Generally speaking, a buzzbait is a “chunk and wind” lure. You throw it out and reel it in just fast enough to keep it on the surface. Taylor has also had success in retrieving the lure in a jerking motion. If the fish are a bit sluggish, that sometimes triggers a strike better than a straight retrieve.
Typical buzzbaits are made of spinnerbait frames (or harnesses) with a triple-bladed buzz blade. But in recent years, buzzbaits have also come to include things like the Stanley Ribbit Frog, which can be retrieved with less commotion but the same profile. Some frogs like the Rebel Buzz’n Frog actually have legs that spin like a buzz bait.
Sometimes Taylor even makes up his own buzzbaits by combining components such as a Lunker Lure frame and spinner, but he will take off the skirt and add a Ribbit Frog body. That’s a pretty big lure, which as you would expect, attracts pretty big bass.
When structure conditions will permit, Taylor also works good areas more than once. First he’ll hit it with a buzzbait, then throw a more conventional topwater like a Storm Chug Bug. One may pick up fish that the other one misses. If he still thinks fish are there, he will throw a weightless plastic worm, just to make sure he’s given fish a chance to pick something they like.
“One thing I will say is that if you are fishing in the summer, never go to the lake without some sort of buzzbait tied on one of your rods. You don’t have to fish it all the time, but early and late in the day, it’s hard to go wrong with a few casts with a buzzbait.”