Initial Thoughts: Review of Teckel Sprinker Frog vs. Booyah Toad Runner vs. Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog

[tcbass]

So, I've had a chance to try all 3 of these lures, the original paddle tailed frog, the Teckel Sprinker Frog, then the Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog, and finally the new Booyah Toad Runner. Here's what I've found.

 

I think paddle tailed frogs being called the Weedless Whopper Plopper are right and just like the Whopper Plopper they are a great lure because not only are they super effective at catching fish anyone can catch fish with them, all you have to do is cast and retrieve it back to you. No more walking the dog which can be hard for some folks and especially kids.

 

 

1.)  Teckel Sprinker Frog:  $14.99.  This lure seemed to be designed with a downward pointed nose rather than an upturned one, causing it to sort of plow down into the water. If the nose was upturned I think it would help it a lot. I did get a lot of bites on this lure but I only caught 1 fish which was a northern. I got some spectacular blowups but no fish. Perhaps I needed to wait more before I set the hook.

 

 

+  I like the fact that you can buy spare tails for your Teckel frogs for replacement or use them on your own homemade frogs. It is the paddle tail of choice for me for making homemade frogs.

 

+  I really like the tail with the CPS Centering Pin Spring. 

 

-  Expensive.

 

-  Poor design with nose turned down.

 

-  Spare tails are expensive at $7.99 for a 4 pack.

 

-  Currently poor availability at big box stores like Cabelas and Fleet Farm. Did see them at the new Gander Outdoors along with the Booyah Toad Runners.

 

 

2.)  Booyah Pad Toad Runner:  $9.99.  This lure is considerably cheaper than the Teckel Sprinker Frog which is a plus. This lure also got a lot of blow ups but not one caught fish. I would like to get more time on the water with it but definitely need to see if I have to wait longer to set the hook.

 

 

+  Cheapest of manufactured paddle tailed frogs.

 

+  Seems to perform better with a properly upturned nose.

 

-  Currently poor availability at big box stores like Cabelas and Fleet Farm. Did see them at the new Gander Outdoors along with the Booyah Toad Runners.

 

 

 

3.)  Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog:  $9.80.  ($6.69 if using Booyah Pad Crasher + $1.99 for Teckel Sprinker Frog Tail + 49 cents for the VMC 3 way Swivel #6+ 33 cents for CPS Centering Pin Spring). This homemade lure has worked the best for me out of all the paddle tailed frogs. I never had great success with any hollow bodied frogs and by using a paddle tailed one I've had a tremendous amount of more bites and fish caught than all my years of fishing with plain hollow body frogs. They really are Weedless Whopper Ploppers. I do know how to walk the dog with hollow bodied frogs and have caught fish with them but just haven't had a lot of success with them. For many people walking the dog is very hard.

 

Components: 

 

1.)  Booyah Pad Crasher

2.)  VMC 3 way swivel - size #6 

3.)  CPS Centering Pin Spring - size Medium 

4.)  Teckel Sprinker Frog Tail

 

Last year I had great success with a Spro Bronzeye 65 with a Teckel Sprinker Frog tail. I will say that I used a Mustad KVD Fastach clip. That lure caught a ton of fish. No waiting to set the hook, just setting the hook on the bite. I gave that lure to a friend in hopes he'd catch some fish. 

 

This year I tried the same thing but instead of a Mustad KVD Fastach Clip I had a Mustad KVD Fastach Swivel Clip which will add a little weight to the lure. I noticed that my new frog seem to work subsurface and didn't work properly. I cut the Fastach off and straight tied it to the line and it still stayed submerged. I realized the Fastach wasn't effecting noticeably affecting it. I switched to a Booyah Pad Crasher that I had set up and it worked fine. Apparently the Booyah has more buoyancy than the Spro Bronzeye 65. Another plus is that the Booyah is cheaper by a few bucks than the Spro. Perhaps the original Spro Bronzeye 65 I had just naturally had more buoyancy. 

 

The day I used the Booyah Toad Runner I had 4 big blow ups but no fish. After the 1st bite I gave it a second before I set the hook and still missed the next 3 fish. After 4 missed fish I switched to a Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog made from a Spro Bronzeye 65 frog with a Teckel paddle tail and caught the first fish that bit with no waiting to setting the hook, I just set the hook as soon as the fish bit. That was the lure that wasn't running right however and has been replaced by the Booyah Pad Crasher.

 

I did have a bass short-bite the frog and it stripped the Teckel Sprinker Tail right off leaving the CPS Springlock.

I do have a Spro King Daddy hollow body frog on the way that I'm going to try. Being larger it should float and run on the surface better than the smaller Spro Bronzeye 65 and being larger should also cast farther. It was $10.79 though, so about $4 more than a Booyah Pad Crasher.

 

I used to pull the legs out and hot glue the hole closed but after numerous fish I've realized the glue pops out. I started just cutting the stand legs short and leaving them in. I will say that after numerous fish today the hot glue that plugged the leg holes on the Booyah Pad Crasher got pulled out and the legs were open and the lure still floated and performed fine and did not sink like I thought it would. Maybe because I'm constantly reeling it in water doesn't make it's way inside the frog.

 

Also, after having 2 fish bite and miss the frog today I just slowly kept reeling it in and caught both fish rather than quickly burning the lure back to the boat and re-casting to that spot. This may not always work but it did work today. 

 

+  Cheapest of all 3 frogs.

 

+  Widely available at all big box stores (may have to look for the Teckel Sprinker Frog spare tails).

 

+  Better hookup ratio. Do not have to wait a second to set the hook, just set the hook on the bite.

