Bass fishing is full of debatable topics. When you’re standing around a bass boat or hanging out at the tackle store with your fishing buddies, these are things that are discussed. What size line do you like for this bait? Which hook do you use for this technique? How do you retrieve that bait? What rod works best for this style of bait? The questions and debates are endless. In The DeBAIT (see what we did there?) series, we will bring these debates to the surface and show two different perspectives from Bassmaster pros.
In this edition of The DeBAIT, we will discuss buzzbaits. More specifically, we’re going to dive into the debate of whether you should throw a buzzbait on fluorocarbon or braided line.
One could easily justify throwing a buzzbait on either line which makes this an interesting debate. Let’s hear from Bassmaster Elite Series anglers Wes Logan and Brandon Cobb on why and how they choose their line type for throwing a buzzbait.
Fluorocarbon
While Elite Series pro Wes Logan says he does throw a buzzbait on braid from time to time, he’s gotten to the point that fluorocarbon line has become his main line of choice. For the Alabama pro, this decision is all about his hookup rate.
“For me, I feel like I react way too fast when I’m fishing a reaction bait like a buzzbait,” Logan said. “That little bit of stretch that fluorocarbon has gives the fish more time to inhale the bait.”
The two-time Classic qualifier has learned to love fluorocarbon through trial and error in testing different combinations of rod, reel, line and even style of buzzbait fishing.
“When I have guys say that they’re missing fish on a buzzbait, that’s become my first question to them,” said Logan in response to why he chooses Fluorocarbon. “You have to think about the process of what it takes for the fish to actually inhale the bait. When you see the initial explosion, the fish doesn’t have the bait at that exact moment.
“If you’re like most anglers and you’re really quick on the trigger when you see the blowup, you’re going to pull that bait away from the fish a lot of the time with braid. Every once in a while, one is going to destroy it. It won’t matter what line you’re throwing because they eat it so good, but fluoro will at least help from pulling the bait away from them.”
According to Logan, another component that is incredibly important to the entire equation is your rod choice.
“It’s all a matter of preference of course, but when it comes to throwing a buzzbait on fluoro, you can easily get away with throwing a heavier action rod than you can with braid,” he said. “I typically stick with one of my signature series rods from ARK Fishing with a medium-heavy power with a fast action.
“A buzzbait is a staple here in Alabama, so I’ve experienced a lot of this through situations on the water, and for me it just seems like fluorocarbon tends to help me put them in the boat.”
This particular topic is front of mind for Logan as he’s recently been in the development stage of designing a new signature series buzzbait with ARK Fishing called the Capstone – soon to be released.
Braided line
From one shallow water expert to another, Brandon Cobb is undoubtably one of the best buzzbait fisherman on the planet. Unlike Logan, the South Carolina pro much prefers braided line when fishing a buzzbait.
For Cobb, one of the main reasons for choosing braid is because of the overall durability of the line.
“When you’re throwing a buzzbait, it’s all about covering a ton of water and making a lot of casts,” Cobb said. “With that being said, when you cast a buzzbait, it is always going to spin as it flies through the air. In a full day of fishing, fluorocarbon will essentially be ruined because of the memory of the line.”
The two-time Elite Series champion acknowledges the fact that if you’re going to throw a buzzbait on braid, there’s a number of things that have to be considered to maximize your hookup rate. One adjustment that has to be made is throwing the bait on the appropriate action rod.
“If you’re going to throw a buzzbait on braid, you have to go to a rod with a really soft tip,” he said. “The rod that I designed for buzzbait fishing is in my ARK Cobb signature series, and it is still a heavy action rod, which sounds super stiff, but it has a super soft tip which allows the fish to get the bait.”
Another thing that has to be considered when throwing braided line on a buzzbait is the way you set the hook. The way you should set the hook will vastly differ depending on your line and rod choice.
“I almost always throw a buzzbait with a soft plastic rather than a skirt which will help your hookup ratio, but I’ve gotten to the point that I will just reel until I feel them pull back,” said Cobb. “It takes a lot of practice, but I don’t jerk at all when I get a blow up. I just keep reeling until I feel the fish pull back.
“Really, I just lean back into them rather than setting the hook like you would with a worm or jig. As odd as it sounds, when you’re throwing braid, a buzzbait hookset it similar to a spinning rod hookset.”
Is there a right or wrong answer? Absolutely not. It all comes down to personal preference when it comes to specific topics such as this. That is what makes these topics so engaging as bass anglers and why we spend so much time talking about them.
The DeBAIT series will break down these debates one by one!
