New plastic bait ?./ Frog hooks ?

[N Florida Mike]

I love fishing soft plastics,esp.in my home lake.Im looking for something in this category I can add to my arsenal of baits.Through the years Ive fished various worms,flukes,senkos and creature baits.Im getting the impression that the fish are getting used to my baits.

I have tried other types of baits with limited results.The clear,shallow,and weedy lakes I fish just aren't best for hard baits.  

Different Subject:

I am planning to do more frog fishing this year,but have not found a hook I like for them.I  tried the hooks that screw into the frog in front,and Texas rig with the hook coming out on top in its back.They cast great and look good going across the water but I have not caught ONE fish with them ( Using horny toads or ribbits ) Not even one blow- up.I used to do better with a 3/0 wide gap hook,but the frog slips down nearly every cast.W hat hooks do y'all use for frogs?

 

[Catt]

Lazer Trokar B.A.R.B EWG

 

 

[IndianaFinesse]

Another vote for the ewg trokar barb hooks, sharpest hooks I have ever used and the barb keeps the frog from slipping down.  3/0 is typically the size I use.

[wdp]

Last 4 yrs or so I've been really happy using these Stanley double take hooks for my Ribbit frogs. They work great and fit on the regular sized Ribbit frog perfectly. You can use em with Horny Toads too, but it takes a little more work to get the hook to sit right on the frog - takes a little practice. 

 

But my hook up ratio has gone up & the hooks are really sharp. Ribbits & horny Toads are bout only 2 frogs I throw. I hardly ever throw hollow bodied frogs. 

Mike, as far as other soft plastics, have you tried swimbaits? I have pretty good luck with slender profile swimbaits using a light keel weighted hook. I've done a lotta damage with skinny dippers & cane thumper in shallow lakes with lots of grass. 

[N Florida Mike]

14 hours ago, wdp said:

Last 4 yrs or so I've been really happy using these Stanley double take hooks for my Ribbit frogs. They work great and fit on the regular sized Ribbit frog perfectly. You can use em with Horny Toads too, but it takes a little more work to get the hook to sit right on the frog - takes a little practice. 

 

But my hook up ratio has gone up & the hooks are really sharp. Ribbits & horny Toads are bout only 2 frogs I throw. I hardly ever throw hollow bodied frogs. 

Mike, as far as other soft plastics, have you tried swimbaits? I have pretty good luck with slender profile swimbaits using a light keel weighted hook. I've done a lotta damage with skinny dippers & cane thumper in shallow lakes with lots of grass. 

I have tried the single screw in hooks and I can't get a fish to bite since.I don't know why.I make sure it's straight and the baits make a nice ripple as they come in.When I used the wide gap 3/0 worm hooks it was aggravating because of the frog sliding down a lot,but at least I caught a few fish every now and then.

As for the swimbaits,I have tried the slender 4 inch ? ones and have caught 2-3.The first cast I ever made with one I caught one! It was a kvd caffeine shad. I may have caught 1 more on it,and one on a shad looking swimbait.A friend swears they're great .It's weird,but in my lake it seems if you throw a bait made for movement,the bass rarely hit it.But if you throw a bait NOT made for movement they will slam it when you reel in.I guess it's a good problem to have anyway.

Last week Texas hawgs on the forums was in town and went out with me .He was keeping a good bite going with the small( finesse ? )zoom trick worms dipped with a little chartreuse stain on the end.Was at academy tonight but forgot to get some.

Thanks for the help.

[wdp]

Man, I dunno what to tell you. Sounds like the fishing has gotten tough at your lake. 

 

Zoom trick worms are a great bait and you can fish them a lotta different ways. If the fish are keying on slow moving finesse presentations, try fishing the trick worm weightless around the grass edges. That's worked for me before. 

[scaleface]

On 3/9/2017 at 7:10 AM, Catt said:

Lazer Trokar B.A.R.B EWG

 

 

Does  this work on the Ribbit ? I bought some but havent used one yet ....and what size ?

[ErikmonBillsfon]

A few years ago I used ribbits half the time I was fishing. I had friends who only used ribbits and I'm in CT where you wouldn't consider frog central. The key is to cast it on the bank or an inch off. Almost all of the ribbit fish we catch are right up on a bank or piece of cover, tree, laydown. Almost never catch em in open water. I use a twist lock owner or Gama hook sometimes if I feel the fright is spinning too much then I'll use a weighted hook and make sure I start to reel in before it even hits the water so it won't sink.

[wdp]

I used to use the 5/0 owner single twist lock hooks for ribbits & horny toads. Problem was about a 1/3 of the time the frogs would swim upside down. Those Stanley double take hooks really solve that issue & they fit perfectly on the Ribbit Frogs. Hardly ever miss fish with them. 

 

I've got 3 or 4 lakes I fish regularly with tons of grass and pads. Buzz frogs are money at these lakes. Really fun fishing. Most times you can just throw it out around the vegetation & burn it back to the boat. 

[jr231]

I like these owner screw lock. They work well and fit most of the soft plastic frogs perfect. 

 

Try these out Mike. Perfect for a light split shot rig, weightless and shaky head. Surely the manufacturer was pursuing the smallmouth fisherman with these but they are killer. Weightless all the little legs flutter and largemouth slam em. 

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Arkie_Salty_Crawlin_Fry_20pk/descpage-ARKFRY.html

[wdp]

4 hours ago, Yeajray231 said:

I like these owner screw lock. They work well and fit most of the soft plastic frogs perfect. 

 

Try these out Mike. Perfect for a light split shot rig, weightless and shaky head. Surely the manufacturer was pursuing the smallmouth fisherman with these but they are killer. Weightless all the little legs flutter and largemouth slam em. 

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Arkie_Salty_Crawlin_Fry_20pk/descpage-ARKFRY.html

HELLO! When did owner start making these? Man, those look like they'd fit on the horny toads better than the Stanley double take hooks. Gonna have to check em out. 

[jr231]

. Changed over from a Gammy frog hook and don't miss  it. Easier to get perfectly center with the pin on the owner. I  dont plan on changing any time soon. My hook up ratio with this (and soft plastic ) vs hollow body is definitely better. I like the rage toad because of the packaging, and action. They will work with a leg bitten off and I never have to worry about them being bent like some of my other soft plastics.. coffee scent doesn't really come in to play here but I appreciate it anyway. Doesn't hurt I know that ! 

[wdp]

2 hours ago, Yeajray231 said:

. Changed over from a Gammy frog hook and don't miss  it. Easier to get perfectly center with the pin on the owner. I  dont plan on changing any time soon. My hook up ratio with this (and soft plastic ) vs hollow body is definitely better. I like the rage toad because of the packaging, and action. They will work with a leg bitten off and I never have to worry about them being bent like some of my other soft plastics.. coffee scent doesn't really come in to play here but I appreciate it anyway. Doesn't hurt I know that ! 

No doubt that owner has the best screw lock with their centering pin system. I've got tons of their screw lock hooks. Just didn't know they made a double hook for frogs. It looks like their double hook is a little closer together than the Stanley version. That's why I'm thinking it might work better on a horny toad. 

 

I like the rage toads too. But I got so many bags of unopened Ribbits & Horny Toads that I'm trying to use em up. 

[NorthwestBasser]

Those owner screwlocks look great! Gonna grab some for my rage toads...

If you're having trouble with bait slide try a little dab of super glue or push the frog just past the hook eyelet, stab a toothpick through and snip it off, should hold just fine. I'd just use the screw locks though