Plastic Frogs?

[Responsible Trails]

Has anyone tried this technique? Does it work?

[cassidyta]

Yes I have used it, and yes it works.
When you say plastic frog, there are generally two types that come to mind. The hollow bodied lures, and the soft plastics.
The hollow bodied are designed to fished right on top of the nastiest stuff you can find. I throw them on top of lilly pads, thick weeds, algae, and even downed trees. I would say that the bait only touches water about 50% of the time. The rest of the time it is moving across the junk. Fishing a hollow bodied frog is all about being able to cast just past a specific spot and figuring out how to work it back. (long pauses, constant movement, or even hoping it back)

The soft plastic type is best fished when the weeds or grasses are just below the water's surface. Places where the hydrilla grows almost to the top. These frogs will usually disrupt more water than the hollow bodied. most of the time I use these as a constant retreive bait. I seldom pause while reeling, but will vary speed.


In my opinion, there is no techinque that can be more exciting and frustrating than frogs. It can be difficult to wait on setting a hook, but you have to. Often the bass will not have the hook in its mouth. You need it to dive with the bait and bite it a second time before setting the hook.

[WaffleJaw]

Originally Posted by cassidyta

Yes I have used it, and yes it works.
When you say plastic frog, there are generally two types that come to mind. The hollow bodied lures, and the soft plastics.
The hollow bodied are designed to fished right on top of the nastiest stuff you can find. I throw them on top of lilly pads, thick weeds, algae, and even downed trees. I would say that the bait only touches water about 50% of the time. The rest of the time it is moving across the junk. Fishing a hollow bodied frog is all about being able to cast just past a specific spot and figuring out how to work it back. (long pauses, constant movement, or even hoping it back)

The soft plastic type is best fished when the weeds or grasses are just below the water's surface. Places where the hydrilla grows almost to the top. These frogs will usually disrupt more water than the hollow bodied. most of the time I use these as a constant retreive bait. I seldom pause while reeling, but will vary speed.


In my opinion, there is no techinque that can be more exciting and frustrating than frogs. It can be difficult to wait on setting a hook, but you have to. Often the bass will not have the hook in its mouth. You need it to dive with the bait and bite it a second time before setting the hook.

Ahhhhh,Thats what I was gonna say!
haha,Good stuff Cass!

You know Ive never fished a soft plastic frog...Do you just T-rig them,or do you prefer the frog hook?

[MississippiBoy]

Originally Posted by WaffleJaw

Ahhhhh,Thats what I was gonna say!
haha,Good stuff Cass!

You know Ive never fished a soft plastic frog...Do you just T-rig them,or do you prefer the frog hook?

I T-rig with a 3/0 Gammy EWG Superline hook. I like the heavier hook to haul the fish out of the slop in a hurry before they get all wrapped up in salad. I use the Rage Tail frogs mainly, but I also have some Horny Toads. The Rage Tails have bigger feet, so they splash and flutter more than the Horny Toads.

COUNT TO AT LEAST 2-3 BEFORE YOU SET THE HOOK, then set it hard enough to yank the fish right out of the water. Braided line is very much recommended.

[WaffleJaw]

Originally Posted by MississippiBoy

I T-rig with a 3/0 Gammy EWG Superline hook. I like the heavier hook to haul the fish out of the slop in a hurry before they get all wrapped up in salad. I use the Rage Tail frogs mainly, but I also have some Horny Toads. The Rage Tails have bigger feet, so they splash and flutter more than the Horny Toads.

COUNT TO AT LEAST 2-3 BEFORE YOU SET THE HOOK, then set it hard enough to yank the fish right out of the water. Braided line is very much recommended.

Thanks MB, Yea I dont have alot of areas that require using my hollow bodies around me....But I think a soft bodied might work really well in this one perticular area...Ill check out those rage tails.

[cassidyta]

I used to only T-rig them, but have recently moved to using owner beast hooks with screw lock. These really allow me to keep the frog on the hook better than a normal T-rig. I have both the 5/0 and the 3/0 for the different sized frogs.

As far as one's that disrupt a lot of water, I really like the stanley ribbits.

[bassinbob]

Last time I fished with Horny Toads I tried something different. I let them take the frog and swim away with it. I waited about 10 seconds (more or less) and then set the hook. None of them swallowed the bait. Two or three of them came to the surface before they came off. I hooked 2 or three. I was using a size 4 hook. I had it burried inside the toad and not skin hooked. When I skin hooked the bait is when I caught the 2 or 3 I landed. I used to not wait very long before I set the hook but that taught me to give them more time.

[Baron49]

Frog fishing? Now we are talking a really fun and exciting way to fish bass. As has been mentioned there are two types of frogs. Floating and buzzing frogs, both have their place.

Floating frogs:

I prefer Snag proof's Tournament frog for working over the top of thick slop or mats. They ride flat on top of mats and can be worked easily through the thickest cover.

For water that is a little more open with some cover a SPRO frog works as it sits in the water with the legs down into the water. Walking the dog type retrieves work very well.

In open water a SPRO Popping frog is the best cross between a popper and a floating frog I have come across. Use these just like using a PopR and some big fish will jump all over them. These frogs are also very easy to skip under docks, boathouses, and willow trees.

For tackle I use a 7'3'' MH St. Croix Legend rod, 65 lb Power Pro on a Revo SX 7.1 reel.

Buzzfrogs

Horny Toads have been around for a long time and still catch more then their share of fish, both largemouths and smallmouths. You should to rig them texas style with either a 4/0 or 5/0 Zoom screw in type hook or a 5/0 or 6/0 Owner EWG. The larger hook helps with both the hook ups and acts as a keel to keep the bait riding right side up. With the horny toad ideal conditions are flat calm water with some kind of cover. The Horny toad is not a loud buzz frog, it make a quiet pitter pat that the bass seems to zero in on with a vengeance.

Stanley Ribbit This has to be my all time favorite buzz frog. For its size it make a lot of noise and puts out a bubble trail that is yards long. You can fish this anywhere you think there might be a bass. I use the same exact hooks for the Ribbit as I do for the Horny Toad.

Strike King Rage Toad Now here is the most outrageously loud and obnoxious buzz frog there is. I have used this in clear calm water and actually seen the fish swim away from this noisy frog. However in choppy water and windy conditions this frog cannot be beat. It will call Largemouths and Smallmouth from great distances. Have not not caught many small fish on the Rage toad the size I do catch is much larger then average. Have caught smallmouths over 6 lbs with it. Rig this buzzing frog with a big hook as there is a lot of plastic to go through. I prefer either a 5/0 or 6/0 Owner EWG or a Gamakatsu 5/0 Superline hook.

The setup I use for buzz frogs is a 7'3'' MH St. Croix Legend, Revo Premier 6.4 reel and 50 lb Power Pro.

A couple of tricks.......use a 10 mm plastic bead in front of the hook to keep the weeds and debris off the nose of the buzz frogs as you reel them in. Most people will tell you to count or wait to set the hooks with these kinds of baits. It is really quite simple, when you feel the weight of the fish set the hooks. Some fish will come up under a floating frog and suck it right in, others grab at the legs and kind of chew their way up the frog. When you feel the weight of the fish they have it in their mouths. Bass will not hit frogs the same all the time and with practice you will learn when to set the hook. Using braided lines cuts down on the reaction time and with practice you can get a very high strike to hook up ratio with these frogs.