The spinner-bait and buzz-bait can be properly described as a spring bass angler's complete two-lure arsenal. With them, a fisherman can work shallow and deep water, fish fast or slow, and modify the lures in so many different ways that they're just as effective in thick beds of shallows weeds as they are in standing timber or even bounced like jigs over a rock bar 20 feet down.

Moreover, spinner-baits and buzz-baits can be doctored in so many different ways that they can be adapted to catch spawning and post-spawning bass no matter where or how it may be necessary to tempt them into striking. For example, buzz-baits with large, oversized buzz blades are deadly for quickly covering shallow flats for active, feeding fish; while a heavy spinner-bait with a small single blade is ideal for probing deep water for post-spawn bass.

Big Colorado blades and fine willowleaf ones can alter a spinner-bait's action considerably, too. Different colors and types of skirts can be used to make a spinner-bait more attractive to spring bass. And the addition of a trailer, such as porkrind, a screw-tail worm, or even a natural bait often is the ticket to spawning-season bass success.

But like so many other kinds of fishing, technique frequently is the most important part of catching spring bass with spinner-baits and buzz-baits. It is the way the lure is fished rather than the specific lure itself that often determines if bass strike. And this is precisely why spinner-baits and buzz-baits are such outstanding bass lures. They can be fished so many different ways that normally one type of presentation can be found to score on spring bass whatever the angling situation. The following five methods of fishing these lures are proven spring bass-catching techniques that under the right circumstances will produce more and bigger fish than any other tactic an angler can employ.

Buzzing


"Buzzing" a tandem-blade spinner-bait quickly across the surface is not a new technique, but there have been a lot of innovations in this type of fishing in recent years that gives the tactic some interesting new wrinkles. There also are some refined methods to "buzzing" that frequently produce big spring bass.

Buzzing is basically a warm-water technique, because it's a shallow-water tactic and the lure moves along quickly. It's an excellent way to cover water fast to locate scattered fish, especially big, roe-swollen females. Most bass hit a buzzing spinner-bait out of reflex action, and because most of the time the lure is worked around or through heavy cover, largemouths frequently strike short. For this reason, I'll almost always rig a stinger hook to a spinner-bait that will be buzzed. A large, long-shank, ring-eye hook slipped over the spinner-bait's barb and held secure with a small piece of hard plastic (like that from a coffee can lid) makes an ideal stinger arrangement.

Because a buzzing spinner-bait is on the surface and easy to see, a bass that rolls on the lure but doesn't hit is spotted by the angler and then often can be caught with subsequent casts. A lot of savvy buzz-baiters have a rod nearby rigged with a single-blade spinner-bait. If a bass boils on a buzz-bait but doesn't hit it, often the single-blade spinner-bait cast immediately to the fish produces a hook up.

Buzz-baits are a kind of spinner-bait that have come onto the bass angling scene in a big way over the last decade. Frequently these innovative lures are best for buzzing bass. The "Lunker Lure" probably is the best-known of the buzz-baits, and it's racked up an enviable reputation for taking big bass from the shallows via the buzzing technique.

The typical buzz-bait has a large Z-shaped blade. With very little retrieve speed, the lure rises quickly to the surface and bubbles the water. Some buzz-baits have tandem Z-shaped blades that allow them to be fished at even slower speeds than single-blade buzz-baits while still maintaining their surface churning action. Slow lure speeds and creating a lot of commotion can be important when working for reluctant-to-chase, post-spawn bass.

One of the best styles of slow-retrieve buzz-baits has a flat head, shaped almost like a spoon. The Lindy Tackle "Skitter-Buzz" is one such lure, and it's outstanding when extra-slow retrieves are mandated, or when working very shallow, snag or weed-filled waters.

Speed control is an important consideration when selecting a spinner-bait for buzzing. Slow buzzing speeds are good when fishing the lures around very heavy cover or in murky water, because bass strike out of instinct and often have some difficulty homing in on the lure. Slowly-fished buzz-baits also are best at night, for the same reasons. For ultra-slow buzzing, a tandem-blade buzz-bait or lures like the "Skitter-Buzz" are best. For a bit more speed, and a bit less bubbling of water, a standard, single-blade buzz-bait would suffice.

Standard tandem-blade and even single-blade spinner-baits can be deadly for buzzing, and those lures are especially valuable when more speed must be given to the artificial. Large, tandem Colorado blades cup and catch the most air and so produce the most bubbles and noise. Small, single, willowleaf blades create a small, narrow bubble trail, and the lure must be fished fast to keep it on the surface. A good rule of thumb I use for buzzing standard spinner-baits is to employ small, single, willowleaf-blade spinner-baits when fishing clear water for spooky spring bass. Big, noisy, tandem-blade baits work well in dirty water. If the natural forage of the bass are small, flashy minnows like tiny threadfin shad, a small single, chrome or gold willowleaf-blade spinner-bait should be chosen.

