Losing fish on frogs..

[Hookem Hank]

I have lost three fish this year on frogs, one would have been my personal best. What can I do to change this up? I have caught fish on frogs in the past but I don't know what is going on now. 

[Bluebasser86]

Sometimes you lose them, nothing you can do about it. What gear are you using? I lost 4 last time out on frogs. Nothing I did wrong, sometimes they just don't stay stuck, especially if you're fishing heavy grass and they get a chance to bury into it. 

[ClackerBuzz]

your hookups should easily double if you focus on ur mechanics.  

1-manage ur line. keep as little slack line as possible on the water surface. also quickly reel 2-3 rotations to remove slack from the equation before hook set.

2-keep ur rod tip down or as low as possible while working the frog.  working it high in the air invites problems. the more advanced you get the higher you can keep ur rod. keep it low until you get better.

3-if you see the frog is gone set the hook immediately. do not count 3 seconds . do not wait until you feel the weight of the fish on the line.

i had the standard frog hook up issues when i worked my rod at 10-11 o'clock, and counted 3 seconds while reeling up slack.  i read a lot of recommendations on here, studied the pros, watched rod/reel technique in videos and made the adjustments above.  it made me love frog fishing again

[Fun4Me]

Depending on the places you're throwing the frog, you could try a trailer hook.

 

[Jaderose]

You've lost 3 froggin fish THIS YEAR and you're complaining?  Either you don't frog that much or you are the greatest Froggin Master the world has ever known.  I miss at least that many every time I go out and I consider myself a pretty good frogger with about an 80% hookup ratio.  Keep on keepin on.  I've had days I lost that many frogs..let alone fish

[Subaqua Adinterim]

See my post on the Lake Fork trailer hook.  These will help you.

Please note, I have no affiliation with the company - I'm just an amateur fisherman that used this and it worked, hopefully others can benefit as I did.

Good luck

[Mike L]

When you say you "lost" them, are you certain they had it??

I'm asking because a lot of times a bass will come up and "push" a frog. You'll see and hear the splash, the frog will be gone, you pull, and you have nothing. Or sometimes they'll blow on it from behind, you again think he has it, you pull and again you have nothing. 

I've had bass "hit" and the frog will jump 2ft. out of the water! Come back down and nothing!

This happens to me a lot...

 

Mike 

[thebillsman]

8 hours ago, Hookem Hank said:

I have lost three fish this year on frogs, one would have been my personal best. What can I do to change this up? I have caught fish on frogs in the past but I don't know what is going on now. 

Are you bending out the hooks at all? 

How soft is the hollow body you are using?

[Hookem Hank]

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Sometimes you lose them, nothing you can do about it. What gear are you using? I lost 4 last time out on frogs. Nothing I did wrong, sometimes they just don't stay stuck, especially if you're fishing heavy grass and they get a chance to bury into it. 

Live target, 50lb braid mh rod

1 hour ago, Mike L said:

When you say you "lost" them, are you certain they had it??

I'm asking because a lot of times a bass will come up and "push" a frog. You'll see and hear the splash, the frog will be gone, you pull, and you have nothing. Or sometimes they'll blow on it from behind, you again think he has it, you pull and again you have nothing. 

I've had bass "hit" and the frog will jump 2ft. out of the water! Come back down and nothing!

This happens to me a lot...

 

Mike 

Yes I am sure I had them. I tend to lose them right at the boat if not about halfway between the boat and initial strike.

8 minutes ago, thebillsman said:

Are you bending out the hooks at all? 

How soft is the hollow body you are using?

I haven't tried bending out the hooks and I'm using live target

[Bluebasser86]

4 minutes ago, Hookem Hank said:

Live target, 50lb braid mh rod

 

Are they getting down into the cover? Have you bent the hooks out at all to help get some extra clearance for the hooks to clear the body of the bait?

[Jaderose]

9 hours ago, Hookem Hank said:

 

Yes I am sure I had them. I tend to lose them right at the boat if not about halfway between the boat and initial strike.

 

You can't give them ANY slack.  What speed reel are you using?  One you hook up, you gotta get them outta there fast and not give them ANY slack or you will lose that fish 9 times outta 10

[.ghoti.]

