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Post by billybass on May 8, 2006 7:28:03 GMT -5
Keep trying sgt, i had a new pb rainbow this weekend taken on a home tied black buzzer. My first 3 attempts at buzzer fishing drew blank, now its my preferred method!! If this helps, my setup was as follows;
15 ft leader (tapered) with a gold bead buzzer on the point and a peacock herl buzzer on a single dropper 7 ft from the point. I was fishing the gold bead buzzer as it was a very sunny day, with quite a breeze, so the gb buzzer acted as more of an anchor to keep the buzzers deep where i expected the fish to be. Occasionally the sun went in, and the breeze dropped, where i would swap the gb buzzer on the point to a regular flexi floss buzzer, to allow for more natural movement and fish both buzzers slightly higher in the water. I took 8 rainbows in total, 4 on the gb and 4 on the peacock buzzer, the gb buzzer producing the goods when the day was at its brightest.
Look out for buzzer hatches too, these can look like very light rain on the water.
Keep trying, you will get get one soon enough!!
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Post by newbie2006 on May 8, 2006 10:33:11 GMT -5
billyb - good effort!! 8 fish!
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Post by sgt.colon on May 13, 2006 4:08:33 GMT -5
Well, I'm buggered if I know what I'm doing wrong. Yet another blank drawn on the, Buzzer fishing but never mind , I'll try again next time.
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Post by alan on May 13, 2006 4:36:00 GMT -5
Sht: If the fishery you use has a catch log, does anyone else catch on buzzers? It could just be that another form of food is so prolific that the fish just do not like buzzers.
A pity that you are not in this part of the country as I could send/take you to a couple of waters that would guarantee taking your buzzer virginity. Must be a forum member in your neck of the woods to oblige.
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Post by sgt.colon on May 13, 2006 4:44:28 GMT -5
Alan, Yes, in the log people have caught on, Buzers and even in TF it says that, Buzzers are catching fish. So it must be something I', doing wrong. I'm wondering if my leader is to long and my, Buzzer is just sitting on the bottom ;D
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Post by Sewinbasher on May 13, 2006 4:48:49 GMT -5
I think that buzzer fishing can be quite complex and although its my favourite stillwater method it can be very frustrating here's a few points that I have picked up over the years.
1) If the buzzer hatch is heavy there will be tens of thousands of naturals, close copy imitatons will not stand out and will have a small statistical chance of being taken. In this case you might have to use an imitation that is going to be about right but will stand out. Maybe a size or two bigger or maybe with an exagerated thorax or just something to differentiate it. (A lot of commercial buzzers are rubbish). The other way is to move it. Buzzers do not suddenly jump sideways or rise in the water at speed so this is not a natural movement but a sharp pull as suggested by others will draw the fish's attention to your fly. You very often get takes very soon after the flies hit the water which suggests that the fish were attracted to the splash or movement of the flies as they land.
2) If the hatch is not heavy then close copies will work better but you may have to be quite accurate in size and colour. Look at the shucks at the waters edge or around bushes and trees for live insects to get clues on what is hatching in terms of size and colour. If there are several varieties remember that the fish are not always going to be on the biggest natural.
3) Buzzers can be at any (or every) depth in the water from the bottom to ecloding at the surface and the fish may be quite picky about at what depth they will take them. Experiement with three flies of different weights (heaviest on the point) on a long leader and experiment at all depths until you hit fish then change all the flies to the successful pattern and shorten the leader. A common mistake is to fish 6" droppers when the fish are taking in the top 1" or so. When fish are taking in the classic "head and tail" rise of a fish on buzzers you might have to grease up to get consistent takes and include at least one emerger pattern in the team.
4) The conventional wisdom is to cast a few feet ahead of a cruising fish but this may not always be a good tactic. Firstly buzzers often hatch in numbers as the breeze dies away with the light at the end of the day and with no breeze the fish move in a random fashion rather than into the breeze. Changes in direction often cause repeated lifting and repositioning of flies in an attempt to chase the fish. This can put fish off and if plenty of fish are rising in a heavy hatch it is better to ignore rising fish now matter how hard this is and just cast into the general area and watch for takes. This is the occasion when I use a twitch or sharp pull to attract a fish that I see move nearby.
5) If you feel the take at the hand it is often too late to hook the fish as the fish has taken and ejected the fly by then. You need to watch the water where you flies are and strike at any movement of the line or leader, any disturbance in the water or the underwater flash of a fish in that area.
6) If you get any pulls stick with those flies, buzzer rises are often short and intense and there is not much time to muck about changing flies around.
7) When tying your own buzzers always keep at least 6 of each variation as you will find its often a very specific pattern that does the damage and without spares you will be somewhat frustrated.
8) Retrieves should be from none at all i.e. let the flies swing on the breeze or just keep pace with the flies as you drift in the boat, to a medium slow figure of eight or short 6" pulls with long pauses in between. Any more and you are not buzzer fishing but lure fishing.
