Turner will vary his speed of retrieve to entice bass. His basic presentation is to chunk the buzzbait out and reel it back fast enough to keep the blades churning on the surface. He’ll experiment by speeding up or slowing down, trying to determine the speed that draws the most strikes on a given day. Sometimes, however, he slows the bait enough that it slips below the surface, and he continues the retrieve as if it were a spinnerbait.
“Some guys may laugh, but I catch bass with a buzzbait under water. Not only with a spinnerbait-like retrieve but sometimes when fished as a jig, too. I hold the rod tip up and let the current pull the buzzer downstream over rocks — sort of like swimming a jig. Some will call me crazy, but it catches fish.”
The tube bait is his back-up for a missed fish. Actually, it may be considered his secondary backup plan.
“If I have a blow-up strike on the buzzer but the fish isn’t hooked, I immediately drop the rod tip, keeping line tight as the buzzbait slides beneath the surface,” explains Turner. “Many times that smallmouth will turn around and hit the buzzer on the fall. If that doesn’t work, I reel in quickly and pick up the tube rod, throw back to the exact spot and let it settle to the bottom. The majority of the time, the tube will draw a strike.”
Turner rigs a dark-colored Yum Mega Tube on a 4/0 Mustad Ultra Point Impact Soft Plastic Bait- Gripper Hook (Model 91768KH) with a 1/8- to 3/8-ounce steel slip sinker. “Steel, not lead,” stresses Turner. “Lead is easily deformed by hitting rocks, which can result in line being pinched, thereby leading to an eventual break-off.”
Turner attributes much of what he is able to accomplish with lure presentations to using nonstretch braided line. No-stretch contributes to sure hookups on long casts. Should his bait become snagged, in most instances, he will simply lower the rod tip and point it at the snagged lure as the boat continues sliding downstream. With 50-pound test, the bait pulls loose. Since there is no stretch, the lure is not propelled back at the boat as would happen with monofilament.
Should he break a rod or strip gears on a reel, he replaces it with the very same model, thereby maintaining the “comfort zone” for him. His longtime favorites are G. Loomis IMX rods from the Classic series — a 6-foot CR722 for buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, and a 6-6 MBR783C for tubes. All rods are outfitted with Shimano Curado reels and braided line — 50-pound test for buzzbaits/spinnerbaits and 20-pound test for tubes.
“From my viewpoint, river smallmouth are very predictable in terms of location and behavior,” says Turner. “On rare occasions when I can’t draw strikes with my modest lure selection, I realize another angler may find that special crankbait or topwater presentation that will drive smallies crazy on a particular day. But I’ve been at this long enough to know that later in the day or perhaps the next day, those smallies are going to be back on the buzzbait. I’m not about to change my approach that has worked so successfully for so long. As long as I keep throwing a buzzbait on the river, I’ll catch smallmouth.”
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