Im not understanding frog colors

[CenCal fisher]

How the tops of the frogs look doesn't mater. The bass  am only see the bottom and the sides 

[Raul]

9 hours ago, Heron said:

Chart for stained water.  Hmmm, that's interesting.  Makes me wonder how much that really matters at the surface

Matters for him.

[buzzed bait]

17 hours ago, gardnerjigman said:

A white and a black frog will do all it needs too. Any variation of those colors will work. I throw the Cricket poppin pad crasher, white belly. 

for real....  all you need is white and black.  white in daylight and black at night or low light.

of course they all work, but in the efforts to KISS i stick with these two.  i like the pad crasher because the body is soft and they compress really well for the hookups.

[Heron]

Looks like the only frogs I should concern myself with are white frogs and black frogs.   This makes more sense now.

[Buckeye Ron]

19 hours ago, Heron said:

Honestly, choosing frog colors should be the easiest of the match-the-hatch choices.   If the paint job looks like a frog, then it should pass off as a frog.  Simple.  But it doesn't always play out that way.

Does anyone here use a white/white frog?

I do. Well, I also use black frogs and chartreuse frogs,all solid colors. My preferred frog is the Strike King grass frog,which is no longer made. Fortunately I have a big box of em' so I can keep fishing them for many years. 

As far as new frogs as long as it has a white,or light colored belly it seems to work fine.

[lecisnith]

I am of the black and white school of thought.  I heard or read that white is for bright, sunny days, black is for cloudy, dark days/low light.  And the white is a two-way threat because a lot of effective shad lures, such as spinnerbaits, have white as an effective color and the white frog can imitate a distressed or dying shad at the surface.  I fish a lot of very clear water, so I go with some more lifelike bait fish and frog colors as well, and those produce in those situations for me.

[WRB]

Last summer the bass were feeding on Threadfin shad back in the bushes, the only thing that worked good was a 21/2" hollow body white frog and tried several lures before that discovery. Tried various spinnerbaits, top water lures and soft plastics that could get back into brush, nothing worked except the medium size white frog and only had 1 of those.

These were big bass in the 5 lb to 7 lb size range and very selective feeders when targeting Shad.

Tom

 

[iabass8]

I really only carry Black (or Brown if you desire) or White in walking and popping. I do also carry the chartreuse/leopard belly color because for the life of me I can't figure out why but there's an area I fish that a yellow/chartreuse belly frog just out produces black/white. Generally, I could probably be good /w a Black frog most of the time. 

[jonnyblazex]

  The top color of the frog can be an advantage at times.  Not for the fish, but for your eyesight.  A brightly colored frog will be able to be seen easily amongst the weeds.  Frog fishing is more of a sight fishing style, right?  Sometime I lose sight of my frog, especially around lily pads, or if I did a super long cast (all of the line off the spool) and then took my eyes off the frog for a second.  I know a cast like that is normally not used, but at certain areas it really works, and is nice to be able to see your frog gently be slurped under the water if its a subtle bite, which of course is also not always the case...

[Western-Mass-Bass]

On 3/17/2016 at 9:57 PM, WRB said:

Put yourself in the frog business, do you want 1or 2 colors to offer bass anglers who are willing to purchase 6 colors?

If bass are feeding on shad would you use a black or white frog?

If the predominate frog where you fish is brown or green would you fish a white or black frog?

Answer those questions and you have your answer.

Tom

 

Roger that!!

[hawgenvy]

 

Okay.  So let's say you want your plastic frog to imitate the color of, say, a frog. You'd want it pale on the bottom and some sort of brown or green spotted stuff on the back and sides.

But consider this: a real frog is white on the bottom and camo on the back so that birds won't see the back easily and fish won't see the belly against the sky. If he were white on top he'd be eaten by birds and if he were darker on the bottom he'd be eaten by fish such as bass. So the most realistic color might not be the best if you're trying to get your bait swallowed.

On the other hand, based on my possibly faulty logic, I think the frog bait ought to be natural colored if used in the day because in daylight he is rather visible anyway and the way you're gonna be making him dance around on the water the bass are going to see him regardless and he should look as natural as possible to compensate for the fact that he is a piece of plastic. If he looks real they just might be more likely to inhale him.  But maybe in the early morning and evening twilight hours or at night his belly best be dark to be more visible.

This choice seems to work out for me as a fisherman. But I'm not exactly keeping records.

Consider also that when you fish a hollow body frog, you are perhaps not needing to make it look like a frog but rather like an injured bait fish.