I'm not a great lover of fishing the bung but I tried it once on a private small stillwater that had great buzzer hatches and average fish of around 2lbs and coincidence or not I had three takes in three casts, 6lbs 1oz (biggest of the season), 5lb 8oz (top 5) and another of similar size that came off just before netting it, all spanking fish in perfect condition. They were the 3 largest fish that I hooked in that pool out of a total catch of around 450 fish over five years. As I said, maybe coincidence but .......
If you spoon any fish caught in a stillwater, unless very recently stocked or perhaps feeding on fry, if there is any food at all there will be buzzers in its stomach and this has got to tell you that buzzers are an important fly for every stillwater angler and you should not give up on them. I always have a buzzer pattern on my leader unless I have a good reason to take it off.
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Post by sgt.colon on May 13, 2006 5:09:17 GMT -5
Thanks, Sewin! I think I'll print your page off and then, I can read it when, I get to where I'm fishing, just to keep it all fresh in my mind.
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Post by newbie2006 on May 14, 2006 13:52:52 GMT -5
So Sgt Colon - it's Sunday pm as I write this - how did it go?!
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Post by johnboy1 on May 14, 2006 14:33:37 GMT -5
Another good way of starting to fish the buzzer is to use 1 buzzer under an indicator. Start with the buzzer a foot beneath the indicator then work slightly deeper until you hit fish. If you do not hit any, change the buzzer size. I find the skinnier the buzzer the more takes. Once you perfect this method, you can then do away with the indicator and start tying on droppers with different size / weught buzzers (heaviest on the point).
Hope you start catching (you will). Buzzer fishing is really fullfilling (especially on home tied buzzers), and some of the takes are unbelievable.
Also Buzzers are the easiest and cheapest fly to tie.
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Post by sgt.colon on May 15, 2006 4:13:18 GMT -5
So Sgt Colon - it's Sunday pm as I write this - how did it go?! It went pants! Didn't catch a sausage while I was using a buzzer but, on the up side, I got my first fish on a dry. Man that was exciting. I saw it come up and take it straight out of the water. So although disappointed with the, Buzzer fishing, I still came away a happy man after the dry fly. Will try buzzing again next week, using all the helpful pointers people have give.
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Post by newbie2006 on May 15, 2006 4:22:13 GMT -5
Sgt. Colon - not again! Dear God, what are you doing to the buzzers?! Seriously, my mum has a better chance of catching with a buzzer by the sounds of it - and she's been dead for three years. Do keep trying though, it is worth the effort.
I am extremely jealous of your first fish on a dry though - I've never done that. What sort, how was it fished, did you 'target' the fish etc. Please let me know and I'll do you a deal: this coming saturday I will only fish with dries and try and get my first... if you keep fishing with buzzers. Honestly, the amount of effort you have put in, there may be some Kamakazee trout who just bites cos it feels sorry for you!!
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Post by dumpy on May 15, 2006 5:18:41 GMT -5
This Bung method ,can you use a boobie, and do you have to ty the leader to the hook, the water i fish i up to 24ft deep and i aint going to atempt to cast that, most takes ive had are on slow sink montanas a quick pull and leave, then wallop they take.There are alot of fish rising and jumping , the advice i had was nymphs at 6ft down, but i only got a few nibbles when i went deep 15ft+ on a black marabou gold head.The water is gin clear,with an awful lot of insect life including a huge tadpole hatch. ;D Any advice welcome Chaps
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Post by Sewinbasher on May 15, 2006 6:07:22 GMT -5
A couple of quick points Dumpy.
You can use a Booby as the bung or better still an indicator if its allowed.
Flies are probably best on droppers rather than NZ style.
Buzzers can be found at all depths from just off the bottom to the surface but apart from the problems of casting a 24' leader you also have the problem of droppers catching in the top ring if you get a fish on the point.
If the water is gin clear then don't go too heavy on nylon diameters.
If the fish are rising then think twice about fishing deeper unless you know that there are more fish below. Also try making your top dropper a Shuttlecock or Shipman's to pick off the fish taking emerging buzzers.
The tadpoles might explain why the montana is working well.
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Post by Sewinbasher on May 15, 2006 6:25:12 GMT -5
So Sgt Colon - it's Sunday pm as I write this - how did it go?! It went pants! Didn't catch a sausage while I was using a buzzer but, on the up side, I got my first fish on a dry. Man that was exciting. I saw it come up and take it straight out of the water. So although disappointed with the, Buzzer fishing, I still came away a happy man after the dry fly. Will try buzzing again next week, using all the helpful pointers people have give. Which water are you fishing?
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Post by sgt.colon on May 15, 2006 6:33:54 GMT -5
Newbie, Lmao! That was funny! I will keep at it though as, I am determind to catch at least one on a, buzzer. Yes I was targeting the fish, they were really going for the, Sedge, like they were demented or something. It was great fun. I missed about 4 on the dry but I didn't care. The one I got made up for it. I'm sure one day, one fish will take my, buzzer. ;D Sewin. I'm fishing, Clay Lane Farm in, Mobberley, Cheshire.
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