I've had success with buzz bombs in lakes, rivers, and the salt. When I was a kid I hooked into some monster kings off a pier in the south sound - only to lose them most of the time. I still have bad dreams of jigging the big white bomb about 10 ft down, then watching this 20+ lb king come out of no where and munch it. I set the hook, the line breaks (my knots were not that great back then and the line was usually pretty old), and the fish disappears just as fast as he arrived, and my buzz bomb quickly flutters to the bottom. This happened several times. I think I need counseling...

On another note, buzz bombs are a snaggers best friend. At hoodsport, guys chuck them into a school of fish, weight a couple seconds, then 'set the hook'. Say a guy nail one every cast for about an hour - in the tail or back. I think he was keeping the females with eggs.

Anyway, buzz bombs work great for bottom fish too. And bass and trout love them in lakes. If I see fish on the finder suspended or on bottom and I don't get them trolling the usual stuff, a buzz bomb dropped down and jigged will usually get their attention.