Best tail for Homemade Teckel Frog?

[tcbass]

I want to try a different tail for my Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog. I've been using a gambler Big Ez swimbaits by cutting their tails off. But I think they maybe too big and harder to rotate. So I was thinking about trying a different tail. 

 

I see that the original tail looks pretty cylindrical with a tail at the end. No swimbait really has a tail like that unfortunately. 

 

I don't want to buy the Teckel Sprinker Frog spare tails because they are expensive. 

 

This is what the Teckel Sprinker Frog tail looks like. 

 

 

This is the new Zoom Boot tail Fluke and looks promising. 

 

 

 

Whats the best tail for a homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog?

[panfish12]

I also was dissapointed with the perfomance of a tail I cut off of a swimbait, It wasn't making very much noise. One other thing I noticed was that the angle of the tail on most swimbaits is a lot greater than the angle on the real tail. The tail on the Teckel is at 90 degrees if not less, while the tail on the swimbait you posted looks closer to 120 degrees. I just made my own out of old plastics and super glue, it is ugly but sounds good. so angle is something to look for as well as the size.

[Cgolf]

I honestly could not tell you what if any sound mine was making as I was fishing it in current. I used tails off the standard and mini skinny dippers. With the two frogs I have used the tail is not out of the water like the real deal, but like I said current and waves could have hindered that. All I know is it works, even if it is a slightly different action. It is more likely because the split ring being around the hooks means the tail is lower in relation to the body 

[Bluebasser86]

You can buy Sprinker replacement tails, why not just buy those?

[Comfortably Numb]

Anyone tried a Helicopter lure?

[speed craw]

The damiki anchovy shad looks pretty close to that tail.

[Team9nine]

4 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

You can buy Sprinker replacement tails, why not just buy those?

 

Because to his credit, he's not foolish enough to drop $7-$10 for a 4 pack of replacement tails 

[Bluebasser86]

1 minute ago, Team9nine said:

 

Because to his credit, he's not foolish enough to drop $7-$10 for a 4 pack of replacement tails 

Well a pack of Big EZ swimbaits isn't exactly cheap, nor are they durable. I've caught a couple dozen fish on one of my Sprinkers and it still has the original tail very much intact. Spending a little more for something that is going to last a lot longer, as well as functions better, should offset that price difference. 

[Team9nine]

Still highway robbery...but we all end up justifying our purchases to try and catch a fish one way or another, myself included. Thankfully I'm on the tame end of the tackle purchasing scale, and don't even own a Sprinkler.

[Bluebasser86]

6 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Still highway robbery...but we all end up justifying our purchases to try and catch a fish one way or another, myself included. Thankfully I'm on the tame end of the tackle purchasing scale, and don't even own a Sprinkler.

For sure it is, but most things we buy are that we buy to chase a little green fish that we end up just throwing back anyways. The sprinkers are fun to fish, but even their base price is hard for me to spend on a frog. Still, I have 2 I paid the $14 for, and 1 that I traded a few crankbaits I never use for. 

[tcbass]

2 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Still highway robbery...but we all end up justifying our purchases to try and catch a fish one way or another, myself included. Thankfully I'm on the tame end of the tackle purchasing scale, and don't even own a Sprinkler.

 

I have 3 on order. If they work as well as the homemade ones I made I will buy 5-6 during TW's sale with my gift cards should get 35% off which would make them $9, a few dollars less than the Live Target frogs and less than Spro frogs which isn't too bad of a price. 

 

 

What's ironic is by the time I get a cheap tail that will work I will probably get my Sprinker frogs in the mail and won't need them anymore. lol. And I've been spending all of this time tweeking my homemade ones with different sized split rings, tails, and swivels to make it work better.

[BassNJake]

On 8/3/2017 at 7:22 PM, tcbass said:

Whats the best tail for a homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog?

 

I used a 3 way swivel over the legs > attached a split ring to the rear facing swivel > then used a large colorado blade

 

I had one blow-up but no takers

 

I liked the action as it made both sound and disturbed the water quite a bit

On a slower retrieve the blade seemed more erratic in how/when it spun

On a faster retrieve the blade seemed to spin consistently but I kinda liked the random action

 

I know that you have been tinkering with this not sure if you tried a large colorado blade or not

I'll try and add a picture tomorrow

[tcbass]

34 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

 

I used a 3 way swivel over the legs > attached a split ring to the rear facing swivel > then used a large colorado blade

 

I had one blow-up but no takers

 

I liked the action as it made both sound and disturbed the water quite a bit

On a slower retrieve the blade seemed more erratic in how/when it spun

On a faster retrieve the blade seemed to spin consistently but I kinda liked the random action

 

I know that you have been tinkering with this not sure if you tried a large colorado blade or not

I'll try and add a picture tomorrow

 

 

Cool, I just picked up some 3 way swivels also. I saw a guy use a paperclip, he said using a split ring over the legs caused the frog to rotate and I noticed I had that problem too.

I did just pick up some Keitech Swing Impacts and will try their tails instead, one is much smaller and one is larger.

[tcbass]

Well, I went a different route and decided to buy the spare Teckel Sprinker Frog tails. 

 

I used them with a 3 way VMC size 4 swivel and it worked well. 

