Frog Fishing Help

[buttonreel]

Im new to frog fishing and Im thinking about getting into it. Before I buy anygear made for it, I first want to try out a softbody frog. What do you all think of the zoom horny toad and which colors do you recommend for clear shallow water. Im also wondering if its better to have a weighted hook. Thanks

[gulfcaptain]

Fish your basic colors, black, white, baitfish colors.  And if you want to use a weighted hook, I don't think it would hurt.  You are going to be straight winding on the soft frogs, so it's kinda like a softbody buzzbait.

[Jay Ell Gee]

The zoom horny roads are probably the most subtle of the topwater toad lures. I would also recommend grabbing some Stanley ribbits if you can find them. They will make a bit more noise.

I have personally never used the weighted hooks, but I like the concept. Further casting and it helps keep the frog upright. That being said, after fishing toads for 6 years, I have never felt that I needed them. However, I really like the zoom horny toad hooks with the screw lock on the nose. That really increases the durability of your frogs.

My father still fishes with his ribbits using 14 lb Stren and a 6'8 M/F shimano compre rod. I prefer 30-40 lb braid (50-65 for hollow bodies) and a good MH rod myself. My point is that you don't need to start with dedicated frog equipment. Ill never convince dad to use a 7'0 MH rod and he regularly limits with ribbits.

Let us know how you do with them!

[BassinLou]

Funny you ask this question. I used horny toads yesterday, and caught several nice fish. I used a 5/0 Gammy EWG hook for those type of frogs. Imo a  weighted hook is just going to make you work harder trying to keep the bait on the surface. Good luck! 

[buttonreel]

Thanks for the advice!

[buttonreel]

Funny you ask this question. I used horny toads yesterday, and caught several nice fish. I used a 5/0 Gammy EWG hook for those type of frogs. Imo a  weighted hook is just going to make you work harder trying to keep the bait on the surface. Good luck! 

I cant seem to find those hooks on tackle warehouse. Are there any other hooks you would recomend for the softbody frogs that I can find on tackle warehouse?

[BassinLou]

I cant seem to find those hooks on tackle warehouse. Are there any other hooks you would recomend for the softbody frogs that I can find on tackle warehouse?

 

I don't know where you looked but here are the hooks.... 

http://www.***.com/Gamakatsu_EWG_Monster_Hooks/descpage-GEMH.html

[buttonreel]

I don't know where you looked but here are the hooks.... 

http://www.***.com/Gamakatsu_EWG_Monster_Hooks/descpage-GEMH.html

Thanks dood

[MCS]

Funny you ask this question. I used horny toads yesterday, and caught several nice fish. I used a 5/0 Gammy EWG hook for those type of frogs. Imo a weighted hook is just going to make you work harder trying to keep the bait on the surface. Good luck!

X2 when I use them it is like this

[CDMeyer]

I use to be big into froggin' then I stopped to try and widen my horizon, but my best bet for you would be to use those soft body frogs on a 3/0 hook, if they are just hammering and you are missing quite a bite, I would then upgrade to a 4/0 hook, bigger and you will hook more.  I always fish them weightless, this will allow you to bring em' on the top of the water.  Which is by far your best bet to catch bass.  I always go with natural colors to the lake I am fishing.  For instance I stay away from white frogs because all the water I fish I have never seen them.  One key side not here though is that when you do find a naturally color frog that catches bass, try and find the same color except with a small hint of chartreuse on the bottom, bass love it, especially when they are picky..... hope this helped, tight line bud

[buttonreel]

I use to be big into froggin' then I stopped to try and widen my horizon, but my best bet for you would be to use those soft body frogs on a 3/0 hook, if they are just hammering and you are missing quite a bite, I would then upgrade to a 4/0 hook, bigger and you will hook more.  I always fish them weightless, this will allow you to bring em' on the top of the water.  Which is by far your best bet to catch bass.  I always go with natural colors to the lake I am fishing.  For instance I stay away from white frogs because all the water I fish I have never seen them.  One key side not here though is that when you do find a naturally color frog that catches bass, try and find the same color except with a small hint of chartreuse on the bottom, bass love it, especially when they are picky..... hope this helped, tight line bud

Yeah thanks. What soft body frogs do you use?

[hawgenvy]

Love Zoom Hornys, and rig the frog with a 4/0 so that the hook is just visible on the back of Mr Frog but the tip is just under the "skin." I do hook up a lot using 50 lb braid. I force myself to wait 5 seconds after a topwater blast before setting the hook. Unfortunately my precious toads eventually get torn up by bass chomps. The nose gets macerated and the body gets partially split lengthwise.  Then I cut the nose off, finish splitting the toad in two lengthwise, and later use each hemitoad as a chatterbait swimtail.

[tcbass]

I've tried the Zoom Horny Toads without success, although others seem to have success with them. I also have never caught a fight on my Stanley Ribbit frogs.

 

 

Here's my thoughts on the Ragetail Toad, I would definitely try these out if I were you. I have always had luck with a their green pumpkin and watermelon flake. Another nice thing about the Ragetail is it works on the sink too, many other frogs don't do that:

 

 

 

Firstly, as I've posted before, I think the Ragetail Toad is one of the greatest topwater bass lures of all time. It has outfished almost every other lure for largemouth bass that I've ever used.

 

I've noticed when I've read a lot of reviews and comments on the Ragetail Toad that people say things like, "One of my only complaints is that it sinks, so you have to start cranking right away to get it up on plane."

 

 

Well, I learned something when I was first using it, which is also the same time I was learning to use a baitcasting reel. I threw a long cast under a dock that was in about a foot deep of water and immediately got a big backlash. So I let the Ragetail sink as I undid the birdsnest. After about 30 seconds of dealing with that I started reeling the line in assuming it was just going to be a burn back to the boat and cast again type situation. Well, as I reeled up the slack I realized there was a bass on the lure the entire time. He had eaten it on the sink or when it was sitting on the bottom. This was an epiphany for me! I think it's a lot like swim jigs, guys used to only cast it and let it sink and if they didn't get a bite on the initial drop they'd burn it back to the boat and recast. Now people are letting it sink and slowly fishing it back to the boat and catching fish both ways.

 

 

After that I started letting it sink and about 1/8th of the time you will have a fish on it. Like the pro's say, "Let the fish tell you what they like that day." When I first start using the Ragetail Toad for that day I'll let it sink and sit for about 5 seconds about 20 times and if fish aren't eating it on the sink or at the bottom then I'll just cast regular and reel it back in the rest of the day. If fish are eating it on the sink or at the bottom then I will let it sink a lot the rest of the day and will most likely get more fish that way. And when it's sitting on the bottom, I'm not moving it or twitching it, just letting it sit and then I just start reeling it in quickly to get it on plane and fish it back to the boat normally. I just let how the fish are initially taking it dictate how I fish the bait the rest of the day.

 

 

 

So, let that Ragetail Toad sink and sit on the bottom a few times, you might be surprised what you were missing out on.

 

 

 

 

 

.....get back to us and tell us how you did.