It is no secret that fishing a buzzbait is a great way to generate huge bass bites throughout the year. However, in the spring, you can do a few things to put a few more springtime studs into the boat. Greg Hackney shares four tips for buzzbait fishing spawning bass in the spring.
Tips:
- Bend Wire for Clacking Sound
- Use Straight Braid.
- Pull Bait into the Wind.
- Match Toad Size and Color to the Conditions and Retrieve Speed.
Featured Product:
- Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Gurgle Toad Jr, Black
- Single Prop Buzzbaits at Tackle Warehouse
- Lew’s BB1 Pro Speed Spool,7.1:1
- Lew’s Hack Attack Casting Rod, 7’2″ Medium Heavy
- Strike King Tour Grade Braid Green Braided Line, 50lb
1.)Bend Wire for Clacking Sound
You can find a buzzbait on Hackney’s deck most of the year, but it isn’t always a clacking buzzbait. When it gets to the point in the spring, where the fish are in a spawning mood, Hackney will bend the wire of his buzzbait so that the blade makes contact with the head, creating a clacking sound. Hackney feels this generates more of a defensive bite instead of an offensive bite while the females are in a spawning situation. He will forgo a clacking buzzbait most of the time, but he feels it generates more bites from the big females during the spring spawn.
2.)Use Straight Braid.
Since the clacking buzzbait generates a defensive bite, Hackney prefers using straight braid instead of fluorocarbon. He feels he gets a better hook-up ratio using braid because it doesn’t stretch like a fluorocarbon. He will use fluorocarbon when the fish are in more of an offensive mood since the fish are trying to eat the bait instead of just slapping at it to get it out of the way. The cover in which he is fishing also plays a role in his line selection. He prefers the braided line over the fluorocarbon since he is usually fishing around thicker grass and other covers during the spawn.
3.)Pull Bait into the Wind.
When faced with windy conditions, Greg prefers to fish a buzzbait into the wind. More water pushes onto the blade by pulling the bait into the waves, generating the ideal sound. Another advantage to fishing his bait into the wind is that his bait will better ride over the top of the waves. If fishing with the waves, the waves will overtake the lure and pull it under the wave.
4.)Match Toad Size and Color to the Conditions and Retrieve Speed.
Hackney always fishes a toad on the back of his buzzbait. He lets the fish determine the size and color of his toad. A good starting point to deciding bait size is your water clarity. When fishing dirty water, your retrieve will be slower, so using a bigger toad will allow you to slow your retrieve speed down, and when faced with clearer water, you will want to increase your retrieve speed, so downsizing your toad will help you do that. If you are missing fish, experiment with your color, and then increase your retrieve speed. If the fish is missing the bait, they see the bait too well. So by increasing your retrieve speed, they will be forced to commit to the bait.
