(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
Superstar angler Bryan Thrift is known for buzzing down the bank at warp speed, and one of his key tools for doing so never left the deck of his boat, even when others gave up on it.
“For a while it fell kind of on the back burner to the Plopper, but now the buzz frog has come back,” he said. By “buzz frog” he means not just a buzzbait and not just a Horny Toad, but rather the marriage of the two. It’s a combo that he believes was pioneered by fellow Carolinian Todd Auten. “This is a Carolina born-and-bred bait.”
He likes it so much, in fact, that while a buzzbait is a regular part of his arsenal throughout much of the year, this one gets the call almost exclusively. “I have not thrown a buzzbait with a skirt in 10 years,” he said. That’s because the buzz/toad combo allows him to do with one bait what it would take six or more skirted models to accomplish. He can make longer casts, and the wide profile provides the fish with something to key in on, which means fewer missed strikes. Furthermore, he can skip it a mile under docks and overhanging limbs.
He fishes it on a 7’ heavy-action Fitzgerald Stunner baitcasting rod, which is shorter than what many anglers use for a buzzbait, but provides him with the proper leverage and angle for skipping. He also goes against the grain on reel speeds, choosing an Abu Garcia Revo STX with a 7.3:1 gear ratio. He spools it up with 20-pound P-Line Topwater Line, a relatively new offering with low stretch.
“It’s a very high-performance copolymer line,” he explained. “I don’t like braid when I’m throwing a buzzbait because I can’t skip it as well.” That’s the beauty of the toad: It provides adequate bulk and surface area to skip, whereas a skirt is light and tends to catch on the surface. He often uses a homemade buzzbait and said that one of the keys is to use a heavy-gauge wire. Otherwise the arm will flex when the toad hits the water and the blade will brush the surface, causing the lure’s forward motion to stop. He also slides the head of the toad over the lead, to create even more surface area and to put the hook as far back as possible.
With respect to colors, he keeps it simple: “Light and dark.” One choice in each range allows you to replicate a wide range of forage.
He does tend to vary how far back he perseveres with his retrieve depending on the season and the type of cover. For example, if he’s fishing steep banks he’ll often retrieve the lure until it gets 10 feet away and then bring it back to fire out another cast. Around docks, however, and particularly during the shad spawn, he may retrieve the lure all the way back to the boat. He’ll also mix up his retrieve, adding in short pops and flourishes to tempt trailing fish.
If you want to learn some of the other secrets of how Thrift utilizes a buzzbait with a Horny Toad on the back instead of a skirt, including a detailed on-the-water tutorial on how to skip it, check out his full video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
