Buzzbait colors

[rodnreel]

So with the buzzbait bite picking up here I have been wondering about what colors would be best during certain conditions. I was reading the May issue of Bassmaster magazine last night and came across an article that interviewed Gerald Swindle about this very thing. Part of it mentioned that he likes to use small buzzbaits (1/8 to 1/4 oz.) this time of year around spawning flats. He also stated that he likes to use white for cloudy, low light conditions and black for bright sunny days. Isn't this opposite from conventional topwater thinking? I could almost swear that you were supposed to use white on the bright days and darker colors on cloudy days...can someone clarify this for me? Thanks!

[walkeraviator]

Definitely different than anything i was ever taught... i use Black/Red (bleeding buzz bait from strike king) at night, in the early morning and when it is REALLY cloudy. When the sun is high or a thin overcast(my favorite is the thin overcast) i throw a white bleeding buzzer from SK... then if the water is a little stained ill throw a chartreuse homemade buzzer with a clacker on it...all of them are 3/8oz... i do have 1 tiny 1/8 oz white buzzer i use in ponds and when teh fish seem a little skittish...

i will say that i usually dont throw any surface baits once the sun is high in the sky.. say 10 am...until the fall topwater season when they go up in 2ft of water all damn day...

[cassidyta]

I usually don't give a whole lot of thought ot buzz bait colors. Since the bait is always moving at a steady pace, I don't know that color makes a big difference. I really only use two colors, black and white. I have usually thrown black at night and white during the day, but have caught fish on both at both times as well. If I am bringing the bait across grasses.

[Jim80]

All I use are black and white ones never thought to get diff colors



Jim

[BassFeverJohn]

I have only ever used a black buzzbait. Never seen a need to use any other color, the fish don't seem to care. At least not around here.

[BigBassin144]

I only use three, well sort of four, different colored buzzbaits. White, Black, and chartreuse. The reason a say sort of four is I really like Booyah's Citreuse color and will use it instead of a normal chartreuse one sometimes.

BB

[CamG]

I use black buzzbaits 90% of the time, and white and chartreuse the other 10%.

I agree with what was mentioned...I really don't think it matters much.

[Backwater Charlie]

I find myself buying Chartreuse Buzzbaits for no apparent reason.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by CamG

I use black buzzbaits 90% of the time, and white and chartreuse the other 10%.

I agree with what was mentioned...I really don't think it matters much.

Same here. I will use white if I see a lot of shad activity.

[zooker]

it don't matter what color ya use. i use white all the time.. you are working it in the lowest light times available.. just put on a trailer hook and it's chunk and wine time...




nuff said

zooker

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by zooker

it don't matter what color ya use. i use white all the time.. you are working it in the lowest light times available.. just put on a trailer hook and it's chunk and wine time...

Sometimes a buzzbait bite will last long after low light conditions are gone. I have been catching fish on buzzbaits well past noon here lately, and although the sun wasn't really shining bright it wasn't really low light conditions either.

[walkeraviator]

Yeha in the fall, they will hit buzzbaits all day long...

[rodnreel]

Well it sounds like I'll have to pick up a black buzzbait to go along with the white one I use 100% of the time. I'll do some more experimenting with white/black over the next couple of weeks and see if the fish really care when it's sunny or low light. Thanks for the advice!

[gottafish]

Definitely black!!!

[walkeraviator]

whats funny to me is that I never even owned a Black Buzzbait til I tried night fishing one 10 years ago...

[CamG]

Originally Posted by walkeraviator

Yeha in the fall, they will hit buzzbaits all day long...

They will hit buzzbaits all day long if the conditions are right...not just in the fall.

[walkeraviator]

Ive never seen it that way here... they may hit topwater during low light conditions in the morning and evening, but at noon, it can be solid overcast, and they will still go down to 15ft of water...

[BassAddict]

I throw black almost 100% of the time and I'll throw it all day even if it's sunny. Love throwing it around grass beds and lily pads on sunny days.

[rodnreel]

Unfortunately, I don't have any grass or lily pads on the lake I fish. It's either a rip rap shoreline or a boat dock. There are also a few spots where there are some laydowns and big Christmas trees that people have disposed of when the water level drops in the winter. But mainly, I've had all my luck with a buzzbait casting and retrieving parallel to the rip rap shorelines. I'm still itching to give black a try. I picked up a Cavitron from the local Dick's Sporting Goods. Hopefully I can get out and use it this weekend.

[jslager]

All of my big buzzbait fish have been on dark colors. Black or my "bama bug" skirts I made(black/watermelon/junebug)

[rodnreel]

Put the new black buzzbait to good use this weekend. Fished a lot on Saturday and was able to catch 4 largemouth. The weather was 85 degrees and very overcast. There was almost no wind. I think the overcast conditions helped make it a productive day for the black color. I also went out yesterday and was able to catch 6 more largemouth. The weather was a bit more clear, with partial clouds and the temps were down into the mid 70's all day. I used the white buzzbait yesterday and the first fish of the day was a 3 lber. All of the others caught were dinks. Once I was happy to have some fish in the boat, I switched to black. I was able to get only 1 strike and I missed. Fortunately, I went back in with a T-rigged worm and got him to bite, but other than that the black buzzbait did not produce.

So in comparison the white buzzbait did well on the sunnier day while the black produced well on the overcast day, which was my conventional thought on which color to use during those conditions. I'm really just glad I had a good weekend of catching fish and it was a fun little experiment. Hopefully it can be of some use to our fellow forum members. I'll post a few pics up in the Bragging section.

[lilmule]

One very hot aug day in a T my boat pard had gone up to some flats near the dam on the ohio river and at 11.35 I caught a 4 lb 8 oz smallie,on one of my homemade white buzzbaits,later caught a short at 1pm,and a three pd largie that came unglued,that one fish netted me 789 dollars .
I use them all day long at times,not only on top but underwwater like a spinnerbait.
And yes mine work that way as well.

[rodnreel]

That's a cool looking lure. And definitely a very nice fish for the Ohio river. It's funny you mentioned working the buzzbait like a spinnerbait because I had something similar happen to me this weekend. I cast to shore and before I started my retrieve I was messing with something on the graph up front. A few seconds later I started bringing the buzzbait to the surface and it got attacked by a decent bass. I always wondered about keeping a buzzbait under water, as the blade probably makes a very unusual vibration.

[lilmule]

That is what happened to me many years ago,I spent the rest of the day attempting to do it again,then when I got home decided to make one better suited for that.
The smaller delta blades almost disappear one sees flash off the bends and not all at the same time,looks like a three bladed bait in the water.Thats the 1/2 size,the smaller 3/8 works when a spinnerbait does not,havnt a clue why,same with chatterbaits here on ky lake they often work when a spinnerbait doesnt.
It has a stan sloan sort of drop bend that works well on the fall.
One of the smaller earlier versions.Ive made them down to 1/8 and all the way up to 3/4,given up on the small ones as caught to many very short bass.
[IMG][/IMG]
All those im making now are with a clip on rear blade easily changed just like a secret weapon spinnerbait or buzzbait.

[geezer1]

Hey Mule...I like that double blade, opposite direction, setup you've got. Lots of commotion with little effort.