So, I've had a chance to try all 3 of these lures, the original paddle tailed frog, the Teckel Sprinker Frog, then the Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog, and finally the new Booyah Toad Runner. Here's what I've found.
I think paddle tailed frogs being called the Weedless Whopper Plopper are right and just like the Whopper Plopper they are a great lure because not only are they super effective at catching fish anyone can catch fish with them, all you have to do is cast and retrieve it back to you. No more walking the dog which can be hard for some folks and especially kids.
1.) Teckel Sprinker Frog: $14.99. This lure seemed to be designed with a downward pointed nose rather than an upturned one, causing it to sort of plow down into the water. If the nose was upturned I think it would help it a lot. I did get a lot of bites on this lure but I only caught 1 fish which was a northern. I got some spectacular blowups but no fish. Perhaps I needed to wait more before I set the hook.
+ I like the fact that you can buy spare tails for your Teckel frogs for replacement or use them on your own homemade frogs. It is the paddle tail of choice for me for making homemade frogs.
+ I really like the tail with the CPS Centering Pin Spring.
- Expensive.
- Poor design with nose turned down.
- Spare tails are expensive at $7.99 for a 4 pack.
- Currently poor availability at big box stores like Cabelas and Fleet Farm. Did see them at the new Gander Outdoors along with the Booyah Toad Runners.
2.) Booyah Pad Toad Runner: $9.99. This lure is considerably cheaper than the Teckel Sprinker Frog which is a plus. This lure also got a lot of blow ups but not one caught fish. I would like to get more time on the water with it but definitely need to see if I have to wait longer to set the hook.
+ Cheapest of manufactured paddle tailed frogs.
+ Seems to perform better with a properly upturned nose.
- Currently poor availability at big box stores like Cabelas and Fleet Farm. Did see them at the new Gander Outdoors along with the Booyah Toad Runners.
3.) Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog: $9.80. ($6.69 if using Booyah Pad Crasher + $1.99 for Teckel Sprinker Frog Tail + 49 cents for the VMC 3 way Swivel #6+ 33 cents for CPS Centering Pin Spring). This homemade lure has worked the best for me out of all the paddle tailed frogs. I never had great success with any hollow bodied frogs and by using a paddle tailed one I've had a tremendous amount of more bites and fish caught than all my years of fishing with plain hollow body frogs. They really are Weedless Whopper Ploppers. I do know how to walk the dog with hollow bodied frogs and have caught fish with them but just haven't had a lot of success with them. For many people walking the dog is very hard.
Components:
1.) Booyah Pad Crasher
2.) VMC 3 way swivel - size #6
3.) CPS Centering Pin Spring - size Medium
4.) Teckel Sprinker Frog Tail
Last year I had great success with a Spro Bronzeye 65 with a Teckel Sprinker Frog tail. I will say that I used a Mustad KVD Fastach clip. That lure caught a ton of fish. No waiting to set the hook, just setting the hook on the bite. I gave that lure to a friend in hopes he'd catch some fish.
This year I tried the same thing but instead of a Mustad KVD Fastach Clip I had a Mustad KVD Fastach Swivel Clip which will add a little weight to the lure. I noticed that my new frog seem to work subsurface and didn't work properly. I cut the Fastach off and straight tied it to the line and it still stayed submerged. I realized the Fastach wasn't effecting noticeably affecting it. I switched to a Booyah Pad Crasher that I had set up and it worked fine. Apparently the Booyah has more buoyancy than the Spro Bronzeye 65. Another plus is that the Booyah is cheaper by a few bucks than the Spro. Perhaps the original Spro Bronzeye 65 I had just naturally had more buoyancy.
The day I used the Booyah Toad Runner I had 4 big blow ups but no fish. After the 1st bite I gave it a second before I set the hook and still missed the next 3 fish. After 4 missed fish I switched to a Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog made from a Spro Bronzeye 65 frog with a Teckel paddle tail and caught the first fish that bit with no waiting to setting the hook, I just set the hook as soon as the fish bit. That was the lure that wasn't running right however and has been replaced by the Booyah Pad Crasher.
I did have a bass short-bite the frog and it stripped the Teckel Sprinker Tail right off leaving the CPS Springlock.
I do have a Spro King Daddy hollow body frog on the way that I'm going to try. Being larger it should float and run on the surface better than the smaller Spro Bronzeye 65 and being larger should also cast farther. It was $10.79 though, so about $4 more than a Booyah Pad Crasher.
I used to pull the legs out and hot glue the hole closed but after numerous fish I've realized the glue pops out. I started just cutting the stand legs short and leaving them in. I will say that after numerous fish today the hot glue that plugged the leg holes on the Booyah Pad Crasher got pulled out and the legs were open and the lure still floated and performed fine and did not sink like I thought it would. Maybe because I'm constantly reeling it in water doesn't make it's way inside the frog.
Also, after having 2 fish bite and miss the frog today I just slowly kept reeling it in and caught both fish rather than quickly burning the lure back to the boat and re-casting to that spot. This may not always work but it did work today.
+ Cheapest of all 3 frogs.
+ Widely available at all big box stores (may have to look for the Teckel Sprinker Frog spare tails).
+ Better hookup ratio. Do not have to wait a second to set the hook, just set the hook on the bite.
- Have to put make. (Used to be more work pulling the tails out and hot gluing, but now that I just snip the strand legs shorter it's much easier.). Not hard though. Just screw the CPS Springlock onto the VMC 3 way swivel, then screw the CPS Springlock into the tail, and then add the 3 way swivel onto the frog hooks, should take about a minute.
I would like to get some more water time with these lures to more thoroughly test them. This initial testing was very brief. But I will once again say that paddle tailed hollow bodied frogs have probably gotten me 90% more bites than plain hollowed body frogs. I just won't ever throw a regular hollow bodied frog again. Paddle tailed frogs are just such a great improvement at fish catching than regular hollow bodied frogs for me.
I think paddle tailed frogs being called the Weedless Whopper Plopper are right and just like the Whopper Plopper they are a great lure because not only are they super effective at catching fish and anyone can catch fish with them, all you have to do is cast and retrieve it back to you.
I hope this initial review helps folks. Good fishing!
