HOW TO
HOW TO MAKE A BUZZBAIT SQUEAK
The secret to putting more fish in the boat with a buzzbait
By Jody White
PHOTOS BY JODY WHITE
B
radley Dortch knows the value of a buzzbait, and he says it is particularly
key on rivers all across the country.
“They just catch fish on rivers,” says Dortch. “If you go back and look
anywhere, whether it’s Hackney at the Cup on Three Rivers, or the Tensaw River
and Alabama River; it’s just a given they like it on river systems. Not that you can’t
go to Toho and catch them on it, because I know some guys that have caught big
ones on it. And I’ve caught some big ones on it. But it seems like on a river they eat
it better than anywhere else.”
One of the key aspects of buzzbait fishing is the sound, and Dortch modifies his
with a file and some pliers to get the most squeak he can.
“I’ll do it on all buzzbaits – I don’t care,” says Dortch. “The more it squeaks, the
better it is. It seems like it catches bigger fish. There’s definitely something to it.”
STEP-BY-STEP
THE SETUP
1
Dortch starts by removing the blade and the rivet. Then, using a chainsaw
file, he roughs up the back of the blade and the front of the rivet where they
will rub against each other.
2
Dortch modifies every buzzbait he
uses so they squeak, and he mostly uses
three baits: the Jenko Offspring, the
Coosa Custom Baits Clacker and the
Lunker Lure Buzzbait.
In clear and sunny conditions, Dortch
uses chartreuse and white or just plain
white. He opts for black in overcast con-
ditions. Blade colors vary, too: silver in
clean water and gold in dirtier water.
Dortch will sometimes use a trailer
hook, depending on how well the fish
seem to be taking the bait and how
thick the cover is. When he uses a soft-
plastic trailer, he typically sticks with a
standard Zoom Split Tail in chartreuse
or white.
Next, he roughs up the wire of the buzzbait where the blade rides.
KEEP IT SLOW
3
After putting the bait back together, Dortch crimps the rivet on the wire so it
can’t spin, which creates maximum squeak.
56
“I try to reel it as slow as I can reel it, but
keep it up on top,” Dortch says of his buzzbait
presentation. “I reel it fast enough to make the
blades turn and keep it up. I don’t ever burn it.
A big thing is making sure that your bait does-
n’t sink when you throw. You want it to be
coming to you as soon as it hits. Most times,
you’re throwing it upside the bank, and your
best cover is right there as soon as it hits.”
FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | APRIL-MAY 2020