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16 Pontoon^ & Deck Boat July^2017 http://www.pdbmagazine.com

No, this has nothing to do with the optional accessory holder offered

by the Picnic Pontoon I reviewed in the April issue, but everything to do

with a deadly lure for Dog Days fishing that resembles nothing known

to nature. I have little confidence in the bladed wire contraptions that

don’t resemble anything that swims that could be considered a meal

for a fish, and actually look more like something I’d thrash around in

the water to scare them off. And thrash is what you do a lot of the time

when fishing a buzzbait, at least on the surface. You beat the water to a

froth around the boat and just when your arm’s about to fall off and

you swear it’s the last cast with the gaudy bait when the hardware

disappears in the maw of a bruiser bass or giant pike that pounces on

the offering and all bets are off.

Buzzbaits are a lure category that has been popular among

largemouth anglers since the late ‘70s when bass pro Rick Clunn tore up

the tournament trail using a Lunker Lure, one of the first buzzbait-types

available commercially. Earlier buzz-type lures included one called the

“Oriental Wiggler” offered by Al Foss back in 1918, but today’s buzzbaits

are a far cry from the original namesakes.

As with crankbaits versus jerkbaits, I still get buzzbaits mixed up

with spinnerbaits—and some people use the terms interchangeably. The

difference is the baits with the buzz are meant more for topwater work

(some actually have a buoyant body that allows the lure to float) and

feature a large blade that revolves around a shaft. Spinnerbaits’ blades

trail behind swivels, but they are so similar in design and use that most

fishermen don’t know the difference.

Buzzbaits may feature a single shaft with a blade revolving in front

of a body, sort of like a giant spinner. These are the models that may

float—or come with a heavy, spoon-shaped body that sinks. Safety-pin-

style buzzbaits offer a vee-shaped shaft, with the hook and body on the

lower arm and the spinner on the shaft above. Some feature two upper

arms and blades, which allow the buzzbait to stay high in the water

during slower retrieve rates.

I was introduced to the former, deep-running buzzers on a trip

to a famous fishing lodge in Northern Ontario. The outfitter wanted us to

catch the biggest pike possible in the lake known for producing trophy

northerns, and paired us with a fishing guide who carried nothing but

big-bodied buzzbaits and insisted that we cast them hour after hour.

“Nothing but a huge pike will bite one of these,” he bragged, and

was correct. Just as our arms were about to leave their sockets from

randomly tossing the bulky lures, a 53-incher smacked our host’s bait and

Tackle Box

By Dan Armitage

Buzzbaits are offered with

multiple blades, which create

more vibration and resistance to

keep the lure high in the water

column at slower

retrieve speeds.

Safety-pin style buzzbaits (below) offer

blades on wires separate from a standard

shaft, and can be fished deep or shallow.