Losing Bass On Frogs -- Not Sure Why

[Big Bait Fishing]

this is why i never fish hollow body spro style frogs !! i use buzz frogs with a single hook ( Owner un-weighted Beast hook ) and rarely ever miss a hookup . if a bass gets it in it's mouth and bites it , it's on , that hook is hooking it good and i'm reeling it to the surface and keeping it coming very quickly !!

[WIGuide]

Observations from op's first post. You're fishing thick matted veggies with a MH/F rod, that's far less than ideal. If it's slower than a fast action I think might be an issue as well because it won't drive those big hooks home as quick.Switching to a M/F will only make the fish loss issue worse. You need to be able to stick them and get them moving quickly. You're good as far as the braid goes, and you're throwing good frogs so that shouldn't be the issue. I'd say try a longer stiffer rod...think broomstick with a little softer tip. You shouldn't have to pause very long before you set the hook. If I had to guess I probably give them a half a second or less before I swing for the fences. Also, you need to know that fish can be finicky with a frog. They can sometimes blow up on it and just plain miss. When the bite is on though it can be tremendous, but even then, if they can still miss. Heck you know there's times for sure they go to eat it through a matt and they get nothing but a mouth full of grass and it just pushes the frog ahead of them. Just keep at it and you'll get it!

[BassinLou]

Observations from op's first post. You're fishing thick matted veggies with a MH/F rod, that's far less than ideal. If it's slower than a fast action I think might be an issue as well because it won't drive those big hooks home as quick.Switching to a M/F will only make the fish loss issue worse. You need to be able to stick them and get them moving quickly. You're good as far as the braid goes, and you're throwing good frogs so that shouldn't be the issue. I'd say try a longer stiffer rod...think broomstick with a little softer tip. You shouldn't have to pause very long before you set the hook. If I had to guess I probably give them a half a second or less before I swing for the fences. Also, you need to know that fish can be finicky with a frog. They can sometimes blow up on it and just plain miss. When the bite is on though it can be tremendous, but even then, if they can still miss. Heck you know there's times for sure they go to eat it through a matt and they get nothing but a mouth full of grass and it just pushes the frog ahead of them. Just keep at it and you'll get it!

 

^^^ THIS ^^^

 

Frog fishing has a learning curve. Accept the fact now that you will miss, lose, and catch many bass on the frog. Keep at it..  

[corn-on-the-rob]

I could not possibly disagree more with this statement. I frog fish literally every time I go out and I've found the opposite to be true. Bass can spit a non-food item just about as fast as you can blink so when I see the frog disappear, I set the hook- hard. None of the reeling until I feel the weight jazz, no sir- crack that whip as hard and fast as you can and make sure the frog doesn't move until it's basically going to get all that force at once. My hookup percentage on actual hits(not missed swipes) is at least a good 80% or so. I miss very few these days and if I do it's usually in the fight through the pads when they twist out. When I was waiting on fish to take it and swim away it was MAYBE 50%.

My take is that the less time you leave for a fish to reject that initial decision to take the frog down the better, and that window can be EXTREMELY small. We don't wait for it to swim away with it when it's any other kind of bait so why should we let them decide with a frog?? Doesn't make sense to me but to each his own I guess. I just kind I cringe when I see people saying to wait and let the fish basically catch itself which it will almost never do in my experience.

I feel ya. My opinion is based on anecdotal evidence so there will be plenty of disparity between each of our experiences. The point I was trying to drive home with a new frog fisherman is that to make sure the fish has it and in my experience the general time slot that falls into is around 2-4 seconds. That being said if you know the fish really has it, dont wait! set it asap. The point is that for a beginner that feeling like they are waiting too long is likely better than them reacting with a hook set instantly. I may not have been too clear in my original post.

 

What i meant to say is make sure the fish has it before you set the hook, which typically is a slightly longer delay than many other types of hook sets we are used to. whether it be a half second or 5. As long as he has it, go!

[bowhunter63]

For me its so hard not swing when i see the blow up.I wait till i feel pressure and then swing.My hook up improved when held my rod directly in front of me instead of at the side.Always keepin the rod loaded.

[gulfcaptain]

Please understand my wait to feel the fish is a not sit and wait.  I see the bite, the slack comes out in a hurry and if the fish is there I'm swinging.  All this may be at most 2 seconds. This lets me visually make sure my frog has disappeared and not still there as well.  If they missed it, I let it sit, then twitch and sit.  If they don't come back, then they aren't wanting that size or color.  The more you fish the frog the more you will get the technique down.  Also, if you're missing them and they aren't commiting to the bait, you may not have the size frog they want or the color.  They may just be rolling on it.  You find the right size and color, the fish will let you know and there won't be any question if they have that bait or not.  You have another 2-3 months depending to fish the frog.  I fish them all the way till the water hits 60.  Some of the best days frogging I've had have been in late fall.  

