Finesse Frogging... Going to change the game!

[Master Bait'r]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Academy does sell online

 

It's just not the same!  

[Master Bait'r]

Been doing pretty darn good with the ff's lately but I snuck out after a massive thunderstorm today before I went stir crazy and had a KILLER afternoon.  

 

Nailed this fatty within the first 5 minutes.

 

and about a half dozen decent smaller guys after that

 

also saw a fox

a heron

 

...  and a beautiful sunset.  Cheers!  

[Catt]

Awesome!

[hawgenvy]

Maybe I'm wrong about this, but aren't big hooks on little frogs less weedless because the points are now so far from the body?

[Master Bait'r]

11 hours ago, hawgenvy said:

Maybe I'm wrong about this, but aren't big hooks on little frogs less weedless because the points are now so far from the body?

 

You are not wrong!  These are about working the very fringe edge of the weeds with minimal entry noise (sounds like a bluegill smooching the surface instead of a big splash) and a profile that is SUPER easy to say yes to as well as fully inhale...  The more exposed hooks translate to great hookups even with the rod you'll need to cast a tiny frog well.  I am usually trying to cast directly on the last fat pad before open water if it's heavy and concentrating on the first 2ft of open water, or working through sparse or light pads etc. 

 

I use this technique in conjunction with a heavy combo and a normal 1/2oz or so frog for actual heavy cover and deeper back into pads, not as a replacement for it.   

[Master Bait'r]

Saturday was a good day, but WOW...  Today blew it out of the water!  I got stuck with a late material delivery, so rather than sit around and watch paint dry I shot out and caught some water time.    

Got this guy right off the bat.  Healthy, perfectly round dark sider that made almost no noise at all taking the frog under.

 

Then I battled some wicked wind gusts for about 45 mins before retreating to a wooded cove and regrouping from a direction I could work the wind.  10 or so later I got around to a point with a loosely padded mini-peninsula outcropping and casted to the pads behind it, working the frog across the open water to the tip of the point.  As it neared the greenery, a huge wake kicked up behind it and in the waves and pads I couldn't see it anymore...  I just watched for a second and when I saw the line move I cracked the whip into it and started reeling like heck.  I got him to shoot out of the pads instead of into them and although he took the boat and my drag for a few strolls into deeper water I was able to net him relatively quickly.  Definitely my biggest fish of the year and knocking on the door of my PB.  Head and body like a cinder block!

 

Had a good afternoon from there too, as shown by the smattering of dinks below.  The finesse frog has been untouchable lately.  

 

Also a few I didn't take pics of.  Anybody else crushing hopes and dreams with these little customs or is it just me??  

[Torn Thumb]

Just curious as to the lake that you are on? I have some bigger frogs coming in the mail, then I just have to get some smaller ones for the body. I've been wanting to try this.

[IndianaFinesse]

Have you tried putting a trailer hook on them?  Do they still walk with a trailer hook?

22 minutes ago, Master Bait'r said:

Saturday was a good day, but WOW...  Today blew it out of the water!  I got stuck with a late material delivery, so rather than sit around and watch paint dry I shot out and caught some water time.    

Got this guy right off the bat.  Healthy, perfectly round dark sider that made almost no noise at all taking the frog under.

 

Then I battled some wicked wind gusts for about 45 mins before retreating to a wooded cove and regrouping from a direction I could work the wind.  10 or so later I got around to a point with a loosely padded mini-peninsula outcropping and casted to the pads behind it, working the frog across the open water to the tip of the point.  As it neared the greenery, a huge wake kicked up behind it and in the waves and pads I couldn't see it anymore...  I just watched for a second and when I saw the line move I cracked the whip into it and started reeling like heck.  I got him to shoot out of the pads instead of into them and although he took the boat and my drag for a few strolls into deeper water I was able to net him relatively quickly.  Definitely my biggest fish of the year and knocking on the door of my PB.  Head and body like a cinder block!

 

Had a good afternoon from there too, as shown by the smattering of dinks below.  The finesse frog has been untouchable lately.  

 

Also a few I didn't take pics of.  Anybody else crushing hopes and dreams with these little customs or is it just me??  

just last week I caught one on a finesse frog that weighed 5.1 pounds!

[Master Bait'r]

1 hour ago, Torn Thumb said:

Just curious as to the lake that you are on? I have some bigger frogs coming in the mail, then I just have to get some smaller ones for the body. I've been wanting to try this.

 

Its a ~10 acre pond.  Newly private thanks to a few downed trees.  Tons of cover and maxes out around 20-25 feet or so.  

Pocket frogs and the smaller jawbone frogs seem to match up well for swaps.  Also skirt legs get hit more for whatever reason.  

50 minutes ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Have you tried putting a trailer hook on them?  Do they still walk with a trailer hook?

just last week I caught one on a finesse frog that weighed 5.1 pounds!

 

I don't bother.  The bigger hooks leave me wanting for nothing in terms of hookups and I feel like a bare hook is asking for problems.  Also I generally am not trying to walk them either.  One or two little splashy twitches and a few second pause seems to be the money train.  

