Posted by dodgeguy on 2002 AM:

buzzbaits at night in october!!!

went on titicus last nught with mike from work.being that a nor-easter just came through we thought we might get skunked last night.i started off with a 2.5lb. largemouth on a senko in shallow water but then it got dark and the senko bite was gone.mike decide to trhow a buzzbait and i was throwing a spinnerbait.after the 3rd blowup on his buzzbait and nothing on my spinnerbait,i tied one on also.before i could get mine on,mike actually hooks one and gets it in the boat.a nice`2.9 lb largemouth.i start casting and bam,after a nice fight a 3lb.largemouth is in the boat!!!i can't believe this!!!all year long i can't catch a buzzbait fish and now in october after a front they are slamming buzzbaits!!!this is senseless but i'll do it anyway!!!we managed another 2 fish each and then got rained out.just goes to show you that sometimes the absurd can work!!!

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Posted by JOHN G on 2002 AM:

way to go Dodge, keep hitting that Titicus....Hugefish has also been still throwing buzzbaits and other topwaters and scoring fish.....great report.... JOHN G

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Posted by HugeFish4 on 2002 AM:

Shhhhhhhhhhhh! It is much too cold for buzzbaits. LOL!

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Posted by Seth V on 2002 AM:

Way to go Dodge! Just goes to show, somewhere, somehow the fish will bite. Nice job figgerin' em out!

I remember a BASS Tx on Grand Lake in Oklahoma that was won, in January, with Buzzbaits. Go figure....

Seth V

Posted by Pete L on 2002 PM:

Dodge - Its way too cold to throw buzzbaits.. Therefore --- The 3 i landed and 6 i missed this morning didn`t happen. By the way , they didn`t happen over weeds in shallow water along the shore at Croton within about a 200 yd stretch!!!.

Pete

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Posted by Rob J in WNY on 2002 PM:

Buzzbait bass in October - after a front. Go figure!

Nice job, guys!

Tight Lines...

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Posted by Travis on 2002 PM:

nothing suprising here guys. You green bass types would do well to have a buzz tied on from early post spawn to ice up. Trust me.

Larry Nixon didn't win the classic way back when in low 40 degree water temps on a buzz either.....

T

Posted by Pete L on 2002 PM:

Travis - Your right about keeping one on. I`ve caught bass and pick`s in late nov , over weedbeds in august at midday and in the eve. Seems like there are always a few bass aggressive enough to slam one. also , makes a great search bait.

Pete

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Posted by HugeFish4 on 2002 PM:

Travis, you wouldn't want to throw surface lures when the water temps fall below 62 would you??? LOL!

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Posted by commuter on 2002 PM:

Just keep telling us what doesn't work guys so i don't waste my time trying it. LOL
I'm thinking buzzbaits this Sunday Oct 27 on Whaley Lake it may be a possibility not sure yet?
Any u guys interested?
Bill

Posted by Travis on 2002 PM:

I classify the buzz with a crank and a blade.....horizontal search only. Once found there are better methods given that those greenies found aren't scattered but consolidated. jmo

T

Posted by DynamicD on 2002 PM:

Dodge- I am interested in how late did you fish? Was the sun completely down?

How is the night topwater bite this late in the year (buzzbait or otherwise)? I threw a Zara spook out 4 days ago and got a four bass on it at Greenwood, but I didn't get to fish at night. In fact that was the latest in the year I had ever caught a Bass on a topwater bait.

Posted by Bassin Dude on 2002 AM:

I find this thread interesting in that many folks chimed in with either amazement or confirmation that buzzbaits work this late in the year but nobody ventured to guess why or to more importantly, ask why. One can see by Travis's post that he was inviting someone to ask him why but it seems that nobody really wants to know the reason.

I don't mean this as any disrespect for anyone here but this is a golden opportunity to learn a bit about fall bass behavior and I hate to see it be an opportunity wasted.

I know Travis knows the reasons why a buzzbait can be effective this time of year. Before he or I chime in, let's hear other anglers ideas why this is an effective presentation.

Posted Monday, Oct. 21, 6:20am

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Posted by Pete L on 2002 AM:

Because it looks and sounds like bait fish dying off???

If i`m right , do i get a star????

Pete

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Posted by Bassin Dude on 2002 AM:

Why buzzbaits work well in the fall on Largemouth Bass...

Most of the critters in a lake spawn in shallower water. Hence, the predator Largemouth Bass often relates to shallow shoreline cover and shallow structure to take advantage of the food sources that frequent the shallows to spawn. However, in the fall, most of the aquatic animals in a lake biome have spawned therefore the bass will typically vacate it's shallow shoreline cover and structure and reposition in order to exploit the lake's food sources. On many lakes and reservoirs, this food source is a type of pelagic baitfish. Largemouth will typically position at areas in the water that offer an increased opportunity to feed on these baitfish. Schools of baitfish move through open water feeding on zooplankton. Generally, the bass would expend too much energy chasing these schools about so the bass will usually position near structure that would tend to compress the baitfish school, hence making it more vulnerable to attack. A pinch-down area of a lake or an underwater hump are good examples of where a bass may be positioned to efficiently feed on a school of baitfish happening by.

