Have Whopper Ploppers made buzz baits obsolete? 2024
KHL12 reply :
I'm just an old retired guy stumbling along the bank. I fished buzz baits for years. Never caught a fish. First time out with my Whopper Plopper 130 in Loon, I caught a 3 and a 4 and missed three other blowups. I realize there are many places with pads and other surface vegitation where neither Whopper Ploppers or buzz baits can be fished. In areas like this, we all throw hollow body frogs with success.
Since Whopper Ploppers and buzz baits are both best is mostly open water, why carry buzz baits.
Or am I wrong...And I have been wrong before.
Dirtyeggroll reply :
Buzzbaits can be fished in heavy cover (laydowns) where a plopper's trebles will get snagged.
SDoolittle reply :
I've only used them a couple of times, but I have yet to catch a fish on a whopper plopper. Buzz baits definitely still have a place in my tackle box.
DINK WHISPERER reply :
On 8/21/2018 at 4:22 AM, Dirtyeggroll said:Buzzbaits can be fished in heavy cover (laydowns) where a plopper's trebles will get snagged.
This^^^
Glaucus reply :
The Whopper Plopper has made buzzbaits obsolete for me personally. I don't fish a lot surface or just barely subsurface vegetation. The WP simply catches more fish and has better action. My opinion only. Everyone has what works for them.
papajoe222 reply :
Welcome
There is a big difference between the sound a WP and a buzzbait give off. Heck, there's even a difference between buzzbaits. Some days that difference can be the difference between catching and not catching,
WP style baits have been around the muskie fishing population for decades and those guys still throw big buzzers.
Team9nine reply :
On 8/21/2018 at 4:20 AM, KHL12 said:I'm just an old retired guy stumbling along the bank. I fished buzz baits for years. Never caught a fish. First time out with my Whopper Plopper 130 in Loon, I caught a 3 and a 4 and missed three other blowups. I realize there are many places with pads and other surface vegitation where neither Whopper Ploppers or buzz baits can be fished. In areas like this, we all throw hollow body frogs with success.
Since Whopper Ploppers and buzz baits are both best is mostly open water, why carry buzz baits.
Or am I wrong...And I have been wrong before.
Yeah, you're wrong. Buzzbaits will never become obsolete - 
Bassin' Brad reply :
On 8/21/2018 at 4:20 AM, KHL12 said:I'm just an old retired guy stumbling along the bank. I fished buzz baits for years. Never caught a fish.
You're telling me you literally fished a bait for years that never even produced 1 fish???
38 Super Fan reply :
Clear water, dingy water, heavy cover, no cover, a buzzbait stills outfishes a WP for me almost every single trip. And yes, I usually have both tied on, and throw them both quite a bit. (I'm a die hard topwater guy) The buzzbait consistently has a better hook-up ratio for me too. I like the WP, but the hype around it still surprises me.
BrianinMD reply :
Apples and oranges....different sound, different hooks, you can change trailers on buzzbaits...both will have their place.
NHBull reply :
On 8/21/2018 at 6:05 AM, 38 Super Fan said:Clear water, dingy water, heavy cover, no cover, a buzzbait stills outfishes a WP for me almost every single trip. And yes, I usually have both tied on, and throw them both quite a bit. (I'm a die hard topwater guy) The buzzbait consistently has a better hook-up ratio for me too. I like the WP, but the hype around it still surprises me.
Fully agree, but this year, the rat has also out produced the WP, especially in the morning
MassYak85 reply :
The main advantage of a buzzbait is you can fish it in thick cover. IMO the main advantages of a whopper plopper is that it can be paused, and in the wind the 130 and 190 sizes can stand up to some sizable waves before their actions start to get affected. More so than any buzzbait I've fished. But even if those things were equal the sound and profile differences alone are enough you should still own and fish both.
Brew City Bass reply :
Some lakes they only hit the WP for me. Other lakes they only hit a buzzbait. Fish want something different at every lake I fish. No rhyme or reason to it. I fish both.
BassWhole! reply :
No
Bucky205 reply :
A black buzz bait at night is an awesome lure.
