BUZZBAIT BREAK DOWN
Skinner hammers the bass with his double buzzbait throughout many months of the year. His only requisite is to have some warmth to the fishery. “I start fishing it in early spring as long as the water is in the 60’s,” he said. “I catch a lot of big ones in early spring through the spawn. In summer, you can get a lot of post spawn bass and in the fall with the shad migration, when the fish are really keying on bait, it is the best lure to cover a lot of water with.”
He touted the buzzers versatility in targeting bass. “I throw it on long points, flats, back waters and coves,” he stated. “In summer and fall, I can tie it on and have it in my hand all day long fishing all different kind of areas, running a ton of water and constantly switching up in different areas - just fishing for the big fish.”
To start the action he makes a long cast to a target area and begins to wind it back with the rod tip pointed directly at the bait. “Sometimes they want it burned back and sometimes they want it slow,” he advised. “You kind of have to play with the speed of the retrieve.”
He compared the hookset to that of a frog. When he feels a bite, he doesn’t immediately set the hook. He attempts to keep the same tempo until he feels pressure. “The feeling of pressure is when I know the fish has it,” he said. “Then, I wind and grind ‘em in. You don’t want to get too overzealous and swing on ‘em too fast or you’ll miss a lot of fish. The buzzbait’s got a real heavy hook on it; so with the braid, you don’t have to worry about bending the hook.”
TRAILER TIPS
Skinner varies his trailer depending on his location. “I will change the it according to the class of fish that are in fishery that I am fishing for,” he explained. “At Clear Lake there is a ton of big fish, so I know that it is going to take 25 to 30 lbs to win and I want to make my lure look to be that much bigger of a meal. I want something bulky to attract big fish. On Mead, the fish are in a smaller class, so I may run a tiny Zoom Fluke. On Havasu, a five pounder is a big fish, so I am going to downsize a little bit with a small swimbait. There, I like a 4 inch Predator swimbait on back.”
He also noted his trailer choice will also be dependent the depth the fish are coming out of.
20
“Depth brings me back
to the draw power of the
BuzzSaw,” said Skinner. “If
I know the fish are 15 to 20
ft deep on points - then,
I’m going to want to bulk
my bait up to draw them to
the it from the deep water.
A smaller bait isn’t as
successful at getting big fish to come up from deeper water.”
Skinner also mention a trailer’s action can affect his choice.”A fluke will have no action, but still has a baitfish profile and sometimes they want that; but other times they want a double legged-horny toad,” he said. “This is something you have to let the fish tell you, depending on their mood.”
Most often, his trailer colors match his buzzbait. Occasionally, he will go for a contrasting color such as a white skirt with a black trailer. “Ninety percent of the time O choose a matching one, but if a fish is missing the bait or coming up and hitting the blades then, I will contrast my colors to help them key in on the area where the hook is.”
BUZZ GEAR
Along with his buzzbait creation, Skinner also developed the perfect rod for the lure. He uses a 734 Skinner rod due to its perfect length for long casts, moderate fast tip, good backbone and parabolic bend. “The tip is so important with this bait,” he said. “If it is too stiff, you will miss a lot of fish. The tip acts as an absorbent when the fish comes up and hits it, so you don’t miss ‘em.”
He pairs his rod with a 7.2:1reel. “When you’re making long casts, a high gear ratio reel helps get the buzzbait up on plane,” said Skinner. “When the fish eat it, you need to take up a lot of line on those long casts to get them back to the boat faster.” He uses 65 lb McCoy braided line. “Sometimes, I black out the first couple of feet of the line next to the bait to help break it up, so the fish don’t hone in on the line as much.” he stated. Skinner closed with some last words of advice: Alwaysrunatrailerhook, evenifyou’rearoundgrass. Be patient when you feel the bite, don’t pull the bait away from ‘em. Learn to have confidence with it. Keep it in your hand and throw it. You can get ‘em at www.TackleWarehouse.com
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