I was fishing a small secluded pond today and I got about 6-8 hits on a buzzbait. Thi spond is small, shallow, and has lots of pond scum due to the shallowness. Throwing anything subsurface results in reeling back a one pound pile of scum, then having to pick it off your lure. I though I'd throw a buzzbait, thus resulting in no scummy lures since I could buzz the lure right over the submereged algea beds. I got a bass my third cast. I missed quite a few since I was using a glass rod with a lot of bend, and also missed a nice sized one that exploded on it. I am positive I missed many of the fish due to the slower action of the glass rod. The bass were spitting it before I could jam the hook ito their jaws.

The buzzbait is a great shallow water lure to use in small water like shallow coves or flats with lots of algea/weed growth. Bass cannot resist a chartuese buzzbait swimming along the surface. I never realized it until today, when I caught and landed my first bass, which the whole way into shore was spitting up the skeleton of a half digested frog, that a buzzbait must look like a swimming frog to bass. This was the second bass I have caught out of this particular pond that had a frog in its throat when caught.

I'm going back to that pond and throwing the buzz on a nice fast action graphite rod and slammin the hook in that big un's mouth.

I hardly ever fish a buzz bait anymore... I mainly fish the zoom horny toad and real it just fast enough for the legs to start kicking..... Awesome action and it can be fished sub surfaced also, or stopped and killed all of a sudden if you need to..... Put them on one of those toad hooks weedless and you got yourself one of the most versatile lures available.....

I never even thought of that. I am not a big soft plastic guy, even though I know I should use them more often. I like cranks, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and just recently started using the buzzbait. I figure the horny toad and like lure act just as a buzzbait but with a more realistic profile and feel to the bass. Not to mention a nice salt impregnated flavor. Thanks for the tip. Plus I can work them over lily pads without getting hung up. I heard its tough to jam the hook through the body on hook sets though. Have you had this problem. I figure fishing them on braid would help this, but I have no experience with braid...

I was the same way until about 2 years ago.... I hated soft plastics.... Now some of my top bait are soft plastic including the horny toad....I have never really had a problem with the hook set ever since I went to the horny toad hooks... It has a screw on top the screws into the head and then I put the hook going into the bottom to the top, when it is out I bury the tip into the top of the frog just enough to make it weedless... That has worked for me best... I also use 50# Berkley power braid on a 6'6 heavy action rod with a 5600 Abu Garcia reel....

I like a buzz-bait every now and then, more than likely I tie on a rebel-pop-r or a Rapala Skitter Pop. If it is really thick weeds or vegetation I die on either a Ribbit Frog or work a weighless, texas worm over the weeds and pick pockets to work it in.

For you, since you noticed some frog carcasses, I would try throwing a frog (plastic) and work it on top. Just twitch it every now and then to get the legs kicking, and HOLD ON!

Good luck!  8-)

I love buzzbaits, but I lack confidence unless I'm using a trailer hook, which I use at all times. I switch to Ribbits or similar baits when the weeds won't allow a buzzbait to be retrieved cleanly.

Thanks for the tips guys.

By the way John J. I like the Pop-R too, but when I was hitting them on the buzz the other day, I tried a Pop R when my bro was tossing the buzzbait and I had one strike to our total 6 fish and a few missed ones on the buzzbait. I think when the bass won't chase a buzz bait, then throw on a popper since it's a slower lure for more finicky bass. I wish I had a trailer hook today since I missed quite a few

Thanks for the tips guys.

By the way John J. I like the Pop-R too, but when I was hitting them on the buzz the other day, I tried a Pop R when my bro was tossing the buzzbait and I had one strike to our total 6 fish and a few missed ones on the buzzbait. I think when the bass won't chase a buzz bait, then throw on a popper since it's a slower lure for more finicky bass. I wish I had a trailer hook today since I missed quite a few

Try the Sizmic Pop'N Toad.