DECEMBER BUZZBAITS
E
A SLOW, GURGLING TOPWATER CAN BE A COLD-SEASON KILLER
by Curtis Niedermier
arly December is not too late
to throw a buzzbait, says
Keystone Light pro Jeff
Sprague. Granted, Sprague lives in
Texas, where winter doesn’t really
arrive until January or February
most years. He says that as long as
the water temperature is right, a
buzzbait is a big-fish killer in the
late season.
“You might not smash a whole
lot of fish, but you’re going to catch
some good ones,” he says.
KEY WATER TEMPERATURE RANGE: Low to mid-50s
A PERFECT BUZZBAIT FOR THE PERFECT RETRIEVE
It’s all about slow and steady in December, which is why Sprague has tweaked his buzzbait to be a “really slow, fat
buzzbait – a big thumper” that’ll stay on the surface even at a lumbering speed.
Replace with larger blade.
Add trailer hook.
Replace skirt with Bayou Bullfrog.
ROCK ON
102
1
2
The frame is a 3/8-ounce V&M
Cyclone Classic Buzz Bait.
Remove blade.
Buzzbait target areas aren’t unlike tra-
ditional cold-water cranking target areas.
“I look for rock and riprap on steep
banks where fish can easily move up and
down in the water column to adjust for cli-
mate changes if we have a cold front
come in,” says Sprague.
Creek bends, primary and secondary
points, small bluffs, and steep-sloping
main-lake pockets are all prime places to
find the right types of banks, with the best
depth range typically in the 10- to 12-foot-
deep zone.
Sprague removes the blade and
replaces it with a blade that is
one size larger.
3
In place of the skirt, he uses a
white V&M Bayou Bullfrog pad-
dle-tail toad. “I like to stick to some-
thing with a lot of drag in the water
that time of year to help me slow
the bait down. That toad-type bait is
wide and has bigger legs to slow it
down in the water,” Sprague says.
4
A trailer hook helps catch lethar-
gic fish that suck in the lure but
don’t get it deep into the mouth.
IT’S SLOW, BUT IT’S NOT
“You can still cover water with this type of technique,” says Sprague,
“but the deal is when you get in an area where you get a bite or two, a
lot of times you can come back with another bait such as a crankbait
or jig. You know there are active fish there. I just catch a lot bigger fish
on a topwater that time of year.”
PRESENTATION KEYS
1. Position the boat parallel to the bank.
2. Cast to the bank at an angle so you can target the shallowest
water out to 10 to 12 feet.
3. Wind the bait slowly so it’s chopping water, but not racing in.
FLWFISHING.COM I DECEMBER 2016