Fishing with Kenny: The Thrill of Buzzbaits and Buzz Frogs

article by Kenny Covington

It’s one of the most violent strikes I’ve ever had while bass fishing…..

My partner Glynn and I were fishing a team tournament in a small backwater area of Darbonne and the sound of the strike made Glynn’s head snap around to look. There was something about the buzzing of the Zoom Horny Toad over this fish’s head that it didn’t like, and this six pounder made sure we both knew it. I can still see the strike, and I remember the sound to this day. Glynn will tell you the same thing. I also remember…
I was about 13 years old and was on a fishing trip with my father and one of his friends. They had been catching fish up D’arbonne Bayou early in the morning, and I pestered them both until they agreed that I could go. After the morning’s buzzbait action had died down, both my father and Mr. Jack began worm fishing along the deeper banks. But I still wanted to throw my buzzbait.

Still resisting the boring “pause and drag” retrieve that was worm fishing, I began making a few throws along a stump infested slough mouth. I remember my father telling me I was wasting my time as the heat of a noontime sun was bearing down. I made a cast that wasn’t to my liking, and as I hurriedly retrieved my buzzbait back to the boat, the strike that came not only surprised the three of us in the boat, but it caused me to almost lose my rod. That was 40 years ago, and I haven’t had a strike on a buzzbait that vicious since.

In the above examples, my goal was to show you the drawing power and fish catching potential of both a buzzbait and a buzz frog. Both techniques are well documented for their big bass potential, but they seem to have fallen out of style with the newer generation of bass fishermen in the past few years. Tried and true seems to always give way to better lures and newer ideas but not always more fish.

Buzzbaits have been around for decades, but the Lunker Lure by which all buzzbaits are measured was introduced in the early 1970s. It was a bait that you didn’t put your boat in the water, unless you had one tied on. The popularity of the lure was unmatched. Fishermen had a way to catch fish from shallow cover with a lure that was virtually snag proof. For that reason, it was, and still is, deadly for both numbers of bass and big ones too.
The newer, more up to date models of buzzbaits, such as the Cavitron, have taken buzzbait fishing to a new level. The newer design has made the need for a trailer hook almost obsolete due to the way the base of the lure and the hook sets below the water’s surface resulting in more hookups. The blade design makes maintaining a consistent speed much easier as well.

I have never been one to make much of a fuss about the color of my buzzbait. These days, I keep it pretty simple; I throw black 75% of the time and white the other 25%. Regardless of water color or weather conditions, these are my two confidence colors, so I stick with them.

The Zoom Horny Toad was the first swimming frog that I ever used. Introduced back in the early 2000s, the Toad was the ultimate slop, grass, shallow water covering topwater lure. You could throw it as far back in the wilderness that you dare or you could use it for open water applications. If a bass was in the area, a Horny Toad was a great way to make him give up his location. Learning how to catch them took a bit of work though.
When it was first introduced, the hookup ratio for the Toad wasn’t very good. I remember using an offset 5/0 worm hook and blaming my hook choice for lost fish. At the time I didn’t know that wasn’t the issue. The real problem was that the Toad sat very high in the water during the retrieve and when fished in heavier cover, the fish had a tendency to either miss the lure altogether or not get it very well on the strike.

The problem was addressed when weighted hooks were introduced, allowing the Toad to sit lower in the water, resulting in better hookups. My hook of choice is a VMC 4/0 1/16th ounce weighted hook. The advancement in hook technology allowed the Toad to remain a great fish locater but also to become a more deadly fish catcher.
Like a buzzbait, I keep my choice of colors for my Horny Toads pretty basic; I throw black 90% of the time. At times I throw white or green pumpkin, but black has been my choice of color, since I caught that first six pounder with Glynn all those years ago. The “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” logic works for me on this.
As far as equipment, I use both buzzbait and buzz toad on the same rod/reel set up. I like a 7-foot medium/heavy rod with 6:3 to 1 ratio reel spooled with 50 lb. braided line. Both lures have potential to catch the biggest bass in a lake, so there is no sense not preparing your tackle for such an encounter.

Now that spring is in the air and our waters have finally warmed up, the next time you are out on your favorite lake, give these two lures a try. Both are easy, exciting ways to catch fish and are good ways to introduce someone to this great sport.

Well, it looks like I have run out of space again. Please be careful out on the water, as there will be more and more boats as summer approaches. Catch one for me, and I will see you next month!