F15HGuy reply :
Buzz bait and whopper will always have enough differences in action and "fishability" to keep them both relevant. However, if someone finds a way to make a Whopper Plopper squeak......
Mobasser reply :
I've fished buzzbait with success for 30 + years.I havnt bought a whopper plopper yet , and probably won't. Between these two, I'll stick with buzzbaits.
DSTN reply :
The WP 90 and 110 have both been good for me, eapecially the 90. Still love a buzzbait though. Not going away for me.
Troy85 reply :
There is so much grass where I fish, whopper ploppers, Zara spooks and other top waters with trebles are almost impossible to use in most situations. Weedless frogs and buzzbaits are the top water choice for me.
FryDog62 reply :
Around weeds/cover throw a Toadrunner... not as loud and obnoxious as a WO but same
concept. Works
HookRz reply :
Seriously? The plopper has a way of finding weeds I didn't go NK were there! The 90 is a great creek Smallie bait, and the 130 i
On 8/21/2018 at 9:36 AM, Mobasser said:I've fished buzzbait with success for 30 + years.I havnt bought a whopper plopper yet , and probably won't. Between these two, I'll stick with buzzbaits.
s a hog caller... But don't take away my buzzers!
FishDewd reply :
Personally I don't like buzzbaits. I own a few but they've always been so awkward to fish for several reasons. 1.) Clunky. 2.) Has to be burned to stay on top of the water since it has 0 buoyancy. 3.) Unable to pause. I've caught fish on topwaters on pausing. 4.) Cannot be slow rolled. I've caught fish on top water slow rolling.
I know it's more resistant to debris, but I probably won't throw any top water in those conditions anyway. Out of those two, I vote for WP personally.
rejesterd reply :
No bait is obsolete. Ploppers are just popular right now, just like frogs, rats, senkos, flukes, etc. In the 90's, it was slug-gos, power worms, spinnerbaits, zara spooks, etc. They all work if you get the right color, speed and depth.
greentrout reply :
A buzzbait thrown back in stumps and brush is one of the most, if not the most, exhilarating experiences a basser can experience. Feel sorry for those who have never had it...at night from the bank it can flat out scare you close to the bank...man vs. the bass beast...
good fishing...
BuzzHudson19c reply :
Oh, did my heart sink when I saw the title of this thread.
I have tried whopper ploppers's and they just don't fit for me. Dust collectors now. I had better luck with them for largemouth but for smallies, The buzzbait is king. There are times when I will fish an entire day with the same Buzzbait tied on and never think about taking it off.
Brew City Bass reply :
On 8/21/2018 at 9:36 AM, Mobasser said:I've fished buzzbait with success for 30 + years.I havnt bought a whopper plopper yet , and probably won't. Between these two, I'll stick with buzzbaits.
I definitely wouldn't rule out a whopper plopper man. I didn't buy one until this summer because I thought it couldn't possibly be any better than a buzzbait. I was wrong. I found one on sale for $10 and said what the hell. Later that day I went to the lake and threw a buzzbait for 2 hours. Didn't get a hit. Said screw it and threw on the plopper and went 12 for 15 on it. Would have never caught a top water fish on many days this summer if it wasn't for a plopper. It's a totally different bait. Different noise, different action, different profile. No reason not to have this tool in the tool box.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Some of the lakes I fish they'll eat a plopper and ignore a buzzbait, others they kill a buzzbait and the plopper goes untouched. No idea why, but I've seen it time and time again, it's not just that it happened once or twice. I love fishing a buzzbait through cover where a plopper would be a nightmare.
YoTone reply :
im more fearless with a buzzbait therefore i catch more on them as well.
Ratherbfishing reply :
I'm with BuzzHudson above. Between the line twist and trebles snagging vegetation, they just don't really "do it" for me. Maybe with braid it'd be okay. But no, they will not replace buzzbaits. They aren't the same, regardless.
J Francho reply :
Totally different tools. Neither cancels the other out.
Fishingmickey reply :
The only time I have had issues with line twist is with the WP is the 90 size and below. 110 and 130 sizes no issues. Different tools for different applications. The buzz bait has it's place.
