Jaderose

HA! That's awesome. Looks like an exhausting good time!

I understand. I WILL pass up those shots if I just can't see any way to get those fish out. I wanna at least have a chance. If I see NO way, I'll pass it by. No sense hooking a fish only to leave it wrapped around a log or something like that

Nope....no hook. The frog is wrapped around the limb and just a little line hanging but I still hate it. I WILL get it outta there

What would be the point if I didn't?

I had no choice the other day but to leave about 2 ft of line hanging from a branch. My frog was too high to reach and the branch had too much flex to break off so I had to pull it down as far as I could and then reach as high as I could and cut it. I HAAAAAAATE that I left it there and will most likely think on it until I can figure out how to get it back. One of those darn casts that just get away from you. I'm usually pretty deadly with my frog aim.

Ever thrown at a spot that was so gnarly that you almost hoped there WASN'T a bass there because you weren't sure you'd be able to get her out? I spotted a little patch of water (maybe 3ft square) about 25-30 yards way out in a sea of stumps, standing timber and laydowns. One of those little patches that I just knew was holding a big girl but I didn't have a clear path to get one out...including casting OVER a couple of logs. But I'm also incapable of NOT taking the chance. I plotted my course out and fired my Scumfrog out there. BOOM! I was right. I set the hook hard and fast and managed to get her on top. (Did I mention there was also hydrilla?) I ski'd her around a couple of stumps, brought her over a couple of logs (submerged mostly so not that bad) and got her in. Didn't have a scale but somewhere in the 5lb range. She looked as surprised as I was! I've declined to throw a few times when it was basically impossible, but if there is even a slight glimmer of hope, I'll always take the shot. What about you?

Here you go. I make up a bunch when the water is hard and I got them all season. Easy, cheap and fun to make. Or just buy Owner Phantom Tube hooks to get you going immediately. DIY Phantom Tube Hook How to - YouTube or, as the others are saying...Get Stupid with it.

Trashmaster

I watched a show a few years back about Bass Fishing in Cuba. These guys were taking boats up these little rivers deep into the jungle and catching both huge largemouth and peacock bass. It looked AMAZING.

As much as I love my Scumfrog Trophy Series, I have thrown one or two that just weren't right. They didn't track straight or just somehow didn't have the mojo. I didn't waste much time with those. I have plenty and life is too short to mess with non-mojo baits. I've seen enough of your posts about froggin to know you ain't a frog noob. As you said....to the bottom of the box.

Yep.....even I would put the frog away and it wouldn't have taken me 4 hours. I have found frogs to be one of those baits that they will either hit or they won't. I also don't use them a lot on bad hydrilla as I have found that fish don't much blow up through it.

From the SPRO Website......."Kennesaw, GA – Part of the Essential series, the SPRO® engineers worked diligently to create the new Flappin’ Frog, extending the company’s footprint in the world of topwater with a frog meant to be buzzed. The skirted legs have been replaced by paddle-tailed appendages that can be buzzed across the surface or retrieved in a stop-and-go pattern. They’re deadly over thick cover and in open water alike. The frog is made of elastomer material, which makes it float and stretch. They’re deadly over thick cover and in open water alike.

If your wife changed your travel plans over a couple of hours in a tackle shop, you were never going to Japan

Do I even gotta with this one? I may have mentioned a time or 2 on here that I like throwing a frog a little.

Reading all of the problems a lot of you have with pleasure boaters make me see how friggin blessed I am to have a great little (around 85 acres) bass lake full of stumps, laydowns, points, creeks, and all kinds of interesting features available to me at all times. a lot of the time I'm not only the only boat on the lake, I'm most likely the only human in a 2 mile radius of it.

Good Lord, MAN! You've wasted half the day!

No matter what you paid for it, if you enjoy using your gear and it functions properly for the application your are using it for, you are good to go. At 53 years old, I gave up giving a hoot what another person thinks of my gear a LONG time ago. When people who do not fish a lot ask me questions about fishing, they inevitably "apologize" for their gear. Usually Zebco's or old Johnson Century's (which I LOVE). I always ask if they enjoy using their gear. Almost always, they say yes. Well..then great! If I fished 2 or 3 times a year, I would be happy with them too!

Uhm......About that orange one right in the middle.......

I have a couple in my frog box but I don't know the last time I threw them. As I recall the Dog has a bit of an upturned nose to help it walk a bit better. If this is something you wish to do with it, trim the legs and it will work great. I also think it's a smidge lighter than the Trophy. With all that said, I remember it being reasonably comparable to the Trophy series. Especially at the $2.88 price I just saw on them. You did good and I'll probably pick some up at that price. Throw with confidence!

100% my experience, too

Sometimes you just need a break to recharge your enthusiasm and passion. It happens. I know at 53 I do not have the stamina I did at 33 or even 43. I find the older I get, the more at peace I am with procrastination. ESPECIALLY on things like fishing. If I don't want to go, I don't go.

I generally use 2 beads. One glass. One metal. For that little bit of click. Picked it up from a buddy years ago. Does it help? I dunno but I know I've caught a lot of fish with that rig

I was fishing a small pool at the bottom of a spillway with a cheap Shakespeare combo years ago and hooked a big ol' carp. Me and her battled for probably .5 hour before I was finally able to get her up on shore. She had to be 15-20lbs. My most epic battle! For all I know, she's still in there.

Give it a shot. You have the gear, now it's time for some experimenting. It seems maybe the Amistad is new? Have you frogged with the SoCal in the past? If so, maybe the faster tip is just throwing your timing off until you get used to it or maybe the SoCal is just better suited to your style. I have one main frog rod but use a different one as back up or for throwing smaller frogs when the situation calls for it. Different actions and speeds. I know I have to adjust my hookset when using the back up

That rod is not an appropriate frog rod. My rod is a 7'4" Tatula Heavy. Rated from 1/2 to 2 oz. You need a heavy rod to get those fish up and out and to drive home those heavy hooks.