Missed Hits On Frogs

[Robert Riley]

I went out earlier tonight and had one fish on and about 6 hits. I tried slowing down my retrieve but they still didn't connect. What gives? I don't think I can change my presentation that much, it's frogging at night...

[Senko lover]

I went to a new pond two days ago, and it was covered in slimy vegetation. I threw a frog on top of it and got over 8-9 hits. I am not a pro at frog hooksets, but I did wait and then rare back on several of them, no luck. They weren't even taking it under. I switched to a worm and caught three. They were very small bass, so I'm guessing that they weren't choking the bait. 

 

-Maybe you'd get a better hookup ratio on a trebled topwater 

-Try a trailer hook? Someone suggested I should try one, and I think it'll help my hookup ratio. 

[Tony L.]

Good call by slowing down the retrieve. The next thing to try would be slowing down the hookset. If you can fight the urge to set the hook as soon as you see the strike (which is really hard to do), give just ever so slight of a pause before setting the hook. The fish needs to fully engulf the bait. You need the pressure of its closed mouth to collapse the body of the frog and expose the hooks. Don't wait too long though, or the bass will quickly figure out your lure is a fake and spit it out. Just an extra half second can make all the difference in the world.

I'll be the first to admit that this is a skill that I am really struggling with right now. When fishing topwaters frogs, I get really excited when I see the splash and am having a hard time shutting off the automatic response to set the hook instantly. I usually end up pulling it out of the fish's mouth.

[GetJigginWithIt]

To miss that many it might have been a smaller bass that has eyes bigger than its mouth and stomach.

[BassinLou]

To miss that many it might have been a smaller bass that has eyes bigger than its mouth and stomach.

I am thinking the same thing. Those little bass slap at, and push frogs often.

[Ozark_Basser]

Everything said above is true, but they will miss your frog more at night it seems. I've also had the same thing happen with spooks.

[frogflogger]

mod. rods - heavy power - moderate (slower) action - taught many folks frog fishing, the rods speed was the most important part of the paradigm - especially for those who haven't frogged alot.

[Fisher-O-men]

Yep, the fish were to small, probably grabbing the legs, at best.  For a good tutorial on hooking Frog fish, watch youtube videos by Bamabass. He has it down!

[Surfcaster]

A friend of mine in Florida met Dean Rojas in Gander Mtn and told him about his frog fishing woes. He asked Dean for advice and Dean told him to always use braid when fishing frogs.

[georgeyew]

What color frog were you using? I had many misses on my white colored lure. But when I switched to black, I was able to hook up. I think that the black color shows up better with the sky in the background (even against the black night sky).

[Robert Riley]

I'm using a yellow and black spro bronzeye. Considering they werent violent strikes, I'm guessing they were just smaller fish.

So should I just throw a smaller frog then?

[Ozark_Basser]

I'm using a yellow and black spro bronzeye. Considering they werent violent strikes, I'm guessing they were just smaller fish.

So should I just throw a smaller frog then?

Just because they weren't violent strikes, doesn't mean they weren't big fish. In my expereience, 2-3 lbers tend to be the most violent strikers. The real big ones tend to just come up and grab it, sounding like a smaller fish.

[BooyahMan]

Just because they weren't violent strikes, doesn't mean they weren't big fish. In my expereience, 2-3 lbers tend to be the most violent strikers. The real big ones tend to just come up and grab it, sounding like a smaller fish.

^This. The majority of the fish I catch on frogs are between 1-3lbs and they give me a heart attack every time they blow up on it. My two biggest bass, which both so happened to come on a frog, weren't nearly as violent. 

 

 

I'm using a yellow and black spro bronzeye. Considering they werent violent strikes, I'm guessing they were just smaller fish.

So should I just throw a smaller frog then?

 

Early in the season I was using a regular sized Booyah Pad Crasher and missed so many fish that I almost gave up on frogging (and I'm talking about missing like 90% of the fish). Most of the time the frog never even went under. One day I got the bright idea to switch to a smaller frog and not only did I nail the smallest frog fish I've ever caught, but I also caught my largest of the year so far. After downsizing I proceeded to hook every single fish, albeit some of them were quite small. The strange thing though is that I've since gone back to the bigger frogs due to dense lily pads and I haven't missed nearly as many as I did early in the season. Go figure right?

 

 

If you have a smaller frog, give it a try. If you are missing fish because they're small, you'll find out pretty quickly. 

[the reel ess]

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/frog_baits.html

http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/how-to-fish-for-bass-with-frogs/

http://www.bassmaster.com/tips/87-frog-tips-bassin

 

There are some good tips.

 

My wife had surgery yesterday and there was a BASS mag in the waiting room. One article was by Rojas. His most valuable advice was to set the hook straight up, directly away from the fish. He said any other direction moved the hooks away from the roof of a fish's mouth.

 

He said he works the frog with his tip down.

he uses 50# braid

More advice was to take pliers and bend the hook points away from the body by only about 1/16"

Use a MH BC rod with a fast tip at least 7' long.

