Frog Tips?

[AirbusAngler]

So I have been on a journey to catch my first frog bass. But I have run into 2 concerns.

1. I was using a live target hollow body frog yesterday and it seemed to be filling with water and practically bobbing straight up and down which made it quite tricky to "walk." Is this normal? I would squeeze it after each cast and a good amount of water would squirt out making it float momentarily but then eventually start sinking again.

2. If I have never seen a bass jump or break the sfc of the water at my local pond but I know there are frogs there would you still consider this top water bait practical? I have caught a handful of bass at this pond they seem to be few and far between but they have all been 4.5lbs and up to 6. All caught on jerk baits and havoc PitBoss up in the shallows.

I'm using a 7'2" Cumara and 30lb braid.

If you have a favorite frog lure please mention it as I might go shopping this evening ;-)

[MichiganFishing1997]

I have been using Booyah Pad Crashers Fishing heavy matts. I usually just drag them across and twitch them a little. But i walk them in open water some, they seem to be pretty good, especially for the money.  After bouncing them off docks and being hit by bass many many times they are still holding up.  I dont have an issue with them filling with water like what you are describing with the Live Targets. For soft plastic frogs I have been using Yum Buzzfrogs, Hollow Body I use Booyah Pad Crashers.

 

First off, dont be surprised at how shallow of water the bass will come out of when frog fishing.  I am also just now getting into frog fishing too, just recently got a designated set up for it and everything.  The mats i have been fishing are only in less then 3 feet of water, and they hit it HARD.  

 

Even though you haven't seen the bass hit topwater hard, try it for a while and see how they react. Im sure theyre there.  Drag your frog over pads, and matts if you have them.  If not walk them around cover, things like Logs sticking up out of the water, along weed beds, things like that.  They will come right out of the cover and smash it. 

 

Best of luck,

Christian

[VABassin'14]

If your body of water has frogs, and your body of water has bass, than yes you should continue to throw topwater frogs. I have never had a problem with any of the frogs I have used sinking. I have been using the Strike King KVD sexy frog for a while, and before that I had been using a little scum frog. As far a walking the frog, dont get too worried about getting it to "walk" side to side a whole lot. I havent been able to get one to do it consistently yet and I still get plenty of strikes. Keep throwing them and good luck!

[Hyrule Bass]

you should give the rage tail toad a try, its one of my favorite top water baits. and sometimes the bass dont smash it hard. ive had them subtly come up and just suck my frog right off the top of the water into their mouths and never broke the surface. also i can usually tell the strike is coming with a frog, i see the water start to get disturbed around the frog, like a little boil in the water almost like the bass is circling it right before the strike.

 

once i see the frog go under i set the hook, and that has worked great for me. some people say count to 3 or wait till you feel the weight of the fish to set the hook when frog fishing. i say by the time i do all that theres a good chance the fish will have spit the lure because i waited too long.

[DelcoSol]

 I just got one of these Snag proof Ish's Phat frogs.  It uses two chambers so it will not fill up with water. Looking to try it out on Thurs.

[ww2farmer]

Every hollow body frog will take on some water, I squeeze them out every dozen casts, to me its NBD. But if you have one that takes on water so much that it's useless on every cast, you have a bum frog. Get a replacement. Spro's have been the worst for me with the QC on this, and SK the best. For every 10 Spro frogs I buy, I get two that are "sinkers". But Spro will replace them. I have yet to, out of probably 100 SK KVD sexy frogs get a sinker straight out of the package. After they get beat up from 50 fish.........yes, but by then I have gotten my moneys worth out of them. I am not a fan of snag proof frogs, so I have never used the Ish Monore one.

[BenB54]

 I just got one of these Snag proof Ish's Phat frogs.  It uses two chambers so it will not fill up with water. Looking to try it out on Thurs.

 

The two frogs I mainly throw are the phat frog and poppin' phattie by snag proof. Excellent baits, the phat frog walks really well and you can even get the poppin' phattie to walk if you want. I'll usually trim about a 1/4" off one of the legs two help it walk better. Like DelcoSol said, its nice they don't fill up with water.

[MarkH024]

I use LiveTarget Frogs/Mice and KVD Sexy Frogs almost exclusively. As mentioned most hollowbody frogs will take on some water. Also walking hollowbody with braid is a little more tedious than using a heavy mono. You have to get the cadence just right. Even a chugging motion is just fine. I only walk it when I hit open water or a big clearing in the middle of pads. Usually you will get a hit on the edge of those clearings and not in the dead middle of them.

[troythebassman]

pick up some stanley ribbit frogs. they are frogs that act more like a buzz bait. you can pick them up and good ol' walmart! those things are what work best for me. 

[joeyfishes]

Academy's brand X20 or H20 or whatever.

[BassinLou]

I fish the live target frog exclusively, the only reason why your frog should have water inside of it, is when you miss a bass. Other than that if your frog is taking in water its because its damaged somewhere. Check it very carefully. Usually, its the hooks that may have pierced the body or after several good hooksets it tears around the nose line attachment. If that happens, unfortunately its time to get another one because they just do not function right after they start taking in water.

[CDMeyer]

I would use R2S Elite Frogs they are hands down the best.  You want the frog to have a lot of action so I always keep the rod tip down and the but of the rod almost under my arm pit... the I jerk it back (I know this is hard to explain but if it helps look up John Crews doing this that is where I learned this technique.  I also wouldn't worry about not having any bass hit a top water frog.... this is irresistible to bass.

[buzzed bait]

I had one that was taking on water every cast, then i realized my eyelet had been sucked back inside of the body of the frog.  Once i pulled the eyelet out of the body of the frog, I fished the rest of the day with no problem.  And right now Bass Pro has the Kermy frogs for $5 each and they're pretty decent.

[moguy1973]

 I just got one of these Snag proof Ish's Phat frogs.  It uses two chambers so it will not fill up with water. Looking to try it out on Thurs.

 

I just tried out a Phat Frog the other day and it walks much easier than my BPS frogs and my Pad Crasher.  And like said above, the hooks are in a different chamber than the body of the frog so it doesn't fill up with water at all...

[buzzfrog]

say it all the time best iobee, pricy though... I just pick up the new booyah poppin frog, OMG the are sooooooooooo soft. with the rain I havnt had time to throw it, but messing with it,WOW