Anatomy of a Buzz bait-

[DDSBYDAY]

   I really never gave these much thought.  Buzz baits rock!!  If you have not tried these you should start.  I can't think of any other bait I have thrown where a small pike launched so hard at a bait he was a good 6-8 inches tail out of the water.  He was so airborne I thought I might snag him when he landed.    His timing was a little off because he never even touched the bait.  

    Tips for fishing them.

   Keep them moving. - as soon as the thing hits the water raise your rod tip up and start cranking.  Going in with a low trajectory helps.  Shoot for a minimal splash and get it going. Try not to let it sink at all.

  Last tip is do not give up on it at the boat.  My very first cast with my first hand made buzz bait still gives me night mares.  I could see the large mouth's eyes looking at me as I pulled the buzzer out of his mouth in panic.

    What to look for in a quality buzz bait--

    1.  There should be a bead before the blade.  If not the blade can get into the R bend and    hang up and jam up your blade.
    2.  Squeak, scream, and squeal are good.  The louder the better.  
    3.  If the back rivet is not fixed tight to the wire shaft, pinch it down with a wire cutters.  The water pushes the blade against the rivet kicking out some squeal. (this is good)
    3.  Why do these work?    -Catch a red squirrel in a live trap and toss him in the water.  You will see what a reaction strike is.    You can't get these moving too fast

[whiteoakbuck]

  i use them a lot hands down the best bass lure ever made

[HD]

They work very well for pike too!

And for beginer's fishing these lures, it's often better to not watch the lure while retrieving. This reduces the "knee jerk" reaction of pulling the lure away from the fish before it strikes. Once you get the hang of it, they work very well and can be watched while retrieving. Then, you can work on other techniques such as speed and slow rolling.

[Bobby Bass]

Like every lure out there every fishermen has a different way of fishing a lure. I always have a buzz bait ready to go in the boat and like many lures I have on board I have a rod setup just for that lure. I prefer white triple blade buzz baits, the triple blades keep the lure up on top of the water better then a double blade. I have a 7' flipping stick with a high speed bait casting reel and 50 pound power pro line. When making long cast into heavy pads or reeds I extend my arms outwards and when the lure hits the water I raise the rod tip and pull my arms back at the same time. This lets me get the buzz buzzing right from the get go and does not allow the lure to sink at all and get snagged in weeds. As you are making your first few reel turns you lower the rod tip back into a hook setting angle and then work the lure back to the boat.

Burning the lure back to the boat is one way of working buzz baits but with the rod tip up high and a high speed reel you can also just slowly work the buzz back staying on top and keeping the lure working good water longer. Heavy line for thick cover is almost a must and the long rod helps you keep your line up and out of the water and the flipping stick gives you plenty of back bone for hook sets and to winch bass and northern from the slop. Now having said that many a fish has been caught on spinning tackle with smaller buzz baits but I am looking for the big girls.

I prefer big trailers on my buzz baits, white being a favorite and the last few years I have been using paddle tails as trailers. I do have a friend who just uses six inch worms for trailers and he does well, but he is also fishing the smaller buzz baits. I toss buzz baits from opener till late October and I am sometimes surprised by when and where fish hit them. I would not go so far to say it is the best bass bait but it is a lure you should learn to fish and when the buzz bite is on it is better to be catching then watching.

[wildlifeminnesota]

I always keep them on hand, if the fish are hitting on the top of the water, they work well.