Buzzbaits
20 bass vs. 77 bass in 2024
Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad or black)
Top Bass: 2-6 Hennepin Canal – October 5
Top 5 Weight: 9-10 (2-6,2-2,1-14,1-10,1-10)

Comments
Like the situation with the Whopper Plopper (see Propbait post), diminished hours on The Canal led to diminished buzzbait catches. The public strip mines produced a handful on buzzbaits, and I even landed a buzzbait bass on Lake Storey which is a rarity for me. However, the shallow, weedy waters of The Canal are where buzzbaits shine and there just weren’t as many occasions to break out the lure in 2025.

History
Buzzbaits are a blast and can be big bass producers. They trail only jigs for the all-time Top 5 Weight breakdown by lure with a five bass limit weighing 25-15. While none of my 2025 catches came close to displacing any of those five fish, every cast with a buzzbait has the potential for a quality bite.

October 5 – Top Buzzbait Bass at 2-6 (17.5″) on the Hennepin Canal

Video
This bass on The Canal hit the bait between scattered patches of surface weeds in an open water area above abundant subsurface vegetation. Typical Canal conditions on the section of the main line west of Lock 24 and an ideal setup for casting a buzzbait (or a topwater frog). For this clip, I also added slow motion view of the strike which was quite an explosion. If you listen closely in the regular speed clip of the catch, you can hear the splash as well. Along with the potential for big bites, such strikes make topwater fishing exciting, and addictive.

 

Last Cast
Buzzbait production for 2026 will likely be related to the time that I spend on The Canal. I do have several strip pits that feature shallow water flats and ledges that set up well for buzzbait fishing. However, they can be a challenge during the warm weather conditions when the buzzbait bite is in full swing. Terrestrial vegetation on the strip mines makes for a tough hike to get to the water and shoreline aquatic vegetation can get so expansive that it is difficult to get the bait in front of the bass.

Next lure on the way tomorrow so talk to you later. Troy