Trolling


This is the least-used method of fishing these versatile lures, but it's an excellent tactic with a wide range of angling possibilities. About 10 years ago a good friend told me he was catching lots of heavyweight muskies and northern pike by trolling huge muskie-size, tandem-blade spinner-baits in his boat's prop wash. The basic tactic was to troll parallel to weedlines and jam the lures tight to the weed edge. The turbulence of the motor's prop wash coupled with the bubbling and gurgling of the outsize spinner-bait zipping through the water at trip-hammer speed made an irresistible target to pike and muskies.

I immediately recognized the possibilities of using the same spinner-bait trolling technique for largemouths, especially in my home state of Florida where weed beds are abundant and the lakes are shallow. The first time I trolled spinner-baits for largemouths was a revelation. I'd fished all morning in famed Rodman Reservoir, located in north-central Florida south of the town of Interlachen. Bill Kendall and I had run into the lake via the Cross Florida Barge canal that connects the reservoir to the St. Johns River. We'd fished Rodman until about mid-day, then headed back toward the St. Johns after boating a few small bass. As we raced down the barge canal I noted the deep wall, or edge, of weeds that lined both banks. I slowed the boat to trolling speed, told Bill what we were about to do, and we started running spinner-baits close to the weeds. We hadn't gone 100 yards when Bill caught a 3-pounder, then I got a slightly smaller bass, then he got a 6-pounder, and so it went. The bass were widely scattered along the weed wall, so casting lures to it wasn't nearly as productive as jamming spinner-baits close, trolling and covering plenty of water. In just a couple hours trolling we boated 16 largemouths, the biggest just over 7 pounds.

All types of spinner-baits can be used for trolling. Buzz-baits are good when working very dark water or extra thick cover, but trolling speeds must be kept super slow for the lures to track properly behind the boat. Night trolling with buzz-baits is especially good for big, spooky, spring bass. The prop wash that rolls into a weed bed attracts bass and it can dislodge baitfish&#8212just about the time a trolled spinner-bait zips by the spot. A spinner-bait with a single willowleaf blade and a dog-ear sinker attached to the wire arm leading to the lure's leadhead is an excellent lure for trolling the deep edge of a weed bed. Sometimes erratic trolling speeds work well with a deeply-fished spinner-bait, as the lure will sink or zip upward with each change in trolling speed. Often, any kind of up or down movement to the lure will prompt a spring bass into striking.

Bumpin'


Good fishermen know that any lure that comes in contact with an object frequently triggers bass into hitting that otherwise refuse a free-swimming artificial. Crankbait fishermen are especially mindful of this angling truism. But no lure is better suited to "bumpin'" than the spinner-bait, because of its inherently weedless qualities. A spinner-bait frequently is selected by spring bass anglers because it's snag-resistant. It's often the premier lure for fishing weed-tangled, spring-spawning bass spots, so usually gets the nod over other artificials when working such water. But the average angler using a spinner-bait still is careful not to cast the lure into the middle of weeds or flooded timber jungles for fear of fouling it. But often, this is the exact opposite of how he should be fishing the lure.

A spinner-bait that skirts brush or eases over clumps of lily pads will catch its share of spring largemouths. But that same lure retrieved so it purposefully bumps the brush and caroms recklessly through pads will catch twice as many early-season bass and they'll likely be larger, too. A spinner-bait that bumps flooded timber or stumps, and slams helter-skelter through weed beds triggers largemouths into striking out of instinct. The fish have no time to size up a lure and make a leisurely strike. They see the lure frantically ticking brush branches and weed stems and they must strike the lure immediately or it's gone.

Buzz-baits, single and tandem-blade spinner-baits all are effective when used to bump cover. But for working wood such as brush, stumps and flooded timber, the best-made spinner-baits for bumping have a very severe angle at the lure's "V." The sharply-pointed part of the V bounces off wood much better, with less snagging, than spinner-baits with a wide-angle V. I prefer spinner-baits with the V point rather rounded when fishing weeds and lily pads. A spinner-bait whose wire is shaped move like a "C" than a "V" is less likely to burrow into heavy weeds. A C-shaped spinner-bait tends to roll around lily pad stems and other weedy cover rather than boring into it and snagging.

Anglers who do much bumping with spinner-baits soon learn that a bit of nifty rod manipulation is useful and often draws strikes from bass. Such rod work only comes through experience, but by holding the rod tip down and pulling it to one side or the other as the spinner-bait makes contact with cover, the lure will erratically alter its course. This quick change in lure retrieving angle and speed when the spinner-bait bumps cover many times unnerves fish and forces them to strike out of reflex. A long-handle bait-casting rod with a fast, sensitive action but with plenty of butt power is preferred for this style of spinner-bait fishing. My personal favorite is a Lamiglas "Certified Pro XFT 705 7 footer." It's a responsive, but tough-built graphite rod.

