Buzzbaits are great lures for bass fishing from late spring all the way through the summer and into the fall. But you don’t just want to chuck and wind the same buzzbait the same way though all three seasons.

There are subtle little tweaks that you can make to your bait and details that you’ll want to pay attention to that can help you catch even more bass on a buzzbait as late summer fades into fall. We’re going to look at three of those today.

For starters, color matters—a lot. The size of the buzzbait is important too. And then you have to decide if you want to run your buzzbait with the stock skirt, or peel that thing off and slip a toad up on the back.

What color to go with -

The color of your buzzbait matters more late in the summer than it does any other time of the year. This is primarily because of the different types of forage that you’ll find in certain areas. The bluegill and bream have been spawning shallow for months now, making green pumpkin with a few orange strands hard to beat.

But shad are on the move too and will be returning to the banks and backs of creeks before you know it. So, you’ll want to have a white or translucent shad color bait on hand if you stumble into a creek bend or main lake slough that already has a few schools of shad cruising the bank.

Then there are different water colors to consider. Keep in mind that solid whites, chartreuses and blacks provide a crisper profile in these low visibility situations. In clearer water though, it’s better to go with the translucent colors. And silver blades are usually best in clear water too. There’s also the lingering night bite to consider. A black buzzbait with a black blade is a classic night time selection that works really well.

Size matters -

A good 3/8-ounce buzzbait like the Greenfish Tackle Hammerhead is a pretty solid choice, most of the time. But, there are times that a 1/2-ounce buzzbait with a slightly larger blade will work better. This is something I like to throw more in the late spring, but it’s also a bait I will throw well into the summer too—especially during a rain shower. As the water temps max out though, it’s best to dial it back to a 3/8-ounce bait most of the time. 

In the late summer, and into the early fall, a 1/4-ounce buzzbait really starts to shine. Bass love these smaller baits this time of year. One explanation as to why this is has to do with the smaller baitfish that start to show up the last few days of summer. Much of the threadfin shad population measures only a couple inches in length in the fall. So, these 1/4-ounce baits more closely resemble the forage in size.

But, even when fishing around bass that are relating to larger bream and bluegill, the smaller buzzbaits tend to get more bites. This likely has more to do with the sound these little baits make more than anything, though I’m sure the smaller profile presents less of a threat to the bass too. These look like easy little morsels to suck under, and they work great in the late summer and fall summer for all these reasons.

Skirt or toad?

It’s become more and more popular over the last decade to swap the skirt of buzzbait out for a soft plastic bait—typically a toad. This gives the bait an entirely different profile in the water, and offers fish that are used to seeing a skirted bait scurrying along the surface something new to look at.

The primary benefit though of adding a soft plastic bait to the back of a buzzbait is that it allows you to skip the bait. If you’ve ever tried to skip a buzzbait with a plain skirt on it, you know you’re not getting far. The prop catches the water and the bait plows and doesn’t skip well at all.

But, if you pull the skirt off and slip a toad on the hook instead, you now have a solid chunk of plastic with a flat belly that can be skipped with relative ease. This allows you to present a topwater to bass that aren’t accustomed to seeing one as much, since they're tucked back under bushes, docks and pontoon boats; and these are all great hideouts bass love to use to escape the later summer heat and sunshine. 

In conclusion -

Buzzbaits are great tools for late summer fishing. They can be used to mimic a wide range of forage and are effective in every water color—even when fishing at night. But, you will want to pay attention to that water color and to the bait the bass are relating to in order to make the best color selection.

Lean more towards the 3/8-ounce and even 1/4-ounce baits as August fades into September and beyond. These smaller baits seem to get more bites—even from the bigger fish. And lastly, try a toad on for size. Adding a soft plastic toad to the back of a buzzbait creates one of the most effective topwaters ever for skipping. Give these tips a try the next time you hit the water and let us know if they help you catch more buzzbait bass!