Putting a spin on the buzz

[maineman]

Confession: I’m not much of a blade spinner guy. I haven’t had much success with them since my Shannon Twin Spinner days as a kid on vacation in Canada. But I read the article in the Bronzeback Bulletin about Buzzbaits and figured why not? I couldn’t lay my hands on my chatterbait, so I grabbed what I could find (see photo). It was my first river fishing of the season, a warm, but windy, Sunday on the Fox. I fished the upstream side of a bridge and caught my first 2010 smallie on the point of a piling. He wasn't that long (14.5 inches), but was fat and feisty. Then quickly the front came in, and the rain and lightning prompted a hasty retreat. It was only one fish but enough to convince me I should probably give the spinners and buzzers some more playing time. Let the games begin.