How to fish Buzzers?

I keep hearing and reading what a marvelous fly the buzzer is, especially if its black, but I have tried on many many occassions and never even had a pull with one of these.

I generally fish it with a floating or sink tip line, a 9' tapered leader and about 6' tippett, both well de-greased. I allow it plenty of time to sink, up to about 5mins and retrieve it on a painfully slow figure of 8.

Half the time I bring it back its got weed on, so I'm assuming I'm on or near the bottom.

Whats the correct way to fish these things chaps ?

I fish buzzers most of the time when I am trout fishing and I fish them in 3 ways on a floating line. The first method is to let the wind bring them round, just like using the current on a river when fishing across and down. The second method that I use is to fish them just under the surface with anything from a slow to a fiarly quick retrieve. The 3rd method that I use is to fish a suspended buzzer. All methods are sucessful for me but it took me quite a few attempts to gain any confedence when fishing with buzzers for the first time. When i go to a fishery I drives me crazy when I see people using them bloody strike indicators with some static nymphs "fishing" below. To me this is not what fly fishing is about, yes they may work at times but for me worms and maggots should be suspended below a float. There are probably other methods for fishing buzzers but I dont use them as I find that every year I am doing more Salmon and Sea trout fishing than trout fishing so don't have much time to experiment.

Wilbert is on the right track.

I could write a book on how to fish the midge pupa.

In still waters the chironomid is probably the most important part of a trout's diet. They eat them in vast quantities from the bloodworm on the bottom to the pupa which swims in fits and starts to the surface where it eclodes. It is during the surface migrations that trout take them in such vast quatities.

And I catch more trout on buzzer imitations than any other pattern.

Here's how I fish buzzers.

In largish reservoirs I use a 7 weight forward taper floating line. At the end of the line goes a 12 to 20 foot leader made from 6lbs fluorocarbon. On the leader there is a point fly and two droppers. The overall length of the leader is dependant on the depth of the water I am fishing.

Generally speaking the droppers are positioned on thirds of the length of the leader. The point fly is often a heavy bloodworm imitator. The weight helps the long leader to turn over.

For buzzer fishing I like the wind to be coming over my left shoulder being right handed.

If there is no sign of fish near the surface, I cast out and let the leader sink right down. Often I will leave the line alone for at least 5 minutes. Trout will often take a static buzzer pattern

Then I will start a very slow retrieve using the figure-of-eight and drop style. The line is run over the second finger of my right hand. During the retrieve, I also allow a loop to develop below the rod tip. Detecting takes is a combination of feel and sight. You either feel the line do something different with the second finger or you see the loop of line perform differently to what the retrieve is doing to it. Slack liners are common.

Often of course, you get a good solid take and equally often you don't. Watch that loop of line like a hawk.

In mid retrieve, I often stop retrieving and allow the flies to sink. Then start the retrieving all over again. A trout often takes your buzzer as it rises to the surface.

When fish are actively taking buzzers just under the surface you will spot two types of rise forms. What you will see is either the "Shatter" rise which appears as a minor detonation under the surface or the flattening of a wind caused ripple; or the classic "head-and-tail" rise where the dorsal fin and top lobe of the tail fin break surface, similarly to what a dolphin does when it swims.

This is the time for a shorter leader and faster retrieve. It is also the time for very accurate casting, judging where the trout might be after the rise and also estimating how deep it might be. The correct combination of these three functions will catch you lots of fish, but it does take great skill. The more you do it the better you become.

As regards patterns, I tend to use those which are tied with soft materials as I believe the trout hang onto them a little bit longer.

Hope this helps.

Oh and by the way, I nearly forgot. Degrease your leader using mud or the stuff you can buy. You want that leader to break through the surface film immedietly it hits the water, especially when the trout are just under the surface.

Hi Bob

I can't really add anything to what Ron has said - he's a much better buzzer angler than me. One thing to bear in mind though is not to discount the bung. OK its a bit like float fishing, but as a method of gaining confidence in buzzers, helping to detect takes and being certain of the depth at which your fly is fishing it is ideal.

It might be worth trying the bung next time you go out. Set the bung to fish your point fly just off bottom and fish another buzzer on a dropper at about half depth. One problem with bungs is that they can take a bit of distance off your casting. A good tip is to use 2 small bungs rather than one large one as this casts a lot better.

Don't bother retrieving other than to keep everything in line - just let the flies drift round on the breeze. If you are getting good takes you can always remove the bungs and watch the line between the rod tip and the water. This will twitch or straighten when you get a take. You will be suprised at the numbers of takes that you see on a bung, but don't expect to hit all of them!

Thanks for all this great information guys, I'll give it a go next time I'm out. I've only been trying epoxy buzzers, so maybe I'll try a few other varients and persevere with these suggested methods.
Fishing hard this weather though isn't it, clear sky and hot, why do all the fisheries want to close just as conditions get better its last cast time. Bloody frustrating that.

You can catch plenty of fish even in hot still weather Bob if you find some deep water. Dam walls are excellent in these conditions as is boat fishing over deep water. Get on the water as early as possible, or fish until dark.

This is now the time of year to try the damsel fly nymph. Not those horrid lure like creations you see in the mags and shops, but something that imitates a real damsel nymph.

A damsel nymph on the point and a couple of buzzers on the droppers can be deadly. A Daiwl Bach or GRH are also a good general nymph patterns to try.

I once tried fishing with bungs, and quite honestly I can't get on with them. As Sean says, they interfere with casting accuracy and distance which you will need when the trout are taking buzzers just under the surface. Don't be afraid to impart some life into the flies with a steady draw. You won't need a blinkin bung when a trout takes in these circumstances. You'll feel the take well enough.

Ron, I completely disagree with you..
I fished Draycote in March - 12 fish caught on buzzers under the bung. I would have missed ALL these fish if just buzzer fishing. Every fish pulled the bung below the water without feeling or seeing the flyline move. I did feel only one 4lb+ fish take the flies but lost it at the net - barbless hooks for you.

I used a booby as an bung but switched to a CDC 'sedge' - floats much better & higher and I'll use them in future.

BD bob - I look at lengthening your leader to 16 foot plus and three buzzers / two droppers & one point fly. Use epoxy on the point & normal buzzers on the droppers.

Also a 20ft leader with 3 buzzers with a figure of eight retrieve painfully slow also works for me.

OK bung fishing is float fishing - but it allows you to fish 3 flies at different depths and your flies are in the water fishing for longer.

Neil.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree here Neil.

I don't doubt that you never felt the fly line or saw it move with the angle that is in place whilst bung fishing. It's the same as coarse fishing with a float. The float will disappear yet the line will not move.

I tend to keep in touch my fly line and leader by using a very slow retrieve. And as regards being able to fish at different depths with three diferent flies, no problem at all.

The other day I fished alongside 4 or 5 other anglers, all of them were using bungs.

In a hours fishing I had 7 trout to the total of 3 trout taken by all the other anglers.

I doubt if I will be using the bung in future.