[the reel ess]

Just because they weren't violent strikes, doesn't mean they weren't big fish. In my expereience, 2-3 lbers tend to be the most violent strikers. The real big ones tend to just come up and grab it, sounding like a smaller fish.

My PB came on a Snag Proof frog. It was 6.5#. I didn't see a fish. It was like a little toilet flushed and the frog disappeared with a slurp. I set the hook and about 3' of drag came off the reel. I knew it was a good fish. It swam away, then right back toward me. It tried to come up to shake, but I reached about an arm's depth into the water and grabbed its open mouth. I took pics quickly and released it back into my buddy's pond. It felt good to know it was still swimming in there. That's been 11 years and it seems like last week.

 

Thanks for letting me relive it.

[Ozark_Basser]

My PB came on a Snag Proof frog. It was 6.5#. I didn't see a fish. It was like a little toilet flushed and the frog disappeared with a slurp. I set the hook and about 3' of drag came off the reel. I knew it was a good fish. It swam away, then right back toward me. It tried to come up to shake, but I reached about an arm's depth into the water and grabbed its open mouth. I took pics quickly and released it back into my buddy's pond. It felt good to know it was still swimming in there. That's been 11 years and it seems like last week.

 

Thanks for letting me relive it.

Believe it or not, my PB smallie (little over four on a hanging scale) came on a frog. I watched her come out of some shade and just suck it down. Didn't even make a splash.

[BassinLou]

The infamous slurp I have found usually come from nice big bass!! I have seen them swim up casually to my HB frog position themselves below it and slurp down my frog like if it was an oyster. Lol!! 

[Senko lover]

Yep, the fish were to small, probably grabbing the legs, at best.  For a good tutorial on hooking Frog fish, watch youtube videos by Bamabass. He has it down!

 

He'd better, with all those Dream Strike Lake bass he wrangles. 

[tnt2671]

on booyahs and spros a little hook adjustment goes a long way and they get better with a couple dozen fish on them rubber softens up and your hookup ratio will improve. i rarely ever miss a fish on my frogs but do remember small fish will hit them and lots of time thats what you'll miss on because they don't inhale them. if your missing larger fish on your frog i'd say it's in you hook set timing

[Robert Riley]

I went back out tonight, there was lots of action, but not a lot of attention on my frog, womp. I had two on tonight, and I lost both of them, I had them on for about 2 seconds, and the hook would fly out the moment they comeback to the surface. 

[gobig]

   There are several things you can do to improve your hook up ratio. I use several different frogs and I change all of the hooks on my frogs out to the wide gap gami frog hooks if they don't come with them. If the hook shank is not welded or tied in some way then it gets several raps of braid coated in super glue. There is to much flex in a standard frog hook. I tried to log into photobucket to show some some pics of what I am talking about but I am having trouble. If you can grab each hook and flex them apart its no good.

   

I don't count or wait to see the line move when setting the hook. I watch the frog. If I can't see it, I swing and I swing like I am trying to break the rod. Like Mr Rojas said I swing straight up. 

 

As mentioned they will spit it if you wait to long. Its all about timing. Sometimes it helps to bend the hooks up ever so slightly. Not to far though or they will hang up.

 

Braid is a must have. So is the right rod. If you do not have enough back bone you won't drive the hooks home. I don't mind a rod with some tip because it allows you to walk the frog and make longer casts but its got to have that backbone. I also trim the legs to the same approximate length of the body. 

[gooz56]

I echo the sentiments of adjusting the hooks, bending the slightly up and out. I threw a brand new Booyah Pad Crasher frog the other day and missed all five fo the hits I had in an hour. I adjusted the hooks and nailed 6 nice bass without missing a single hook set. Missed hooks sets are the chief complaint about fishing frogs; the hook adjustment seems to be the instant solution. There are quite a view youtube videos on frogs that say the adjustments are necessary.

[Master Bait'r]

When I just can't hook up and every strike seems short, I downsize.

Lunk3rhunt lunker frogs work great in the 1/4" size. I have one that lost its legs so I added skirt legs and upsized the frog hook- I almost never miss a fish on that frog but don't use it that much because I don't want to lose it or catch dinks all day. It's kind of a secret weapon lol

It's easier for them to completely inhale and then the bigger hooks are pretty much blast-o-matic.

[chelboed]

I've had times when it looks like a hit, but it's a tail-tap. The fish will smack at the frog then come back. If you see a disturbance, wait and look at the frog. If it's still there...let it sit or give it a tiny twitch enough to make ripples. The bass will generally come back and take it down. Then wait a 1/2 second before the hook set.

[brgbassmaster]

Little bass probably. When a fish comes up and it sounds like a toilet flushing you know its a good one lol. Also if you get a miss hit have some kind of plastic ready to throw right back into the spot you just got blasted. 99% of the time they will thump it as soon as it falls in.