Durable line is needed for this type of spinner-bait fishing, too. Usually lines testing at least 12 pounds, and often 20 or 25 pounds is mandated. The new "gel-spun polyethylene" lines and Dupont's new "Kevlar Braided Fishing Line" are excellent. These new lines are three to five times finer in diameter than like-test monofilament or old-style Dacron braided lines. Anglers using the new braided lines in 30 to 50 pound test can easily "horse" bass out of cover they're bumpin' with spinner-baits. And because the new braids have very little stretch, controlling even big bass in thick cover is easy.

Thumping


My dad, Tom, showed me about "thumping" a spinner-bait on Arkansas' Bull Shoals Reservoir many years ago. It was spring and the lake was high and cool, the post-spawn bass deep and lethargic. Fishing was tough, and while the rest of us used plastic worms and jigs, dad worked a big, heavy, 1/2 ounce spinner-bait with a single big, silver Colorado blade. He'd cast the over-size spinner-bait to submerged points and steep ledge areas, let it sink to the bottom, then lift the lure slightly, and let it fall slowly back with a tight line. Four of us fishing in two boats that first day caught 9 largemouths, dad got 6, including the two largest weighing 6 and 6 3/4 pounds.

This spring spinner-bait technique gets its name because when the lure is lifted from the lake floor the large Colorado blade "thumps" heavily and is readily felt through a sensitive graphite rod.

It's an outstanding technique when fishing deep structures for big, post-spawn fish. It's slow, methodical fishing, that takes a lot of feel to do correctly, but with the right angler at the controls, thumping is a terrific technique, and not only for largemouths. My dad once caught a 23-pound muskie while thumping a spinner-bait on a submerged hump in Wisconsin's Little Green Lake. And I know some big, deep-living pike have fallen to the same tactic. With smaller single-blade spinner-baits, I've taken limits of smallmouths and walleyes while thumping, too.

Because thumping is a slow, deep water spinner-bait system, it lends itself to being used with natural baits. A whole live minnow — such as a chub, shiner or sucker — can be threaded onto the spinner-bait hook and that makes for a deadly lure combination. A porkrind eel or "spring lizard" is a good addition to a spinner-bait for thumping, too.

Swimming


With this technique it's important to remember that a spinner-bait is merely a jig with a spinner attached to a connecting piece of wire. This is relevant because swimming a spinner-bait is just like swimming a jig. Of all the ways of fishing a spinner-bait, swimming is the most difficult to master. It's also one of the most productive.

Effectively swimming a spinner-bait dictates the use of refined tackle, and mandates the need for expert rod manipulation. I prefer sensitive, though stiff, graphite spinning rods, with high-visibility lines testing 10 or 12 pounds. Such tackle is needed because an acute sense of feel is paramount when swimming a spinner-bait.

Swimming, is essentially the slow, methodical retrieving of a lure so that it just brushes the tops of submerged weeds, limbs, brush, logs and the lake floor. A tight line is kept at all times, but frequent pauses and increases in the retrieve rate is required by the irregular conformations of the place fished. For example, the spinner-bait could be cast to the inside edge of a weed bed, slowly retrieved just over its top, then allowed to free-fall with a tight line on the outside edge. When the angler feels the lure touch bottom he continues the retrieve, allowing the spinner-bait to brush sunken brush, logs, rocks, riprap and anything else in the lure's path until it's at boat side.

No erratic action is imparted to the spinner-bait when swimming the lure — just a constant retrieve rate is maintained. Generally, single-blade spinner-baits are most often used for swimming, because tandem-blade lures tend to rise or plane close to the surface during the retrieve. The swimming spinner-bait must be deep, but never resting on bottom. Different weight, size, and shape spinner-bait heads lend themselves to swimming conditions, just as different size, shape and weight jig heads do. Small, lightweight spinner-baits with large blades are best for shallow-water work since their sink rate is not drastic. Spinner-baits with flat or coin-shaped heads are good for the shallows, too, because their fall rate is slow, and so it's easy to maintain a good, slow, swimming retrieve without having the lure bounce bottom. For deep-water swimming, larger, heavier spinner-baits having round or ball heads are suitable. When water over 15 or 20 feet is probed for reluctant-to-strike, post-spawn largemouths, some anglers attach a dog-ear sinker to the wire arm just ahead of the spinner-bait's lead head, like trollers do as described earlier. Because swimming is a slow, sensitive technique, spinner-baits fished this way lend themselves to being tipped with minnows, leeches porkrind, plastic worms, earthworms and the like. Such attractors placed on a swimming spinner-bait frequently bring more strikes from bigger fish. This is likely because bass have a comparatively long time to ogle the lure before they strike, so the addition of the attractor tempts them more readily.

Finally, at times in spring, a buzzing spinner-bait will outfish one that's bumped. And there will be days when a trolled spinner-bait will take bass when the same lure thumped will be ignored. There also will be times when a spinner-bait buzzed and thumped during the same retrieve is the best way to catch bass. But each technique described here has its place in your spinner-bait fishing repertoire. Master each tactic and you'll encounter few days in the early season when spinner-baits won't produce at least some bass, and perhaps even the fish of your fondest dreams.