The first time I fished a buzzbait, I knew it would work. So I was surprised when it went untouched for the next 20 casts. It seemed to have all the ingredients—soft, plopping sound on the surface, wiggling skirt, flashing blades. Moreover, the unusual lure seemed guaranteed to arouse the curious and aggressive nature of a bigmouth bass.

Fortunately, I didn’t let my initial disappointment squelch my interest in the bait, an old Harkins Lunker Lure. I kept trying it. One evening it happened—I caught a big bass on almost every cast in a small oxbow lake, fishing over weed pockets and lily pads.

I later learned that this lesson is a common one. It’s hard to predict when buzzers work best. At times, I’ve considered conditions and thought, “Okay, they should really eat a buzzbait today,” then am forced to admit defeat after an hour or two.

Conversely, I’ve spent the day dredging the depths with finesse baits, only to learn that other anglers had enjoyed a blistering buzzbait bite nearby. One thing that’s predictable, however, is that a buzzbait bite is a big-bass bite, which makes it well worth searching for.

Top-ranked Texas pro Alton Jones, known for his versatility, comments: “The buzzer is a bait I always carry, though I may go days at a time without throwing it. When it’s right, it’s really right and will outproduce any other lure,” Jones says. “You have to keep trying it to see if the bass are in a buzzbait mood. Fortunately, when they’re on it, you won’t have to wait long to find out.”

The Buzzbait Calendar

Most buzzbait fans feel confident once water temperatures approach 60°F in the spring, and until they drop below about 50°F in fall. Around the spawn, most anglers favor slow-moving baits, when targeting bass holding in thick cover or around nesting areas.

Alton Jones notes, however, that a buzzbait can tempt big females that suspend just under the surface in early spring, where they seem to heat themselves in the warmest water available. “These big bass are spooky, and once you see one, she’s usually gone. Make long casts with a small buzzbait and work it slowly over open spots in shallow bays. It won’t be a jarring strike, but the bait will just disappear in a swirl.”

Jones notes one other spring situation when buzzbaits shine: “This scenario usually occurs in southern waters when a spring hot spell quickly raises the water temperature into the 70°F range in the middle of the spawn. Again, you’re fishing for spooky females. You can catch them by running buzzbaits over grassy flats, both submergent vegetation like hydrilla and milfoil and emergent plants like Potamogeton, needle grass, pepper grass, and alligator weed.”

During summer, most anglers fish deeper structure or weededges, or target shallow cover with jigs and soft plastics. A morning topwater bite offers a chance for a big fish on a buzzer. But Bill Berry, an aspiring pro angler from Indiana, often sticks to a buzzbait during the heat of a summer day. “In the midwestern lakes we fish, I often pick up my buzzbait rod in the morning and don’t put it down till it’s time for the weigh-in,” Berry states. ”Some folks forget that the Illinois-Indiana region is the original home of the buzzbait, and from there its popularity spread to the southeast.