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When to be loud and when to tone it down

There’s a time to be noisy and a time to be subtle when fishing for bass. Photo by Seigo Saito

The Bassmaster Elite Series pros know when it pays to be loud and boisterous with a lure and when it’s better to offer a light and quiet presentation. Take the buzzbait, for example. Elite Series pro Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., prefers a clacker-style buzzer during the prespawn and spawning phases.

This is when Montgomery targets shallow cover with a heavy emphasis on laydowns, stumps and other wooden bass lairs. He frequently bumps the buzzbait into the wood, which riles the bass and often triggers a strike.

“I can fish a clacking buzzbait slower than one that doesn’t clack,” Montgomery said. “And it will catch bass in muddy water. That’s pretty common in the spring.”