When a largemouth bass is feeding in this manner, it tends to become what I call "zone-locked". The bass are looking for a school of fish near the surface therefore their senses are tuned to this zone of the lake. A buzzbait going by triggers a bass as a school of bait would therefore the bass strikes.

Posted by HugeFish4 on 2002 AM:

Dude, personally, the bass I have caught on buzzbaits this fall are in "nutrient rich" lakes in water less than 3 feet, not on any offshore hump. Sometimes we all think too much.

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Posted by Bassin Dude on 2002 AM:

Hmmm... I don't remember ever saying "offshore".

The two examples I gave: Underwater hump and pinch-down area are only two examples of perhaps hundreds of areas where a bass may relate. I didn't imply that they were the ONLY two areas.

Also, I never said anything about water depth.

Every lake is unique in it's own way. That's why I specifically DIDN'T mention water depth.

In my opinion, some anglers GUESS too much and don't THINK enough.

Posted by HugeFish4 on 2002 AM:

Tony, true, you did not mention "deeper" water. However, maybe it is just me, but the whole flow of your explanation/theory implied "deeper" water in my mind. If I misunderstood, I apologize.

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Posted by dodgeguy on 2002 PM:

dynamic,the sun was completely down and it was pitch black out.by 8:30 we were rained out.

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Posted by DynamicD on 2002 AM:

Dodge,

That is great, it really might get me out there night fishing sometime soon. I have always wanted to try it, last week would have been perfect with the full moon. I think this latest cold front may have ended the Buzzbait bash that some of the guys on the site were experiencing.

DynamicD

Posted by CUS on 2002 AM:

Buzzers Work On Oneida/Seneca River

Just wanted you to know that Buzz Baits work on Oneida and Seneca Rivers up through the end of the season. Although after the middle of November the action slows down (can still catch, just not as hot). Buzzer tends to catch some quality fish in the fall.

Best buzzer this time of year (my opinion) is a cheap 3 blade Strike King (no clacker blades) fished slow enough to just bearly stay on top.

Try to pay attention to the sound the bait is making when you get a bite, then replicate that speed retreive. I believe retrieve speed is a key element so experiment.

Lastly, I like to work shoreline structure (dying/thinning weeds or wood and docks).

If the buzzer bite slows down, try a shallow running crank bait like a Mann's Minus One or Swimmin' Image.

Later,

CUS

Posted by Travis on 2002 PM:

cover or structure ?

T

Posted by CUS on 2002 PM:

Guess I am a Junior Angler... . COVER not structure.... typically on flats 1'-3' depth.

Posted by Travis on 2002 PM:

relax, it was a question not a correction. I don't know the difference between the two.

T

Posted by CUS on 2002 PM:

Well I should know the difference, yet I still find myself refering to cover as structure and vice versa. I typically use structure to define everything. Even when I "should" use cover to describe objects in the water (logs, weeds, docks, etc...).

I've seen structure defined as more typically depth related changes (drop offs, points, humps, etc...).

Figure as long as I say what I'm fishing doesn't really matter what its called.

Just cast to the scattered milfoil and you'll do alright!!

Posted by Travis on 2002 PM:

Welcome aboard.

Trav

Posted by CUS on 2002 PM:

Thanks!!

Posted by JOHN G on 2002 PM:

yes, Welcome Cus, you did well.....the Father of Structure fishing, Buck Perry, coined most of those words, and in his book, Spoonplugging, he explains it very well......the confusion lies in the normal use of some of these words in our language: a dock can certainly be called a structure in normal terms, but to the fisherman, it is just an elaborate piece of cover......as you said, structure in fising refers to changes in bottom depths, which of course, can contain cover on them also.......JOHN G

Posted by Travis on 2002 PM:

John, you're preaching to the choir. Take note that I was only razzing him a bit because I knew who he was. I also knew that he was as aware of the difference between cover/structure as I am. I was breaking in a newbie to the board but someone far from new to fishing.

T

Posted by jofish on 2002 PM:

Re: Buzzers Work On Oneida/Seneca River

Well wood a Jerk bait also trigger a strike?

Posted by CUS on 2002 AM:

Don't see why it wouldn't... typically when I fish Jerk Baits, I'm more of a suspending bait kinda guy. 4'-10' of water with cover (weeds/rock) and structure (deep water access near by). ( THAT WAS FOR YOU TRAVIS. I figured you were playing me like a 6# bass.)

I've never throw it much since I started fishing tournaments, probably because I got ridiculed in my first tournament for throwing it. But I used to catch a lot of fish on the good ole' floating rapala.

I could see a nice twitch, long pause, twitch retreive possibly doing something in and around the scattered milfoil and logs. Definitely represents the shad/shiners the fish are eating.

I'll give it a try this weekend in the blizzard.

cus