Buzz Baits

At approximately what water temperature are you more or less wasting your time throwing a buzzbait? Thank you!!!

[Rob Mak]

any thing under 50 normally. but if i see bass busting shad on top. i am throwing it if it is 5 below and a 40+mph cross wind.


zooker

[fredhatch]

I cant go with firsthand knowledge here but Im guessing as the water temp drops below 50 and the fish start becoming less aggresive a buzzbaitwill not draw the strikes like they do in warm water. Wheeew sorry forgot the period. As the water temp drops the fish are more likely to grab something out of opportunity then to actively pursue a meal. Hopefully the others that fish the cold water regularly can share some light on this for you. Heck I could be completely off base. 8)

Also join in and become a member, more likely to gain some opinions as a member vs. guest status.

[Rich]

I'll go 10 more than Zooker-I quit throwing one when the water hits about 60.

[macgyver]

[quote author=Rebbasser link=board=news;num=1101771757;start=0#3 date=11/29/04 at 23:02:49]I'll go 10 more than Zooker-I quit throwing one when the water hits about 60.[/quote]


I would say that both zooker and Rebasser are both correct. However Rebasser is in Texas, while Zooker is in NC. So I would say it depends on where you are fishing and what the normal temps are there. I've caught bass at 51 degree water temp in Indiana, but they were few and far between. For me it's probaly more like 55-60 degrees also. It's never a waste to throw any lure, it just teaches more of what will and won't work for your area. You might just stumble on the Great Bait for that time.

Lizards

[james33]

I'm with Lizards. I've caught them on buzzbaits in the lower 50's. You just got to catch them up shallow. Most of the time at the lower 50 and below the fish seem to hang out in a little deeper water.

[BassNva]

the water temp here was 47.8 and i was throwing chartreuse buzzbaits.didn't catch anything.i just thought the conditions were right.the lake was about 2 ft above normal from all the rain,very muddy for the most part.i went up into where the creek feeds the lake hoping the bass professor was right.apparently he doesn't fish jersey much.
hey...it was worth a shot.

[catfishtonyd]

I think somewhere between 50-60 or so is about right, but it depends on the conditions of course. Water that is 60 degrees and cooling is not the same conditon as water that is 60 degrees and warming.

In my experience I don't throw topwater until the water is warm. (70+) There are just more effecient baits to use to waste time on something they "might" hit.

Cold water is tough. Muddy water is tough. Cold, muddy water is the worst.

[Rob Mak]

cajun
cold water is tough no question.
muddy water-is fairly easy if ya fish it a bunch.
cold and muddy is no tougher than cold water.
the colder it gets the tougher it gets.


zooker

[nicholastown]

Buzzbaits are a great lure. I mean, they take little effort to throw, even less effort to retrieve, and provides for some of the most awsome strikes. Unfortunately, these baits are only effective during certain times of the year, and even then only accounts for a very small number of strikes. At certain times this can be the most exciting bait you can throw, and at others you are pissing in the wind. I say you are pissing in the wind at anything other than 65 degrees, and even then you are pushing it. Yes you might throw one at 55 degrees and catch a fish or two, but other baits would out produce it by far. A buzzbait doesn't really start to catch numbers of fish until you reach that 65 degree mark. I know there are people out there that swear up and down they have wore them out at 40 degrees, well, stranger things have happened, but to catch good numbers of fish, consistently on a buzzbait, the water needs to be pretty warm. Good fishing.

[catfishtonyd]

I don't think water clarity is usually an issue unless it's changing. (getting muddy) If it gets muddy and stays muddy it's not really a factor. If it's is getting muddy it will put fish off for a while, but it's not a real killer, especially if the body of water muddies off and on all the time like most rivers do. If a clear lake goes muddy it seems to cause a shutdown until the fish adapt to it.

Zook, I don't think cold clear water is as tough a cold muddy water. I think the more conditions you have against you, the harder it is.

And by cold water I mean under say 50 degrees or so. At least around here. I think the coldest water I've ever caught a bass in was 49, but I don't fish anything much colder than that. We've got a big gravel pit with a hot water discharge from a power plant that I fish mostly in the winter, and it never gets much below 55 all year.