http://www.pdbmagazine.com Pontoon & Deck Boat July (^201717)
put us out of our misery. We were burnt-out on buzzbaits, and my wife Maria and I
spent the balance of the week on our own, blissfully chasing medium-size pike and
fat walleyes and getting engaged on a remote beach during shore lunch.
My next buzzed experience was using the baits to catch mid-summer bass, and
I had a ball. Using the lures as sub-surface attractors by retrieving them just fast
enough to create a vee on the water’s surface above, bass would appear out of the
dense weeds below to attack the gaudy hardware. Sometimes the fish would hit
with enough energy to break the surface and tailwalk after the strike; other times the
largemouth would swim up and inhale the bladed skirts with a dramatic flare of the
gills. After dark we’d cast the buzzers into the darkness and retrieve them fast enough
to hear the blades’ chatter all the way back to the boat—a commute often interrupted
by the sound of a dog falling out of a boat and a frantic fight to bring the bass to the
net. We learned that a steady retrieve was key to night fishing the buzzbaits, which
we assumed gave the bass time to home in on and accurately hit the lures, using
sound and vibration rather than sight.
I still prefer to fish buzzbaits during the day, when I can see the lure and the
attention it attracts from the bass crowd. It’s especially fun to cast them from the
higher bow of a pontoon boat or deck boat, where the angle allows me to see the
lure and watch the water beneath it. I will slow the retrieve when the bait is passing
over a deep spot in the weeds to allow it to sink a bit, and then bump the retrieve
up a bit to whisk the lure upward in the water column. That sudden change of speed
and direction often triggers a response from a lethargic summer bass that might
otherwise go unseen. It’s also a deadly tactic in coastal shallows for redfish—which
are pushovers for buzzbaits. Sea trout, too, will find a buzzbait attractive in the same
waters, as will the occasional snook. But for summer bass, there’s something about
tossing a buzzbait to bring fish to the boat.
I don’t target bass every summer fishing trip, but when I do, I start with a
buzzbait. At least until the fish show me they prefer something else.
I like the Ventura for its fishing features forward and, in the case of tossing buzzbaits,
the elevation off the water when standing on the bow casting deck to allow you to watch
the lure being retrieved just under the surface and the attention it attracts from bass and
other gamefish below. The bow is broad enough to accommodate two fishing pedestals, so
you and a buddy can stand side by side to enjoy the action, and have a large livewell for
the catch underfoot. Notable fishing options include underwater fishing lights, a 12-volt
or 24-volt bow trolling motor plug and receptacle, fish finder, a 20-gallon, 44-inch-
long aerated livewell and rod storage located inside a lockable compartment capable of
containing rods up to seven feet long. The balance of the boat is comfortable for non-
fishing passengers and cruising fun ’tween fishing stops.
Specs
Length: 22’ 2” Beam: 8’ Weight: 2,250 lbs.
Fuel Capacity: 46 gallons
Passenger/Weight Capacities: 12/2,363 lbs.
Engine Capacity: 200hp
http://www.princecraft.com
Tips for the angler
Princecraft Ventura 222 Dan’s Pick
Not only bass, but also pike and muskies
are pushovers for a properly presented
buzzbait.
Big summer bucketmouths are suckers
for buzzbaits dragged over and around
weed beds both day and night.
sean pound
(Sean Pound)
#1