I don't hear much about those baits anymore. For topwater action, people are now throwing either some frog variations or soft baits but no buzz baits as far as I can tell. Do folks still throw them or are they just a thing of the past?

Everyone I know fishes them. Still see pros on TV throwing them as well. Plopper type lures are more popular though.

I'll always throw a buzzbait. One of my favourites!

Buzzbaits go places ploppers cant go .

Buzzbaits and toads remain vital alternatives to treble hook topwaters for me.  Even in open water, I still fish them over ploppers sometimes. 

I've been known to toss one around every now and then.

very popular lure that has it's own category in TW.

Jacob Wheeler introduced his tournament winning buzz baits in standard and finesse models. 

Tom

 

Still a heavy used lure down here in the south especially around vegetation 

 

The 'buzzbait' is a topwater spinnerbait that can go where many topwaters fear to tread.

Solid toads have been nicknamed 'Buzz toads', which flatters the buzzbait but doesn't replace it.

 

Roger

 

I much prefer a buzzbait to the Whopper Plopper.  

Uhm...yeah.  

Since the   70's buzzbaits have been my favorite lure . They havent caught me the most fish but they are the funnest to throw . The Original Lunker Lure in 1/2 ounce still occupies a spot in  my spinnerbait/buzzbait box . I dont believe it has been improved upon .

Definitely still heavily employed where I fish.

I admit I have overlooked it for a few years as other trendier baits came along, however in the last couple of years I've rediscovered the Buzzbait and I'm fond of using it in weedier places where getting a treble hook lure is difficult. I almost always remove the skirt and add a Zoom Horney Toad. This adds bulk, which makes it easier for when I need to make long cast into the wind and also makes easy to pitch the bait as well for when I need to make tight cast into  or alongside heavy cover. In addition to that the toad bait makes it easier to plane the bait at a slower speed if needed. 

I use them around here and I see a lot of other people using them too. 

I have one zip tied to my truck's antenna so I can help it develop a good squeal, squeak, whatever you want to call it.

 

The earliest buzzbait was probably the "Arbogast Hawaiian Wiggler" (followed by Al Foss Wigglers). 

During that era, Arthur Godfrey, ukuleles and Hawaiian culture were popular (and a lure called a Hula Dancer).

When I was kid, buzzbaits were called 'Buzzspins' and the delivery was called 'skittering', not buzzing.

I didn't do much damage with buzzspins, until Roland Martin popularized the Lunker Lure Buzzbait in the 70s.

To this day, the Lunker Lure has little competition, with the possible exceptions

of the Booyah Buzz and Megastrike Cavitron.

 

Roger 
 

 

 

I have a rod and reel in the box dedicated to buzzbaits and it gets used heavily. One of my favorite topwaters to fish and by far my best one for big fish.

Just to add to this, 90% of my fishing is for largemouth in Georgia ponds and small lakes, and buzzbaits are a big fish bait by my standards.

 

I don't have detailed records, but I would estimate that 7 of my top 10 largest bass in the past 5 years all came on 3/8 or 1/2 oz buzzbaits.

Agree, Buzzbaits seem to attract bigger fish. 

They give you a workout compared to a plopper 90 due to the increased retrieve rate but still stands as my #1 top water bait.

I always have one tied on in the morning & evening, I've had good success with them this season. I've been catching 10-20 fish a day the past few times out. Even last year I was catching fish on a buzzbait in the heat of the day.

It took me a long time to get the hang of buzzbaits, but now that I have, post-spawn through fall I have one tied on everywhere I go, and it's often the first thing I throw in the morning.

First cast of the day with a buzzbait this morning one blasted it in some flooded bushes but missed it, going to be a great day fishing a buzzbait, or not, never had another bite on it ?

Fished my last trip's hot bait, a red Siebert Fogy chatterbait most of the day. But on a flat about quitting time at 5 p.m. yesterday I was throwing a buzzbait toad and picked up this 4 1/4 pounder, the only real bite of the day. First fish on a buzzbait, so I'm plumb full of buzzbait luv at the moment.