While you can use a buzzbait in water that is as calm as a plate of glass, it most often works better when there's a bit of wind or small wave action that obscures the view the bass get of this big, clanking, clicking, churning lure. It won't often produce as well in midday as it does at first light or the last half-hour of the day, but some anglers will throw it all day long when conditions are right. An overcast day with a bit of breeze to ruffle the surface is a great time to stick with the buzzbait from start to finish.

While most buzzbaits are much the same -- a spinnerbait-style leadhead and a big hook at the rear, and a long wire shaft bent to position the large blade or wing well above the main wire shaft -- you can also find in-line designs, and ones with the weight suspended below the body. There are also twin designs featuring two sets of blades on separate wire forms side by side at the front. All these odd designs are meant to do the same thing -- make as much noise and surface disturbance as possible. Typical weight for a buzzbait is a half-ounce, but you can get 3/8-, 1/4- and even tiny 1/8-ounce buzzers. Each has its uses.

PUTTING IT TO USE
Oakie Vaughan, a long-time competitor on Western bass circuits, notes that the buzzbait is a fish finder. He also refers to the buzzbait as a lure you need to trust, in order to fish it properly. "It's a bait you have to have confidence in," Vaughan said. "Sometimes I will throw it all day long in a tournament, even when I am not catching fish right away. It's a great searching lure for covering a lot of water looking for aggressive fish."

Vaughan lives in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and fishes a lot on the big Colorado River reservoirs. His home water, Lake Havasu, has in recent years become a prime smallmouth water. While most anglers regard smallmouth as a fish of rivers, it seems right at home in Havasu, a large and fairly shallow water. While most anglers automatically think of buzzbait fishing as something you do for largemouth bass, the smallmouth in Havasu (and most other waters) seem to like it just fine. Vaughan says he likes to fish the shore edge and in the back of the many big coves on Lake Havasu, fishing primarily over shallow water.

"I like to throw a half-ounce buzzbait to get distance," Vaughan said, "and sometimes I will drop down to a 1/4-ounce buzzer over weeds. You can basically throw a buzzbait from March to November on these big desert lakes. I think it is a good lure any time the water temp is above 65 degrees. It's a very versatile lure that can be used in and over a lot of structure. You don't have to have weed beds to fish around."

Manny Freire, a fishing guide in Southern California who often guides anglers on Big Bear Lake -- a high-altitude water that often freezes in winter -- thinks you can employ the buzzbait on bass in colder water. The bass in Big Bear Lake are primarily northern-strain fish that seem better suited to feed early when water temps have just nudged the 50-degree mark.