 

Thats a great ff fish, nice work!  Got any pics?

[IndianaFinesse]

1 hour ago, Master Bait'r said:

Thats a great ff fish, nice work!  Got any pics?

Thanks, unfortunately I was fishing alone and I don't carry a cell phone with me while fishing so I couldn't get any pics.

[Master Bait'r]

Got another decent one today on the ff.  Saved the day!  I was getting skunked up until then.  

[Swamp Rat]

Well, MB you have spilled my secret weapon for YEARS...lol. I have been on Staff with Snag Proof for over 10 years, and while I throw the normal inventory of bigger frogs, I usually throw a 1/4oz Tournament frog whenever I can. I have 2 different rigs for this type of frog, a 7' MH spinning rod with 20# braid so I can skip the frog for certain terrain or just for a different type of presentation, and a 7' M baitcaster with 20# braid for normal use. I have experimented with hooks, but usually use the factory hook, not bent upward, but hand filed extremely sharp, and use a sweep set instead of trying to cross their eyes with the hook set. Not very many missed fish...way less than when power fishing with frogs, and it is also a great frog for following up another frog guy. 

I do agree that not casting too far also helps hookup ratio, and a lot of times I am pitching the frog short distances. Mostly, 40-50' casts, work it, move to another point or unique structure...

[the reel ess]

My PB to date came on a 1/4 oz Snag Proof Original Frog. The same one in my avatar.

[Master Bait'r]

After being reminded of this thread, I wanted to post this fattie skunkbuster I got about two weeks ago on a FF.  It's continued to produce for me even into the fall even though I've been so busy I haven't been fishing much.  

[Robeng]

MasterBaitr - Thanks for this and to the rest for their valued input.  Nice writeups.

[Master Bait'r]

3 hours ago, Robeng said:

MasterBaitr - Thanks for this and to the rest for their valued input.  Nice writeups.

 

My pleasure!  I love frog fishing and this dimension of it is so much fun it defies logic.  It needs to be shared and enjoyed!!  

[IndianaFinesse]

On 7/10/2016 at 5:11 PM, Master Bait'r said:

 

The biggest piece to the puzzle is probably the hooks though to be honest.  I feel like they build those frogs to have a hookset by a big rod, and I just wasn't getting the purchase with the lighter setup.  Little frogs brought the hits but the hooks put them in the boat.  HUGE difference once those hooks got swapped out.  Everything just clicked!  

If you had to replace the hooks with regular frog hooks (not swapping between frogs, I don't have enough to do that) which size would you put on the pocket frog?

[fishwizzard]

Yes, I have been toying with making some finesse frogs and have yet to hit on a hook that fits well in the smaller frogs.  

[IndianaFinesse]

1 hour ago, Bunnielab said:

Yes, I have been toying with making some finesse frogs and have yet to hit on a hook that fits well in the smaller frogs.  

I tried putting some 4/0 hooks on them, but it weighed so much that it sank with the slightest bit of water inside.  I wonder if a 2/0 or 3/0 might work?

[fishwizzard]

I will have to look around for the hooks I bought, I think they were 4/0.  I didn't even get to the water test phase, I couldn't get them to sight straight in the frog.  I think I am going to buy some figure 8 links and see if that lets me use a shorter, but still oversized hook and have it seat better inside the frog.

[Master Bait'r]

On 12/30/2016 at 0:13 PM, IndianaFinesse said:

If you had to replace the hooks with regular frog hooks (not swapping between frogs, I don't have enough to do that) which size would you put on the pocket frog?

 

 

Its different from company to company and many have their own bends etc.... There is no universally good size, as each company makes them slightly different.  I did find that the jawbone frogs' hooks are right about the golden size and shape, and the frogs are cheap.  Booyahs etc also will work but I don't want to ruin a Booyah, y'know?  

 

You definitely need a light gauge hook to avoid sinking it though.  I really hope a company or two will come out with an actual true finesse frog with protruding hooks and skirt legs so we don't have to go through so much effort to dial them in.  

 

I miss froggin so much.  I seriously can't wait for pad season to be back in full swing!  

 

 

[Brayberry]

Have you tried the FF this spring?

[Master Bait'r]

8 hours ago, Brayberry said:

Have you tried the FF this spring?

 

 

Not yet I just got my kayak moved up here and have been out once.  Also my main spot has only been sans ice for a week, pads and topwater in general are a ways off still. 

 

I did just capitalize on a DSG sale for a bunch of green tea pocket frogs @B3G3, so I made up a bunch of extras.  I'm definitely ready for it! 

[Catt]

@Master Bait'r

 

My son Kade read the entire thread last year & started fishing finesse frogs with limited success but he hung with it.

 

His second trip this year produced his biggest frog fish to date!

[fishwizzard]

I found a Booyah frog in a tree but it was ripped up, so I took the hook and made myself a finesse frog.  I look at the hooks and fear I am gonna loose it on the first cast, but I am excited to give it a try.  I have a spot in mind that is mostly duckweed, so I am going to try it there first.