My Frog Hookup Ratio, You Don't Wanna Know

[The Young Gun]

Started to frog fish two days ago, was out from 6am-10am. Went 3fish for 24 blow ups. One of the fish was a 12" small mouth haha. I know I have to wait till I feel the weight before I set the hook. But I swear I saw bass just hitting the thing and not even opening their mouths. Anyone else ever had that happen?

Despite not landing a lot of fish, I think frog fishing is super fun!

[BassinLou]

Yes I have seen that before, however if you look even closer they are nipping at it softly. I can't speak for you, but when you saw this happen did you set the hook? Some do in your situation, I know I have in the past. You could swear they were going after it, and at the last second the bass bumps it and disappears. Keep your cool, and continue to work the frog and wait until you get a definite hit, then stick em. If they were constantly doing that, I would have switched to a fluke, and they probably would have taken those instead.  

[ClackerBuzz]

i think i heard aaron martin say it in an interview "and what ever you do, don't throw a senko when the crankbait bite is on".   

ie don't go for frog nibble bites when they are crushing a  ______ (fill in/figure out the blank).

[Bass_Fanatic]

If you are getting blowups but not hooking up, change colors or size.  I have seen the swat at a white frog, so I switch to a black frog and catch every fish...

[AK-Jax86]

Two days into frog fishing your cherry hasn't poped yet and you already are having fun. A lot of strikes are reactionary where they aren't hitting it to eat. I also notice with the type of frogs I use they take the legs in their mouth oppose to the body where my hook is.

[Bankbeater]

I read somewhere that when that happens the bass are trying to wound the bait before they eat it.  I have seen that with jigs before.  You will feel a real good bite, and then nothing.  If you leave it sit they will come back after it.

[CountBassula]

if you see the bass hit the frog and it's still there, DO NOTHING. it may come back in few seconds to ****** it. i've watched my friend work a little frog, bass made a big splash and the frog was still there. 5 seconds later the water exploded and he pulled a 5lbs pig!

[rangerboy]

this is normal when you start frogn. they have to come through the cover to hit it unless its open water. if you cant see it set the hook. try to feel the fish. another tip is to work your rod a th 10-11 position this will force you to drop the rod before you set the hook. give it time every body has their own way

[Mike2841]

Two days into frog fishing your cherry hasn't poped yet and you already are having fun. A lot of strikes are reactionary where they aren't hitting it to eat. I also notice with the type of frogs I use they take the legs in their mouth oppose to the body where my hook is.

I lost the legs off my spro king daddy because they bit the legs and didn't take the entire frog

[AK-Jax86]

A big misconception that people have about frog fishing is what to do after a miss strike. The correct thing to do is keep the bait moving, maybe go a little slower. A lot of people think you should stop but that's not a natural reaction. If a predator is chasing prey and it misses it the prey won't stop it will continue and if it is injured then it will move slower. Bass are just like any predator so you need to make you lure as natural as possible.

[Diggy]

Yes, it happens. I remember fishing in my mother's lake, getting about 10 blowups while she was on the patio watching and she said "you missed again"

Sometimes its wayyyyyy too fast of a hookset from excitement, the bass never has the bait to begin with, small fish, the cover was too thick etc.

 

I've had times the bass misses the whole bait and it was sitting still and I think to myself this fish isn't too smart if its missing real meals in that manner. 

 

But they days when everything is right and you do it right..... you do it right!

[bigbill]

I find myself too quick on the hook set when the blow up happens I just get too excited and try to set the hook quickly rather than waiting for the line to move meaning it has it in its mouth. I'm pulling it out of its mouth before it lips it. I need to calm down and be slower on the trigger.

I realize what was said here once the bass will strike it to knock it silly or stun it first then turn and take it.

I had a big bass stun my topwater lure once and I froze it waiting for the u turn and strike. I stood there watching the action as it unfolded. She had her back out of the water like a surfaced submarine on the first pass. Then she did a quick 180 turn and engulfed it.

It reminds me of my cats with mice. They will play with it first. Then when the game is over its din,din. I figure the bass are no different when there doing short strikes and torpedo practice runs. It's like there playing like the cats.

Has anyone tried the bogbait frog juice on there frog lures yet? A little frog scent could change the game.

[PABASS]

As others have mentioned the bass could be trying to injure the frog, you can leave it sit, slowly pull it back or trying a throwback with the same bait and these all work.  I prefer having a wacky rigged senko using a weedless wide gap finesse hook and tossing it right back in the same hole the bass made when they exploded on the frog, feel and watch your line and set the hook, this normally gets that fish..

[JD96]

Very common for bass to "headbutt" them and then eat it.

 

Do that to me pretty regularly with zoom horny toads which I let sink after they do that.

[mjseverson24]

If I have a fish blow up on the bait but not eat it i will let it sit for a second or two then work it normal for a few feet then reel it in quickly and fire another cast in the same area. this will usually result in at least another blow up and hopefully it will eat it this time. sometimes moving the bait faster in the same area will trigger a feeding response instead of a killing response. somedays they just are not interested in eating it, I typically work the bait much faster on these days and will also set the hook quicker. best advice is keep at it and figure out what works for you.

 

Mitch

[5 Dollar Fishing Game]

I usually do something similar to the Bill Dance method. Once the lure goes down, I say to myself "one thousand one" then set the hook. Usually this works. However I have thrown a frog out there and popped it slowly and gently for about 2 minutes and them WHAM! Took me by surprise and I immediately set the hook out of instinct. All I got was a frog being propelled to my kayak. It happens. :-)

[Blues19]

I lost the legs off my spro king daddy because they bit the legs and didn't take the entire frog

I have lost some legs like this as well, but if you replace them with spinnerbait/jig skirt material, they work just as well if not better than before