The new “buzz”

Normally, I’m a Meriam-Webster dictionary kind of guy. I go with traditional definitions. But there’s one word where I may tend to go more with the Urban dictionary than old school.

It’s “buzz”, defined according to traditional definition as “making a humming sound, like insects”. The Urban, or modern definition? “Anything that creates excitement or stimulus”.

Yep, that’s it. All you have to do to know that is follow veteran bass fishermen like Downsville’s Dale Taylor. You’ll know. He loves to put the buzz on largemouth bass and this is the time of the year to do it.

That’s “buzz” as in “buzz bait”.  A loudmouth spinnerbait on steroids that spits and sputters across the surface of the water and stimulates excited big old bass into trying to smash it to shut it up.

“The buzz bait is always one of the top lures for catching the big bass of the tournament, especially the early and late bite,” Taylor says. “It’s the best all around bait to catch bass on whether you are competing or just having fun.”

Taylor has lots of tips on how to fish it, but his best tip is preparing the bait properly BEFORE you go to the lake. When Taylor gets a new buzz bait, the first thing he does is take it for a ride. Literally. He ties it on a piece of heavy monofilament line, rolls down the car window, hold the bait outside the window and ride down the road a few miles going about 30 miles an hour.

Seriously. That’s how he tunes the baits where they run just right and make the perfect chirping sound that big bass just can’t stand. The “chirp” is the key to a good “buzz”.

“That’s the first and most important part of getting a buzz bait right for bass. It is absolutely the best way to break in a brand new buzz bait lure. Out of the box, it makes a “squeak” type sound when the blades turn. That’s okay, but you want it to make a ‘chirp…chirp…chirp’ sound every time the blade turns. That combined with the general commotion that the lure causes coming across the water is a killer for big bass in the summer.”

Taylor directs several tournaments in our area each year, but none is bigger than the marathon Majestic Big Bass Tournament on D’Arbonne June 10-11. You’ll be reading more about that in upcoming editions, but mark the calendar.

For more information about the Majestic, call Dale or Gale Taylor at 318-235-1039 or 368-0666. For more information on putting the buzz on big bass, go to your local sporting goods store and stock up on the spinnerbaits on steroids. Tie one on and take it for a ride. In your car.

Then take it fishing.