FM
AO2point4 reply :
Buzz baits have no place in my box. Can’t be paused, can’t be casted as far, and can’t be retrieved as slowly as a whopper plopper. The whopper plopper is just a more versatile bait.
Any place with vegetation where I couldn’t get a plopper through, I’d reach for a Sprinker frog.
crypt reply :
would rather throw a buzzbait over a Plopper any day. just seems to work for me.
craww reply :
Absolutely not. The whopper plopper is sort of the rattle trap of topwater for me. I fish it more to semi blindly cover water. But have found a cool niche for using them in current to present it in a way that stays in the strike zone. They catch fish and are growing on me. That said I would drop them in an instant if Could only have the WP or a buzz bait.
-Buzz baits land much more subtly. WP’s will spook fish in shallow, calmer water.
-I’ve got a ton of big fish on buzz baits in open water, Yet can also cast them in just about any cover. Added bonus for whatever reason I seem to be more accurate with a buzz bait than most Lures.
- despite being heavy Lures that feel like they should cast to the moon the 110’s and 90’s don’t cast THAT much farther for me then my heavier 5/8 oz buzz baits. The WPs arent terrible casters; but I can get an E7 Curado down to the backing with a sammy 100/115. The 110 WP is dramatically shorter due to the way it slightly grabs air and a seeming lack of weight transfer system.
- after two years of using the WP (90/110) I just seem to catch more big fish on buzz baits.
-The WP will occasionally hook fish in a manner that may injure them. When I hook a fish on a top water plug I fight them pretty hard. Rod tip down, in or near the water with constant pressure so they can’t shake their head and throw the bait. The plopper has hooked about half a dozen bass on the outside of The gill plate for me and I’ve seen others say the same thing. It’s a fairly large diameter hook- so if you were using braid or horsing the fish in it could be problematic.
islandbass reply :
On 8/21/2018 at 4:20 AM, KHL12 said:I'm just an old retired guy stumbling along the bank. I fished buzz baits for years. Never caught a fish. First time out with my Whopper Plopper 130 in Loon, I caught a 3 and a 4 and missed three other blowups. I realize there are many places with pads and other surface vegitation where neither Whopper Ploppers or buzz baits can be fished. In areas like this, we all throw hollow body frogs with success.
Since Whopper Ploppers and buzz baits are both best is mostly open water, why carry buzz baits.
Or am I wrong...And I have been wrong before.
They are tools. Just to let you know, I was in the exact same boat as you with regard to buzzbaits and spinner baits. I went through 14 years of trying both and couldn’t even beg for a strike.
This season, I decided to give them a try, a heck of a lot more focused and did my homework. I have now caught bass on both and on multiple occasions. I went 5 for 7 on A $1 Walmart spinnerbait in 15 minute fishing stint. I was shocked and stunned. 14 years and now I can’t keep them off and I have 15 minutes to get to work? Irony. One miss was a short strike. The other miss was my rod and line got stuck in an overhanging tree during the hookset and I couldn’t set the hook.
Do do some research on what blade type or combinations might be suited to your waters. For example, those bass I caught were tuned to a single willow blade. A willow and Colorado combination did not appeal to them... at all.
So keep at. No need to worry about them not working until you go through a 14 year spell as I did. ????
scaleface reply :
I dont own a Whopper Plopper but dont see how they can even be fished in the same areas I throw a buzz-bait .
dday07 reply :
When i need a flutter sound i go with the plopper..But the times i need that clanking sound like at nite..Certain buzzbaits get the call
the reel ess reply :
Not until I start catching something on them. LOL. I tried one again last night to no avail. It's 0 for 4 with me.
fishballer06 reply :
As a co-angler who still hasn't bought a WP, I can honestly say that I have yet to see anyone out fish me with a WP while I'm throwing my trust old Cavitron's. Three things have kept me from purchasing a Whopper Plopper.
- Treble hooks - they cannot be fished with vegetation on the surface
- Thrown baits - large heavy lures are more prone to being tossed during a jump when compared to a 1/4oz buzzbait with a single hook
- Still haven't seen anyone outfish me with my buzzbait
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