 

Not as as well as I suspect a real Sprinker Frog but not bad. Did not work well with the Snagproof Phat Frog but worked well with the Spro Frog and surprisingly did not have to squeeze the water out much. Only a few times during 3 hours of fishing. 

 

I caught 3 nice bass with it. Lost 2 really big ones halfway to the boat and a few misses but I think they were smaller ones. 

 

 

[MNGeorge]

17 hours ago, tcbass said:

Well, I went a different route and decided to buy the spare Teckel Sprinker Frog tails. 

 

I used them with a 3 way VMC size 4 swivel and it worked well. 

 

Not as as well as I suspect a real Sprinker Frog but not bad. Did not work well with the Snagproof Phat Frog but worked well with the Spro Frog and surprisingly did not have to squeeze the water out much. Only a few times during 3 hours of fishing. 

 

I caught 3 nice bass with it. Lost 2 really big ones halfway to the boat and a few misses but I think they were smaller ones. 

 

 

Thanks for the 3 way swivel tip...that was actually my first inclination to try but all the videos on homemade Sprinkers I was seeing used the split ring so I assumed that was the way to go. Switched one of my home made ones from split ring to 3 way swivel today and it ran much better and all speeds...with the split ring rig, it really only worked well at one speed. Thanks again.

[tcbass]

21 hours ago, MNGeorge said:

Thanks for the 3 way swivel tip...that was actually my first inclination to try but all the videos on homemade Sprinkers I was seeing used the split ring so I assumed that was the way to go. Switched one of my home made ones from split ring to 3 way swivel today and it ran much better and all speeds...with the split ring rig, it really only worked well at one speed. Thanks again.

 

 

I agree it runs better at all speeds. I saw some guy guiding wire through his frog and another bending paper clips and I was like too much work. lol. When I saw a guy using 3 way swivels I was like I'll try that easy way. Also easier to get on then then split rings. 

 

 

Yesterday was the best day with the homemade one. Caught 10 bass in under an hour and 1/2 and lost 2 which is actually a pretty good hookup ratio and not losing fish. Last 3 were 3 fish on 3 casts. It was crazy. My brother and friend were like, "Are you kidding? We aren't catching anything." 

 

My friend was throwing a regular frog and caught one while my brother was using a homemade Sprinker frog, but it was a Booyah Pad Crasher Jr. with blue Teckel tail and I was using a full size Spro with green tail. He only got small bites from perhaps sunnies. Weird. Maybe color or size mattered yesterday. 

[d-camarena]

i made one using a pad crasher, eagle claw 3 say swivel, split ring a owner cps keeper. i used a shadilicious tail and work awesome at any speed. probably not the most cost effective but works if you have trouble finding teckel tails

[primetime]

I guess this is the new Frog Trend now? The Whopper Plopper really made a big impression on alot of people. Didn't Bass Pro have a Kermit frog that was essentially this same design a few years ago but they discontinued it? 

 

I wonder why the Bass pro frog never gained traction. Kind of same concept if I remember.

[tcbass]

1 hour ago, primetime said:

I guess this is the new Frog Trend now? The Whopper Plopper really made a big impression on alot of people. Didn't Bass Pro have a Kermit frog that was essentially this same design a few years ago but they discontinued it? 

 

I wonder why the Bass pro frog never gained traction. Kind of same concept if I remember.

 

 

Not sure, but someone pointed out that the Whopper Plopper is the exact copy of an old time lure, I looked and it was. Don't know if the old time lure was once popular and fell out of favor, or if it just never gained popularity, but the Whopper Plopper sure has. 

 

 

I talked to a friend who said he's been fishing a lot with his kid for bass and I said there's 2 lures you need to try. He said, "Is the first one the Whopper Plopper?" I said yea, how'd you know? He said he got his kid one and he loves it. 

 

I told him about the homemade Teckel frog and he said his kid would love trying to make his own. 

[Team9nine]

10 minutes ago, tcbass said:

Not sure, but someone pointed out that the Whopper Plopper is the exact copy of an old time lure, I looked and it was. Don't know if the old time lure was once popular and fell out of favor, or if it just never gained popularity, but the Whopper Plopper sure has.

 

The original "Plopper" dates back to 1918, so considering the company is still around says a lot for its longevity. That said, it was the Muskie and pike market that largely kept it viable, just like the original R2S version that was created for Muskie fishing. The smaller bass versions only came out more recently - a case of right place, right time for a popular company.

[IndianaFinesse]

Given that it's $5 more, why would you buy the teckel sprinkler instead of a lunkerhunt prop frog?  Pretty much the only difference is the lunkerhunt has two props instead of one.

[tcbass]

26 minutes ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Given that it's $5 more, why would you buy the teckel sprinkler instead of a lunkerhunt prop frog?  Pretty much the only difference is the lunkerhunt has two props instead of one.

 

 

I don't know. You'd have to use both. The Lunkerhunt seems to have harder legs while the Teckel has a softer tail. That might affect its action and how it works in lilypads and such. 

 

My my brother likes the Booyah Bigfoot Frog which has a similar action but it doesn't work nearly as well as my homemade Teckel Frog. The Booyah works well in lily pads and whatnot because it has soft legs. 

[Joshua Vandamm]

What’s the sprinker tail made of? Silicone?

does it float? Heavy plastic?

 

just curious because people say it’s a lot better/louder than any tail you can add