If you ask a hundred anglers what their favorite way to catch them is, it’s likely 95 or more would put a topwater at the top of their list. There’s just something about a bass busting a topwater that is primal. In that moment, when the fish erupts on the surface and takes your lure, you know that you’ve tricked nature. When a fish goes full send on a Spook, you know you bested the bass and talked it into eating something that wasn’t real.
It’s actually a little messed up if you think about it, that this whole pursuit is about deceiving a relatively small green fish into eating something fake. But the challenge is what makes it fun. It’s a hard thing to do on a regular basis, to manipulate the fabric of nature. There’s an artistry to it. And there are a lot of paintbrushes to choose from.
How do you know which one to reach for when? Even when just talking about topwaters, there are dozens of options. And several seem interchangeable, at least at first. We’re going to look at three of those choices today and hopefully help you make sense of when to go with which–a buzzbait, a toad or a buzzbait/toad combo.
BUZZBAITS
Since the first Lunker Lure was invented nearly half a century ago back in 1976, it’s been one of the most productive topwaters out there. The basic buzzbait consists of a lead head molded onto a hook with a wire that holds a prop. A rubber or silicone skirt is used to disguise the hook while the prop turns on the bent wire above.
For this bait to work properly, it must be reeled continuously along the surface so that it can churn water and use sound, sight and vibration to attract a bass. This constant movement is what sets a buzzbait apart from a lot of other topwaters, like Spooks and poppers.
While these other baits have to be “worked” along the surface using a series of twitches and pauses, the buzzbait moves along constantly. This makes it a much better bait for covering water, which allows you to fish faster to find productive areas without wasting a lot of time.
You can read more about these baits in our roundup of the best buzzbaits for bass.
TOADS
A toad (or buzz toad) is a soft plastic topwater bait that is rigged weedless on a hook. It’s important to stress that this is not a hollow body frog, which typically has two built-in hooks and is worked along the surface like many other topwaters. Instead, a toad is reeled constantly along the surface, much in the same way that a buzzbait is fished.
Two really popular toads are the Zoom Horny Toad and the Stanley Ribbit. These two are great examples of the diversity that exists even within the toad family. The Horny Toad has a crisper, faster action to it thanks to the two little Speed Worm-like legs on the back of it. The Ribbit has a slower kick that creates more of a chugging sound as it’s reeled along.
Both of these baits are great, and one isn’t universally better than the other. Instead each bait is better in certain situations. For instance, the subtler Ribbit is better in the late spring when bass are still a little lethargic, while the speedy Horny Toad is better suited for the summer months, when bass are more willing to chase a bait down.
You can read more about different types of toads in our roundup of the best soft plastic frogs and toads.
THE BUZZBAIT/TOAD COMBO
Combining a buzzbait with a toad has become quite popular in recent years. Anglers found that bringing the best of both worlds together created a different bait category with new capabilities. To combine the two, you’ll want to peel the skirt off your buzzbait and then run your toad up onto the hook. Leave the hook point exposed in the end, much like you’d rig a trailer on a jig.
With the soft plastic toad fixed securely, you have a buzzbait that you can cast a lot farther, thanks to the added weight of the toad. This combination also skips far better than either a buzzbait or a toad on its own can; this is where the buzzbait/toad combo really shines.
WHEN TO USE EACH
Now we have three different baits that are all designed to be reeled constantly along the surface, drawing the attention of bass through sight, sound and feel. There are obviously several similarities here, but this does not mean these baits are interchangeable. Each works better in certain situations. Fishability is really the key deciding factor when trying to choose one of the three—which of these baits will I be able to fish the most effectively in and around the cover that’s present?
It’s easy to differentiate between the buzzbait and toad in this regard. Since the hook is exposed on the buzzbait, you’re not going to be able to fish it effectively through or over dense vegetation. At least, not nearly as well as you’ll be able to reel a toad that’s been rigged weedless. You can reel a buzzbait through treetops and sparse vegetation, but you’re going to want to go with the toad when throwing into holes that are surrounded by thicker grass, lily pads and other vegetation.
Conversely, bass typically prefer buzzbaits in open water and around hard cover. The spit and flash of the spinning prop of the buzzbait is likely to credit for it being more effective in situations where bass can get a better bead on the bait. The open hook and option to add a trailer hook both increase your odds of turning bites into bass in hand. These lures do a good job of mimicking shad and other baitfish scurrying around docks, stumps and sea walls, while the all-terrain toad can maneuver through and over the thicker stuff.
All that being said, when do you use the combo? Well, while the buzzbait/toad combo certainly works well in open water and along the edges of hard cover and vegetation, its ability to skip back under cover is what really sets it apart from the other two. Being able to skip a topwater back under docks, pontoons and bushes is a real game changer. The combo is the only bait of the three that’s capable of this feat; it’s really one of only two topwaters that come to mind that can do this effectively (a hollow body frog being the other).
FINAL THOUGHTS
While buzzbaits, toads and buzzbait/toad combos all have fairly similar actions, these three baits provide the angler distinct options when it comes to attacking different situations. Ask yourself which of these baits gives you the best chance to fish the cover effectively, and make your decision based on that.
If you need to cast deep into a lily pad field, the toad is the best option of the three. If you want to fish around docks and seawalls, the open hook of a buzzbait causes no concern and offers a little better hookup ratio when compared to the toad. When you have to skip a bait back under cover, you really only have one choice from these three: the buzzbait/toad combination. Hopefully this breakdown will help you catch more fish on all three of these baits in the future.
