Buzzer flies imitate aquatic insects at their larvae and pupae stages of their life cycle.
They are present in water bodies at all times of the year. Although buzzers are most often fished during the spring and summer months when they can be seen hatching in abundant numbers, buzzers can be fished all year round, even in winter.
This makes learning how to correctly fish buzzers an important skill for fly fishers to learn so they can catch brown and rainbow trout all year.
Buzzer flies are a great fly for beginner fly tiers to make. They are simple and require few materials. In most cases they can be tied in as little as five minutes.
In this article, I will cover the best way to fish buzzers, where you can fish buzzers, the best fly-fishing lines to use when fishing with buzzer flies as well as using an indicator.
This information will prove to be important for correctly deploying your buzzers on the water and getting more bites from trout.
How Do You Fish Buzzers on Still Water?
Fishing With a Single Buzzer
Buzzers are typically fished in sets of three or four flies. However, for those who are new to fly fishing, it is easier to fish with a single fly.
Fishing a single buzzer on a 10ft leader will prove to be the easier method for a new fly fisher wishing to fish buzzers. A beginner will likely run into tangles when fishing with droppers. Therefore, to avoid frustration and wasted time that would have been better off fishing, I recommend only fishing with one buzzer if you are new.
Fishing Multiple Buzzers
The best methods of fishing multiple buzzers are the “washing line” and the “team of 3 straight line” technique.
Fishing Buzzers on the Washing Line
When trout are feeding on the surface, the washing line method gives you the opportunity to fish multiple flies around the surface level.
A foam fly such as the Booby or FAB is fished on the point alongside 2 or 3 droppers. The droppers are typically 6-8 inches in length and set at distances of 5 feet.
Buzzers fished with the washing line technique can be fished statically or with a slow retrieve. If fished statically, make you keep contact with line and keep it tight. The allows you to feel any takes and will help to set the hook.
The Booby not only aids in buoyancy but also acts as an attractor fly. It will attract trout to your washing line as they investigate the Booby fly. In some cases, they will even take the Booby but if they don’t, they will likely take one of your more realistic buzzer flies.
The washing line technique can also be used to fish buzzers in deeper waters when fishing from a boat. Using a sinking line will drag the flies to deeper water while the Booby will help keep the flies up.
Team of three Straight Line
If you do not know at which depth the trout are feeding at, I recommend fishing the team of 3 straight line technique.
The team of 3 straight line is fished with a beaded buzzer or a heavy buzzer tied on a larger hook on the point. The dropper flies are made up of non-beaded or lighter flies. Each dropper is fished at a length of 8 inches and each fly is 5 feet apart from one another.
Depending on which fly the fish takes, you will have an indication as to the depth the trout are feeding at.
How to Retrieve Buzzer Flies?
Buzzers are generally retrieved at a slow and steady pace. This is achieve by using a figure of eight retrieve. The figure of eight retrieve is especially useful for keeping buzzers at a constant depth of water.
Another useful retrieve for fishing with buzzers is the sink and draw retrieve. To fish the sink and draw retrieve, give the line a long and steady pull. This raises the flies in the water causing them to be fished higher.
The long steady pull is followed by a pause, allowing the flies to sink downwards. The rising and falling motion of the flies can help to trigger a take from the fish.
How Deep Do You Fish With a Buzzer?
How deeply you fish a buzzer fly depends on the depth at which the trout are feeding at.
If the fish are rising it means they are feeding from the surface, and you should fish close to the surface to catch them. If this is the case, you should fish at a depth equivalent to the surface of the water to around 18 inches below the surface.
If you can not see any fish feeding, they are likely to be feeding at deeper depths of water. In this situation, I recommend using the “team of 3 straight line” method to find the depth of the feeding trout.
Can You Fish Buzzers in a River?
Although fly fishing with buzzer is commonly associated with still water fishing, buzzers can be very effective flies for catching trout on rivers. Trout can often be seen sipping hatching midge flies from slow moving pools.
You will have the great opportunity at catching river trout fishing buzzers in these slow moving pools. However, you can also catch trout when presenting them with buzzers in faster flowing areas of the river too.
What Fishing Lines for Fishing Buzzers?
Buzzers can be fished on floating, intermediate, and sinking lines. The fly-fishing line you choose to fish your buzzers will depend on the depth at which the trout are feeding.
Can You Fish Buzzers on a Floating Line?
Yes, buzzers can be fished on a floating. When trout are feeding close to the surface, you will want to use a floating line to fish buzzers. Using a floating line will ensure the buzzers are kept high in the water column and do not sink too fast.
Suspending the flies high in the water will allow the trout time to see them and bite. If the flies sink too fast, they may be avoided by the trout.
Can You Fish Buzzers on an Intermediate Line?
Yes, intermediate lines can be used for fishing buzzers. Intermediate sinking lines are best used for fishing buzzers when trout are feeding in deeper water. Fish a slow intermediate line to prevent the flies from sinking too quickly and use a slow figure of eight retrieve to keep the buzzer flies on the move. This will also help keep the buzzers in the depth of water the trout are feeding in.
Can You Fish Buzzers on a Sinking Line?
Yes, you can fish buzzers on a sinking line. Sinking lines should be used for fishing buzzers when trout are feeding in very deep waters. Using a sinking line ensures your buzzers will sink faster and get to where the trout are feeding.