The Schlapper Pro Bushwhacker

This Brazalo Custom Lures buzzbait grew in popularity after mention by bass pro

When a golden opportunity knocks, sometimes it hits really, really hard.

It happened to a personable Sherwood, Ark., outdoorsman, Danny Arballo, and his 6-year-old Brazalo Custom Lures. Widely known Bassmaster Elite Series pro Pat Schlapper mentioned the name of the Bushwhacker Buzzbait he was catching on in a live interview during an Elite tournament that ended May 18, instantly making the buzzbait notorious.

Arballo, 49, got into making artificial lures in 2018, then went full time with it in 2019, putting his job as an operations manager for large trucking companies in the rearview mirror. Soon he was selling spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, underspins, buzzbaits, etc., across the country.

Schlapper’s revelation gave the company such a boost there was talk initially of adding machinery, workers and perhaps moving into a larger workshop.

“We’re still running out of the same shop. We decided just to stay here,” Arballo said June 27 about the company’s 750-square-foot workshop in Sherwood. “We build everything here in-house. We don’t rely on the overseas market to bring in everything (with the exception of hooks). We build on demand here. We adjust inventory levels in-house.”

Arballo, an Illinois native who eventually moved to Texas, then Arkansas, permanently added one more worker to join the original three-man working crew. He laughs when he discusses the changes since Schlapper’s victory on May 18.

“It’s been busy,” he said. “It started out chaotic. We kind of got everything reeled in and got all the fires put out. As far as components of the bait, we used to order in the 5,000s and now it’s in the 50,000s.”

Schlapper picks his winner

Schlapper first glimpsed a Bushwacker Buzzbait in 2021 when it propelled Evan Barnes of Dardanelle, Ark., to a Top 10 tournament finish. Schlapper liked what he saw and how the buzzbait sounded while sputtering/clacking across the water.

Schlapper bought $150 worth of Bushwhackers in 2022 once he picked the buzzbait he wanted to use as an Elite.

“It’s hard for me to find a quality buzzbait that ran right, was built correctly, just had good components,” Schlapper told Bassmaster.com in June. “Basically, I bought a whole bunch of different buzzbaits, and that was the best one. Since I found that bait, it’s the only buzzbait I’ve thrown.”

The Elite Series pro from Eleva, Wis., relied on it on Championship Sunday at the Sabine River. After catching a key keeper on the Bushwacker Buzzbait, which he added a Big Bite Baits Black Tour Toad, on Semifinal Sunday, he hooked and boated four quality bass on it Day 4 to win the tough tournament out of Orange, Texas, with 38 pounds, 12 ounces.

Schlapper didnt keep the buzzbait a secret. It wasn’t a product made by one of his sponsors, he confided on Bassmaster LIVE. He also hinted at hooking up with Brazalo Custom Lures.

Arballo said it has been a great experience working with Schlapper.

“We haven’t personally met him yet. I’ve talked to him on the phone several times,” the company’s owner said. “He’s a genuine guy, just a salt of the earth kind of guy.

The version Schlapper was using was actually the company’s second version of the buzzbait.

“We had all the molds for the one he was using,” Arballo said. “We relaunched that old buzzbait and renamed it the Schlapper bait (Schlapper Pro Bushwhacker).”

Unique features

Buzzbaits in the Brazalo Custom Lures lineup include the Bushwhacker Buzzbait, the Schlapper Pro Bushwhacker, the Pro Elite Bushwhacker, M1 Buzz (OG style head), M1 Pro Buzz, and the Wee-Whacker Buzz Bait, Wee-Buzz, Pro Buzz (skirted) and Bufo Buzz (non-clacking).

Arballo is oh-so proud of the fact his lure manufacturing business makes the smallest clacking buzzbait on the market.

“That thing is kind of wild,” he said with a laugh.

The Bushwacker line has a few features that make it stand out on the market, Arballo said. He declined to talk about the key feature, although he thought, fleetingly, about doing so.

“One thing I’d love to tell everybody but other buzzbait makers would jump on it … I really can’t tell you,” he said with another hearty laugh.

However, he did share something that makes it really different from others.

“Our (clacking) buzzbait can be run at a lot slower speeds” because the bearing the blade strikes rolls, he said. Also, the more a bass angler fishes his buzzbait, the more of a cup forms in the blade and one of the blades misses the bead.

“So what happens is it sounds like a Harley coming across the water,” he said, laughing again.

The Bushwhackers have .045-gauge wire, thinner than most buzzbaits, according to Arballo. All the “Pro” models weigh 5/16-ounce for a reason, he said, explaining when a soft plastic is added it’ll weigh 1 ounce.

“The wire, the (4/0) hook, the line tie, (etc.), all that has a specific purpose,” he said.

An obvious difference is the hand-tied braided line at the bottom of the R bend where the line is tied. Why? Arballo said clacking buzzbaits flex during a cast, which means they need to be readjusted every three or four casts. Newer Bushwhacker models also have less bends in the wire “that keeps them strong.”

For more information on the Schlapper Pro Bushwhacker and other Brazalo Custom Lures products, call (501) 681-6130, or go to brazalocustomlures.com.

The post “The Schlapper Pro Bushwhacker” first appeared on LouisianaSportsman.com.