Everybody loses fish on a frog. It ain't the end of the world.

[Swamp Rat]

You probably won't need to bend the hooks, but I do not run 50lb braid or a MH rod for frogs. Toads are great on that rig, but for frogs I use 65lb braid on 7' H rods minimum. To be fair, I am in South Florida, but also I have been on staff with a major frog manufacturer for over 10 years, and have escalated my equipment and have reduced my missed fish. BUT...if you are fishing frogs you WILL lose fish, it is just the nature of the beast.

[IndianaFinesse]

If I were you, I would not change a thing. I lose more fish than that in an afternoon of fishing, I wish that was all I lost in a year, let alone a week!

[soflabasser]

Make sure to set the hook when the bass takes the frog under water.You don't have to set the hook like a Samurai, a firm hookset should suffice.Have caught several +8 pound bass and haven't had a single big bass break me off with 30lb powerpro while frogfishing,so make sure your knots are good and your drag isn't too tight. 

[BassNRocks]

For me the problem is the fish misses the frog completely even when working it slow, once they hit the target havent had any problems.

PS: 5+ strikes before one actually hits it, really Thick pads is probably part of it?

[Hookem Hank]

On 9/19/2016 at 10:44 PM, Swamp Rat said:

You probably won't need to bend the hooks, but I do not run 50lb braid or a MH rod for frogs. Toads are great on that rig, but for frogs I use 65lb braid on 7' H rods minimum. To be fair, I am in South Florida, but also I have been on staff with a major frog manufacturer for over 10 years, and have escalated my equipment and have reduced my missed fish. BUT...if you are fishing frogs you WILL lose fish, it is just the nature of the beast.

 

I have thought about my gear that I use and have questioned if it may be a factor. I appreciate the input! 

On 9/20/2016 at 9:03 PM, BassNRocks said:

For me the problem is the fish misses the frog completely even when working it slow, once they hit the target havent had any problems.

PS: 5+ strikes before one actually hits it, really Thick pads is probably part of it?

 

I have been fishing frogs for a few years now and I know the difference in the two, I do however feel where you are coming from because I have had the same experiences in the past. 

On 9/20/2016 at 7:55 PM, soflabasser said:

Make sure to set the hook when the bass takes the frog under water.You don't have to set the hook like a Samurai, a firm hookset should suffice.Have caught several +8 pound bass and haven't had a single big bass break me off with 30lb powerpro while frogfishing,so make sure your knots are good and your drag isn't too tight. 

 

I will admit that I think that one big one I lost was partially because of my drag not being set correctly. 

[soflabasser]

35 minutes ago, Hookem Hank said:

I will admit that I think that one big one I lost was partially because of my drag not being set correctly. 

I have also lost big fish(saltwater fish) by having my drag too tight, it happens to all of us.Put the drag lose enough where line will come out when a big fish strikes,but tight enough where you can give a firm hookset to the bass.For example 7-8 pounds of drag is more than enough to set the hook on 30lb test braid,as long as your line is in good condition and you tied a good knot. 65-80lb test braid is excessive for frog fishing for me,but I can see it being used by someone who wants to feel strong by ripping the bass out of heavy aquatic vegetation.

[Big Bait Fishing]

frog fishing is a technique that always calls for a locked down drag .

[Ratherbfishing]

I would caution you about bending the hooks out.  It can be done but do this too much and you'll end up with a bait that snags everything and it will drive you insane.  There is a fine balance somewhere between being poor at hook ups and being too snaggy but if I had to choose, I'd err on the side of worse hook ups.

 

[soflabasser]

33 minutes ago, Ratherbfishing said:

I would caution you about bending the hooks out.  It can be done but do this too much and you'll end up with a bait that snags everything and it will drive you insane.  There is a fine balance somewhere between being poor at hook ups and being too snaggy but if I had to choose, I'd err on the side of worse hook ups.

 

I agree with you 100% on this.I don't bend the hooks on any of my frogs and have a excellent hookup percentage.

[Mike L]

If you use one of the softer frogs available  (Scum, Live Target etc) you wont need to mess with the hooks. That's one of the reasons I gave away all my Spro's. 

 

Mike