Hollow Body Frog vs Soft Body Frogs

[Caleb Crawdad]

Just like the title says, I'm wondering which is your #1 producer and also specifically what brand/style (i.e. Booyah pad crasher, Stanley Ribbit, etc.). I may be wrong, but it seems like hollow body frogs tend to be more popular, but I've never had great success where/when I fish with them. I've tried several different brands, colors, retrieves, and my soft body frogs (specifically Rage toads and Ribbits) tend to outperform them and it's not even close. Would love to know everyone else's thoughts!

[Columbia Craw]

Every lure is a tool.  Frogs work the top of the water column. That's what they are designed to do.  Both types of frogs provide silhouette and profile.  Each style provides a different style of movement or lack of movement. The fish will tell you what they prefer, i.e., walk, bob, pop, large gurgle, subtle gurgle and so on.

Solid body frogs are meant to move continuously at what ever speed you chose or vary.  Hollow body can be moved  and provide the ability to stop and sit still which is nice.  The fish and cover type will tell you manner they want the bait.  Color needs are simple.  Light, dark and natural fill the bill.    If there was a bait type that provided an angler with some latitude in bait selection, this might be it.

 

 

[iiTzChunky]

Toad work better for me if they're willing to chase. Frogs work all the time. I'll throw a frog before a road. 

[tcbass]

Never caught many on hollow body frogs. Caught a ton on Ragetail Toads. 

 

Also, a Texas rigged Ragetail Bug has caught a ton on topwater. Go figure. 

[chitura]

I have always done better with buzz style frogs, like the Ribbit and Ragetail.  My new favorite is the Top Toad.

[soflabasser]

My favorite hollow body frog is the Live Target hollow body frog(have caught several +8 pounders on this lure) and favorite soft plastic frog is the Zoom Horny Toad.

[BassObsessed]

They both have their place. In the slime and muck the hollow body works better for me and in open water the Stanley top toad has been a big producer.

[the reel ess]

I have a few types of toads. A couple different Stanley Ribbit and Seizmic Toads. To tell the truth I've only used the Ribbit. I've caught a couple on it, but not a lot. I prefer the hollow body type because they stay in the strike zone longer and that seems to be the ticket in the heat of summer. I see the buzz toad as a small buzzbait. And I usually just use a buzzbait.

[fishwizzard]

I am just getting into frogging and have been using a mix of hollow frogs and the Z-man Pop Frog plastic.  It is super buoyant and will easily float a heavy 5/0 hook.  They are a bit light (for me anyway) to cast well on a casting rig, but I'm sure a more skilled person could get good results with them.  

They are also pretty bulletproof, I have caught and landed two or three huge snapping turtles one a single one and even a huge snapper can't seem to bite the legs off.  

[Fisher-O-men]

Apples and oranges!

[Swamp Rat]

Apples and oranges is exactly what we are talking about here. The hollow bodied choices are "frogs", and the soft plastic ones are "toads", and I am not trying to be a jerk, but we must use correct terminology if we want to understand "best use" of the myriad of options we have just in those 2 bait categories.

Frogs are a topwater bait. Simple. How do you work one to catch fish? However your dear heart desires...and almost any method you try will work at some point. Usually they are worked slow, a lot slower than a toad. Toads are versatile in ways to use, as sometimes I will use them for pitching, swimming under the surface slowly, swimming along the bottom, as well as quickly buzzing them on the surface.

My favorite frogs are Snag Proof, but I am on Staff with them...lol. However, I also have a box of other frogs, and favorites are Scum Frog, Booyah, Live Target, Lunker Hunt, and Bogs. 

My favorite toads are Ribbits, Sezmic, BPS Humping Toads, Zoom Horny Toads, and Gambler Cane Toads.

[timsford]

I like both. The soft body frogs with curly legs like the zoom horny toad or strike king rage toad are more versatile for me. I catch fish with them subsurface swimming and even working Texas rigged with a bullet weight on bottom. I don't know if they think it's a big fat craw or a frog but I've caught some bigger fish. A fishing partner showed me this in a pond on lookout mtn near chattanooga and he caught several over 5 and 2 over 7. Been using it myself ever since. I use hollow body frogs, mainly booyah and spro sometimes too, but about the only place's with mats near me are some small ponds, and I seem to do better with the swimming soft frogs. I've seen lots of people use hollow frogs in open water, but I usually do better with a hard walker or popper. If I fished guntersville or chickamauga more, I'd probably use hollow frogs a lot more though

[primetime]

with floating Toads now on the market, the Elaztach, Larew kind of floats, Manns toad kind of floats, but the Stanley Top Toad is a hollow toad that floats perfectly, so does the Sizmic and my general view is if 

Bass are willing to chase and strike a toad like a Ribbit, Horny Toad, or Swimming Toad like the Manns, Larew etc...Then I will go that route since the hook up ratio is better for me, cover more water, and toads seem to produce fish of the same quality, you can always go over the area again with the hollow body which can land bigger fish, and has a different action.

The Floating Buzz Toads are actually really good, The Stanley Top Toad is a great idea and seems to have a better hook up ratio than hollow bodies with buzz legs, and having the ability to stop them is huge. 

you can also take your favorite frog, say a Booyah pad crusher, and simply add new legs to it like say end of a ribbon tail worm/Speed worm, even the ones from punch rigs work at buzzing on top. Then you have the best of both worlds. I use the Scum Frog Big Foot but sometimes the feet get in the way of the hookset, I like soft toads that float better personally, but if on cover, hard to beat a Ribbit style. Many strikes occur when the bait sinks or waked under the water.