First Top Water Frog - Opinons

[Jake the Cake]

First frog purchase!!!  Picked up a Ribbit Top Toad in this exact color.  Anybody want to give some opinions on other toads to buy?  Do you prefer hard bait or soft bait?  what has good leg action?  Is it worth it to put some fish scent on it?

[Bruce424]

I like ribbits! I think they are one of the better ones. They hold up well. Fish it just like a buzz bait but... in cover. Like sparse lilies. If you can, I would fish it on braid. But you can still fish it with mono. Scent...? No not really.

[BassinLou]

Frog choice for me is based on situations. If the bass are really active and chasing bait I would throw a soft plastic frog like the one above. However if I want to entice bass and stay in the strike zone and surface for a long period of time, the hollow body would be my choice. 

[Jake the Cake]

So do I need to fish this bait fast for it to be effective?  I was thinking I'd take it out there and throw it near some brush and let it sit and give it a few twitches every now and then.

[68camaro]

I had luck both walking steady and walking then pausing, throw in some twitches, I caught using different techniques.  Started frogs this year and one of my favorite ways to fish.  Always be on alert though, just when you begin to let your eyes wonder or lose focus...WHAM!!!!!!, unexpected blowup:)  It really gets heart going.  

FWIW my hooks increased when I started using trailer hooks with them.

 

[Jake the Cake]

Just now, 68camaro said:

I had luck both walking steady and walking then pausing, throw in some twitches, I caught using different techniques.  Started frogs this year and one of my favorite ways to fish.  Always be on alert though, just when you begin to let your eyes wonder or lose focus...WHAM!!!!!!, unexpected blowup:)  It really gets heart going.

FWIW my hooks increased when I started using trailer hooks with them.

 

Glad to hear it works well!!!  Do you use a standard trailer hook?  when I was looking at the frog yesterday I thought it had the potential for short bites but I would imagine a trailer hook would make it sink or mess up the look of it so I just tied it on as-is.

[RangerCasey]

My first year I learned a little topwater fishing and it was the best.  A heart thumping rush when a big one one hits it.  I primarily used the SPRO Bronzeye and SPRO JR in Natural Green and wow.  The topwater bite on these is what got me hooked!!

[Bankbeater]

I like to put toads on a t-rig with a 1/2 ounce weight, and fish them like a plastic worm. Seems to work really well in thick vegetation.

[lectricbassman]

I caught some of my largest bass on that exact same color this season. I really like the top toads because they float in place however i caught most of my fish on a moderate retrieve. I use them like i would a buzzbait when i need a more subtle presentation. 

[68camaro]

3 hours ago, Jake the Cake said:

Glad to hear it works well!!!  Do you use a standard trailer hook?  when I was looking at the frog yesterday I thought it had the potential for short bites but I would imagine a trailer hook would make it sink or mess up the look of it so I just tied it on as-is.

I use VMC size 6 trailer frog hooks. I usually work frogs over pads or scum, there is water pockets but trailer hook is light enough that I don't notice a difference. When I walk the dog over open water they the rear of frog may drop a little due to trailer hook but I may not be good enough to notice a difference. I put the hook point upward to avoid snags and have had very little problems.

I was really struggling with short strikes until I started using trailer hook.

 

[Frogfather]

Great decision on your road! I fish hollow body. These tips are based on that…

•After cast, wait for ripples to dissipate before you work the frog. More realistic legs dangling and such. 

•Stop working the bait in open holes. Give it a few seconds for the ripples to move then work frog. 

•Don't over-work/walk. Too much is too much. 

•No such thing as a bad cast.

•Skip and cast from different positions and angles the frog into hard to get to places will help you tremdiously because others can't get their bait to these spots and you'll be pulling hogs out from there  

•Trailer hooks might increase hookup ratio but will limit movement of bait. If movement (walking) is the reason for the strikes, brace yourself this is simple, take trailer hook off. I used a lot of trailer hooks this past summer and they do work. 

•Dont panic! The hardest adjustment to fishing toad/frog is marching the surface excitement that is caused by the strike. Before I set the hook, I try to say my full government name, then, I go for broke on the set. 

I have added some plastics toads for next summer. I'm interested to learn if plastic toads are any different that what I listed above. 

 

FF

[Toeshots]

I use the Rage Toad when I want to make a ruckus on top and the Zoom Horny Toad when I want to dial it back a bit. Both are rigged on unweighted Zoom Horny Toad hooks. 

For hollow body frogs, I only use the Booyah Pad Crasher because I thinks it's a fantastic frog for the money. 

When fish are aggressive, I'll throw the toads like a buzzbait. When I need to keep the bait in the strike zone, I'll use the hollow body frogs. 

[Jake the Cake]

Thanks guys.  I'm excited to add all this to the arsenal

[Fishes in trees]

For me, I use soft plastic frogs that sink when you stop the, like slow motion buzz baits, i.e. I keep them moving enough to keep them on the surface.  Hollow body floating frogs I use in places where a pop r would get stuck too much, i.e. around a whole bunch of floating vegetation.  I've got to admit that neither of these techniques are in my top 10 seasonal patterns.

In early summer, at least in Missouri, when the surface vegetation is getting fully formed and bud are telling me that the frog bite is on, I do better fishing the deep weed line edges in 10 to 16 feet of water with a jika rig.

[RangerCasey]

Learned to throw that frog up onto the edge of the bank and drag it into the shallow water.  Works nicely.

[Max Dec]

i just use live target frogs