Ok here is my plight.

I have a request from a gal at work who would like me to make her husband a rod for casting buzz bomb lures. One major problem, what the heck is a buzz bomb and how much does it weigh?? I am looking for a blank that will accomplish this but since I really don't know what I am working with I am pretty much clueless right now. She had stated that he would like something in the 9' range in a spinning rod that will handle something like 12-25lb test.

I really am out in the dark as to what I am looking for and really need the help from the experts that we have here.

HELP!!!

Thanks,

Tom Kaufmann

I used to use Buzz Bombs on the Sacramento River (didn't say I caught anything on them tho). They are a jig that spins on the leader for salmon or whatever you wanna use it for. So the 9' 12-25lb salmon/steelhead blank sounds about right to me. I'm no specialist in using them tho.

any reccomendations for the blank?? I am guessing forecast???? Not sure though. For most of my stuff, I like to use St.Croix but I really don't think that it really matters to him who it is made by but more the fact that the rod is made specifically for him.

Tom,
A Buzz Bomb is a triangular, flat piece of painted lead with a hole down the center that the line runs thru before the hook is tied on. You raise it in the water column and let it irratically spin and flutter down on a near taut line, where you follow the lure back down without restricting it's movement.
I like shorter rods for this because a long rod is heavier to use all day, and it's harder to manipulate a long rod in the correct jigging motion.
I use a shorter rod like a Rainshadow HS 930 or 932, and I imagine a 7 ft 4 power mag bass blank would also work. You don't want a broom handle as they come with treble hooks, though many people use a modified octopus hook now.
The fish always seem to grab it on the fall, so you have to have something sensitive enough to know when the lure has been stopped on it's way down.

Some people do like a certain blank. If you can find out what he likes ?

thanks Spencer,

Bill, I asked if there was a blank preference and the response I got was "it doesn't matter" so that is why I am a little left out in the dark.

I will see if I can convince him on the 7 footer. I have a couple of those in the rack right now that I can wrap up for him.

Tom, I vegged out on this post. I fish Buzz Bombs from a boat vertically. Tried the beach pitching a few times, but had better luck with spinners.
Not knowing how heavy a Buzz Bomb he uses, I'd probably go with a HS 1023 Rainshadow as they have a lighter tip,but good backbone, will throw 1/2 to 4 oz. The G Loomis, Lamiglas and Rainshadow Hot shot blanks are nice casting blanks, I haven't rigged one of the heavier blanks for spinning configuration, but I have a HS 1023 back at the house I could mock up and give it a test if you like.
The ISA Rainshadows I've done were heavy tipped moderate blanks and I don't think would be near as versatile. They make a nice boat rod. The IST 1025 is a little light for casting Buzz bombs that weight 2 oz or more.

Spencer,

I appreciate the offer, that would be awesome if you have the time. I am not in a great rush to get this done. I have about a month to finish so I have some time to play with.

thank you once again!!!

Tom

Tom
Any medium action 81/2' to 9' blank will work buzz bombs come in alot of diffrent sizes but the most common is a 21/2" 10Z. this is what I use all the time and a 81/2 'med. rod with trigger reel seat

Art
Skagit River Rod&Reel

Tom,
Your e-mail is hidden, so just send me a quick e-mail, and I'll drag out the blank and get you an answer.

Hi Tom:

First post on this board. I have some background fishing buzzbombs both from shore and from boat and have built a few rods for that purpose. To get an idea of what a buzz bomb is, check out the www.buzzbombzzinger.com website. Basically, as others have alluded to, it's a long diamond metal spoon designed to slide onto your main line through its center much like an egg sinker. The lure is unidirectional, meaning it has an arrow indicating the direction in which the line should be inserted when tying a hook onto it. A small 5mm rubber donut-bumper slides on after the buzzbomb and then the line is tied to a large eyed hook, which could be the included bronzed treble, or a single shanked barbless Siwash or large eye O'Shaunessy trailer hook (per regulatory requirements in most Western states or the Province of British Columbia). Lastly, buzzbombs come in multiple colours, aspect ratios, lengths and therefore weights. When dragged through water quickly, its shape creates pulses and this supposedly attracts fish.

The kind of rod your co-worker's husband will want really depends on his fishing technique. I probably say that there are 3 primary of ways to fish buzzbombs and they are effective at taking stripers, salmon, steelhead, char, rockfish and lingcod. One method is from shore or pier, another is from float tube or kayak, and the last is from boat over deep waters. There are also considerations to think about if spinning or casting or the season of the year.

From shore, my preferences is a light duty distance surf or long salmon blank with moderate action blank. 10ft - 11ft in length is good and something that truly handles 1 - 4 oz under a power cast is ideal. I cast thin spectra fibre braid in the 15 - 17lb test class, and tie on a 6 ft leader of fluourocarbon. The longer rod length keeps the lure from hanging up during casts and lets me power the lure out as much as 120 yds where the seals/sea lions hang out corralling fish. Braid is pretty much a requirement to feel the hit and set the hook at 100 yds. We're required to use barbless hooks in most cases, so longer rods, faster gear ratios are pretty much required for fast running fish. Any moderate to mod-fast light surf blank from the major makers in the lighter lure weight class should work. Graphite is much more preferred over glass in this respect because of weight and effort to fish. My preference is baitcasting for this type of fishing. But there are occasions when I use a spinning reel to toss the smaller lures at close distances. Here, I use 8 1/2 - 9 ft mod-fast to fast salmon rods that can take upto 1 1/2 oz lures.

If fishing from a kayak or float tube, the angler will position himself usually a shore distance from fish holding near shore and cast out with the buzzbomb usually parallel to shore. The distance doesn't have to be as long, and the difficulty will not be hook sets, but rather the landing of fish at close distances. Here, a 6 ft, moderate action spinning blank works great. The rod won't probably see much more than 10 lb test as this can almost be enough to drag a float tube or kayak around. Instead, design the rod for high-sticking and doubling over. Short butt sections for single arm casts are also desirable but since the rod is shorter, you can afford to use glass blanks like an Ugly Stik which are more durable.

Boat fishing with buzzbombs doesn't require anything special except a moderate or mod-slow action bait rod for 15 - 20 lb test in the 6 - 7 ft class. Basically, the buzzbomb is mooched in this fashion, or trolled with a downrigger. The rod doesn't do much work to bring up the fish, and pretty much any rod can do that. But the part where fish are always lost is during the landing when the fish is near the boat the the buzzbomb is hanging vertically in the fishes mouth. A fast rod is too stiff and a quick wiggle or jump can toss the hook. A slower glass rod, like those used by crankbait fishermen actually works wonders.