Fishing Tips

The Ultimate Big Bass by Mike Echols
If there is a lure that seems to always find a way on to the end of my line, it has to be a buzzbait. This lure allows me to catch fish just about any time of the year and under most conditions.

The BOOYAH Buzz is the best around for the way I like to fish buzzbaits. While most anglers like to use buzzbaits to catch shallow-water bass or those around grass, I like to use a buzzbait around any type of cover I can find.

For example, in early spring I like to throw a 3/8-ounce White BOOYAH Buzz along sandy banks or near blowdowns, both places I look for big females to be situated in advance of the spawn. With most buzzbaits, however, throwing near wood cover is a no-no, since they are prone to snagging. But with the BOOYAH Buzz, which has a round instead of flat head, the lure deflects off the cover and can draw some vicious strikes.

Regardless of the season the key to fishing a BOOYAH Buzz is to keep it as close to possible to any available cover. Typically, largemouth or spotted bass will be located near some sort of cover, which can be a dock, a stump, a boulder or laydown.

Once the fish move in to spawn, I'll often throw a BOOYAH Buzz over a spawning largemouth's bed to see if it draws a response. Often, the noise from this bait will be enough to aggravate the fish and draw a reaction strike.

After the fish move off the bed I began looking for fish along docks near the end of points. Once these fish leave the beds they'll often suspend near the best cover adjacent the main lake; docks usually fit the bill.

Try throwing right up against the docks and pulling the bait so close along the dock that it frequently ticks off the sides. Fish suspended near the surface can't resist this.

Later in the summer I throw the BOOYAH Buzz along riprap banks, flats near the river channel, the edge of grass beds and near blowdowns close to deep water.

My favorite time to throw a BOOYAH Buzz, however, is when the water begins to cool at the beginning of fall. The lowered temperatures will often send these fish on a feeding binge, and a BOOYAH Buzz over their heads is often more than they can stand.

Look for schooling fish and throw the BOOYAH Buzz into the activity. Also, go to the backs of creeks and try to find shad at the surface or use the depth finder and look for them below the surface. If there is shad present in the creek, there is a good chance bass are nearby.

To locate the fish, work a White BOOYAH Buzz along any visible cover in the creek. These fish, which are usually actively feeding, won't be able to stand it.

Mike Echols, of Athens, GA, is a Bassmaster pro who has also enjoyed great success in the Angler's Paradise tournament trail. Mike is considered an expert buzzbait fisherman by his peers.