[primetime]

I keep my colors simple for most part, but I do like to have a few frogs that have a bright top if I am making long casts so I can see them easier...I have never noticed much difference with color, I like to buy all kinds of colors, but all you really need is a shad color, black, white, and a firetiger color or chart bottom...However I do really well with a color made by Spro called Toad and I don't know why..I think it mimics a bluegill maybe, its a translucent tomato color...Some days it seems to work awesome on tanic colored water when the sun comes out...I am not sure color really maters all that much, I like to make sure the skirt and frog has some contrast in stained water and usually they come that way...I also like to mark up the bottom of my frogs that have a white belly with some black dots, and also use a chart marker to add a stripe on each side so it can be a panfish, Shiner, Frog, or whatever they want to think it is....I don't think I ever use a green frog now that I think about it....

[primetime]

If your favorite color popper or walking bait is chartruese and black head, then I would buy a frog in the same color pattern...I use a Chart Zara Spook often since we have alot of stained water, and I also like the chart/black spook, so I also use that frog color, but I think the top color matters....For me to see, if windy, in the muck, if a big fish sucks it under without much sound, you can cast some frogs that are aerodynamic really far, and many strikes come in the first few feet....I put red dots on the top so I can see it, I treat it like a bobber, when it goes under, I swing, often times they stun it and come back around to slurp it...I hate when I swing to early so I really like to be able to see it at all times. We also get some big waves on our lakes, and some of the best spots are topped out with weeds, so if you throw a black frog, it is hard to see it or hear it. I don't think a bass knows its a frog, it just sees surface activity and strikes it...a good amount of strikes come as  soon as it hits the water, so I wonder if they see it falling or just hear it...

Green Pumpkin colored frogs work really well, especially if you add some chartruese to the belly at times....I would never leave home without a green pumpkin strike King frog or spro frog...Or Scum Frog..I buy too many, I am the sucker who buys all 38 colors from every brand, and a few extra's in case I lose that color, in each size of the line up..Spro is tough, lots of colors, lots of frogs and sizes....but they look awesome in a box...I actually think I am now a collector, I have boxes full, but fish only a few....I am proud of my Frog boxes....Overall, I don't think you need more than a few colors and now a days, almost every brand of frog is good. The new Scum Frog Trophy series are becoming my favorites, especially that new rattling version with 4/0 Owner hooks, the body is perfect texture and it glides more than walks...Great price considering the hook is worth $4 alone...

[Master Bait'r]

On March 16, 2016 at 7:08 PM, Heron said:

Ok heres a question.   Plenty of people catch fish well with white or yellow Pad Crashers.   When you want to fish with a frog, what are some reasons that drive you to use the all-white frog?

 

So I can see it, also so they can see it.  

 

I have a philosophy.  I keep realistic colors for when the bite is finicky and I'm moving slow and I keep loud colors- white, yellow, pink etc. for when the bite is on fire, I'm moving fast and they're hitting anything.  

 

Color is the same in any discipline- usually it doesn't seem to matter a whole lot, but sometimes it seems like it's the only thing that matters. 

[Dwight Hottle]

On 3/16/2016 at 7:08 PM, gardnerjigman said:

A white and a black frog will do all it needs too. Any variation of those colors will work. I throw the Cricket poppin pad crasher, white belly. 

 

Simple solution is just go all white for daytime & all black for low light & night. Those two colors are all you need unless the bait monkey is choking you out. 

[bigbill]

Dark conditions

Dusk conditions

Twilight conditions

Overcast conditions

Bluebird sunny conditions

Light rain

Down pour

Night time dark no moon

Night time moon light.

 

I feel for every condition there is a color that will work. The presentation matters too. Whether you pop it. Use the killer 1-2-3 rip n pause or just pause it and wait for the strike. While dropping small live frogs in the water they seem to freeze, while they fall. Then out of nowhere comes a bass.

Don't forget the frogs in the woods too these are brighter colors.

[Wbeadlescomb]

All you need is a white natural green scum popping frog. They look like crap but they catch fish and i can see them. I throw a sizmic frog a lot usually in black or green pumpkin.  That bite I can usually feel

[Fishes in trees]

I you have to remind yourself to keep it simple, you're over thinking.   My approach has been to buy a few different brands in colors that I like.  I stopped buying hollow frogs when I had a box full.   Same think with solid body frogs - I stopped buying them when I had a box full.

Most likely I have variations of all the colors previously mentioned.   My approach is to just pick one and throw it in places I think that it might work.  If it don't work and I'm still thinking that fish might be hitting frogs, I'll change colors.    I'm not buying any more frogs until I lose 5 or 6 of them, but generally I throw them on 65 lb braid, so how often does that happen?

That is my version of keeping stuff simple.

[WI_Angler1989]

Simple is best for me. There are frogs everywhere here in WI. So if it looks like a frog, I like it. The way I see it, the frogs don't turn black when it's overcast, yet they still get eaten. So if I can imitate the real frogs I'm confident the fish will come.