, consistent clunking sound.
I wanted the lure to plane quickly and stay on the surface with minimal effort. To achieve that, all of the blades are anodized, which allows them to maintain color while remaining extremely lightweight. We also added an aluminum cone in front of the blade to improve its ability to come through cover cleanly and increase its weedlessness.
The Buzz Wagon will be available with black, gold, silver and pink blades. It pairs exceptionally well with our Freedom Flyer and Spunk Shad trailers, but it also works great with a Zoom Horny Toad or virtually any other toad-style soft plastic.
When it comes to color selection, I generally choose silver or pink blades when shad are the primary forage. Gold is my favorite when bluegill are present or when I’m fishing tannic, dark tea-colored water like you often find in Florida. Black excels in low-light conditions or around heavy cover when baitfish aren’t a major factor. From there, I match my trailer style and color to the conditions.
The Buzz Wagon is a Missile Baits product, but we partnered with Brazalo Custom Lures during its development and manufacturing. It is now available through the Missile Baits website and throughout our dealer network.