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

The rod I'm using is a Daiwa Jupiter 7'.  It's marked as a MH/F, but it's heavier than any other MH I've experienced.  Hookups are solid -- I feel them fine.

 

No local place has heavy rods.  I need to try to find something with which to compare.

 

Josh

[J Francho]

Statistically, dinks have the worst hookup ratio with frogs hence the bad rap on hookup. Otherwise, I hardly ever miss good fish on a frog. You sure you weren't getting nailed by dinks?

[Josh Smith]

Francho, possibly a couple. One, though, pulled harder than anything I've felt around here recently.

I wondered this too.

In this lake, the dinks lay on the outside of cover while the bigger bass hang out further in. One reason I've started using frogs is to target those larger bass.

Thanks!

Josh

[BooyahMan]

In my limited experience, the second you either a) feel the fish on the other end or see the frog disappear, rip it hard. Most of the time if I miss it's because the fish has missed and the frog has never gone below the surface of the water to begin with. If I can't see the frog before the blow up or if I'm in a position where feeling for the fish is not ideal, I wait until the splash from the blow up is "finished", which is roughly 1.5 to 2 seconds after the initial indication of a fish coming up for the frog. On occasion I still miss fish, but this has worked pretty well for me. Even the dink 10 inchers that grab my regular sized Booyahs fall victim if they get any bit of their mouth around the hook points. 

 

For what it's worth, I'm running 65lb braid on an Abu Garcia Black Max paired with a Cabela's Tourney Trail 7' heavy action rod. 

[J Francho]

Oh, and ditch the MH, and get a H/F. That with braid and a high speed reel and you'll be jackin' the big mouths.

[tcbass]

I've noticed that a lot of smaller fish will blow up under the pad, throw the frog up, but not really be big enough to grab the frog and thus you get a hit that you 'missed' but in reality the fish never had it in it's mouth.

[Catt]

Ya have gotten some outstanding suggestions!

Here's some fuel for thought

I'll change the type of frog from hollow body to solid body frogs. I'll goto Zoom's Horny Toad, Rage's Toad, Stanley's Ribbit, & others.

I also have success with lures like Zoom's Ultra Vibe Speed Craw, Rage's Cut-R Worm, or any number of ribbon tail worms.

[the reel ess]

Statistically, dinks have the worst hookup ratio with frogs hence the bad rap on hookup. Otherwise, I hardly ever miss good fish on a frog. You sure you weren't getting nailed by dinks?

Yeah, I've done everything wrong with the bigger fish and still caught them. Done it all right with dinks and didn't catch them. Sometimes they aren't even hitting the frog with their mouth.

[the reel ess]

Hello,

 

The rod I'm using is a Daiwa Jupiter 7'.  It's marked as a MH/F, but it's heavier than any other MH I've experienced.  Hookups are solid -- I feel them fine.

 

No local place has heavy rods.  I need to try to find something with which to compare.

 

Josh

Is there an Academy near you?

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/h2o-xpress-ethos-7-h-freshwater-casting-rod?repChildCatid=161454

[Josh Smith]

Ess,

There's no Academy, no BPS, nothing. There is Dunham's and Big R. For a sporting goods store Dunham's has a pitiful selection; it's worse than Walmart!

Big R has a respectable selection of quality lures, but their rod selection is a bit lacking. They carry some nice reels, though, Ardent, Shimano, and Abu Garcia can be found there.

I might be able to find a Dick's over in Ft Wayne. Not sure what they'd have, though.

I really wish BPS would move in here..!

Josh

[NathanW]

Statistically, dinks have the worst hookup ratio with frogs hence the bad rap on hookup. Otherwise, I hardly ever miss good fish on a frog. You sure you weren't getting nailed by dinks?

I completely agree...

 

If you are using the right equipment the hookup ratio should be very high. You cannot count a boil, a swat, a peck or a dink trying get your frog as a miss. You aren't going to get lucky like you do occasionally with spook and hook those fish, so don't even count them. When a bass wants to eat a frog he eats it good and doesn't want to let go.

 

One thing I have found is that for every good frog on the market there are like three bad ones. I like a wider gap hook and very supple material. I also bend the hooks out slightly as mentioned previously. If you have trouble finding the right frog just grab a Booyah Pad Crasher and be done.