 

-  Have to put make. (Used to be more work pulling the tails out and hot gluing, but now that I just snip the strand legs shorter it's much easier.). Not hard though. Just screw the CPS Springlock onto the VMC 3 way swivel, then screw the CPS Springlock into the tail, and then add the 3 way swivel onto the frog hooks, should take about a minute.

 

 

I would like to get some more water time with these lures to more thoroughly test them. This initial testing was very brief. But I will once again say that paddle tailed hollow bodied frogs have probably gotten me 90% more bites than plain hollowed body frogs. I just won't ever throw a regular hollow bodied frog again. Paddle tailed frogs are just such a great improvement at fish catching than regular hollow bodied frogs for me. 

 

I think paddle tailed frogs being called the Weedless Whopper Plopper are right and just like the Whopper Plopper they are a great lure because not only are they super effective at catching fish and anyone can catch fish with them, all you have to do is cast and retrieve it back to you. 

 

I hope this initial review helps folks. Good fishing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tcbass]

Caught a ton of fish on these now. The original Booyah is starting to get tore up. It turns inside out almost on every fish. But that’s after 20+ bass and 1 northern which isn’t bad for a hollow body frog, they aren’t a hardbody permanent lure. 

 

Luckily Booyahs are one of the cheapest frogs at $6.95. 

 

 

Update:

 

 I have switched from #4 three way swivel to a smaller #5 and #6 because I did have 2 swivels fly off the lure when unhooking a fish. The smaller swivel has so far kept me from losing anymore tails. 

 

I’ve also fished a black bottomed one while my friend fished a white bottomed one at the same time and we both caught fish so I’m not sure how much color matters. 

 

Here’s the latest fish, 2.74lbs. 

 

 

[tcbass]

Update:

 

 

So, I used the Teckel Sprinker Frog, Booyah Toad Runner, and my Homemade Teckel frogs the other day. Went out and it was fairly windy. 

Was a better day for a Whopper Plopper because the WP makes a great commotion even with quite a chop on the water. However, there are weeds just below the surface and my WP got caught up each time I cast so I went to the frogs.

 

Immediately caught one with my Homemade Teckel frog made with a Booyah Pad Crasher. Nice fish. I gave the lure to my friend to use and I started throwing the Booyah Toad Runner. It did not run well. It seemed to dive for the first 5 feet for some reason. After about an hour I switched to the Teckel. The Teckel also did not run well in the waves. I finally tried my Homemade Teckel frog made with a Spro King Daddy frog and that one also dove for about the first 5 feet like the Booyah. So strange. 

 

Note: I did use a Mustad KVD Fastach Snap with swivel on all of the frogs. 

 

While I was having no luck and getting no bites with these frogs my friend caught 5 fish with the Homemade Teckel Frog made with the Booyah Pad Crasher.

 

Today I went out with another friend and used my Homemade Frog with Booyah Pad Crasher and caught 7 bass in 4 hours. 

 

My friend caught one with his regular Scum Frog. I took his Scum Frog and added a Teckel Tail to it and caught 1. I gave it back to him and he caught 1. I let him keep the tail on his frog.

 

The Scum Frog obviously worked but I think the tail doesn't run as easily as it does on the Booyah Pad Crasher. So, I'll stick with those for now.

 

 

On the way home I hit Walmart and saw that they had a KVD Sexy Frog for $4.96. I bought that. If it works as well as the Booyah and holds up to all the abuse from bass then I will switch to them as they are about $2 cheaper per frog than the Booyah Pad Crasher.

Good fishin'

[Beetlebz]

I gotta say i love this thread. I've been hotly debating buying and or making teckel frogs, regular frogs just dont seem to produce for me for some reason. I threw white frogs, black frogs and popping frogs, all hollow body, a couple blow ups but no hookups. Time for an audible! Having the 3 way swivels, CPS springs and tails handy gives me another option for the ones I have. 

[tcbass]

13 minutes ago, Beetlebz said:

I gotta say i love this thread. I've been hotly debating buying and or making teckel frogs, regular frogs just dont seem to produce for me for some reason. I threw white frogs, black frogs and popping frogs, all hollow body, a couple blow ups but no hookups. Time for an audible! Having the 3 way swivels, CPS springs and tails handy gives me another option for the ones I have. 

 

I'm glad it helped. 

 

 

I'd definitely stick with the Booyah Pad Crasher and make sure to use a #6 three way swivel, I haven't lost a tail since I went to the smaller swivel.

 

Tell us how it goes!

 

 

Good luck!

[Beetlebz]

I gotta make an order on Friday for some bits and pieces, I'll throw in the parts then and give them a test run come monday. Sunday Monday and Tuesday I leave work and have ponds to hit that are completely weed choked on big shallow flats. I'm excited to try it out... I'll report back. 

[tcbass]

34 minutes ago, Beetlebz said:

I gotta make an order on Friday for some bits and pieces, I'll throw in the parts then and give them a test run come monday. Sunday Monday and Tuesday I leave work and have ponds to hit that are completely weed choked on big shallow flats. I'm excited to try it out... I'll report back. 

 

 

Hope it works out for ya!

 

I think the hook up ratio is better with the Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog because the fish hit it on the retrieve and hook themselves vs. a regular hollow body frog which when walked the dog is fairly stationary and the fish hits it coming up from the bottom and sometimes blows the frog out of the water than swallowing it. 

[ww2farmer]

Just my .02, I don't know anything about the teckle frogs... I won't buy one due to cost. But I have been whipping around the toad runner a lot this year and am catching fish on it. I find if I am missing fish on it, it's no different than missing fish on any other top water....in that it's usually operator error, or they just don't want to commit to it... which happens. When they do want it, they have been choking it, and hook up and landing % is high. The one compliant I have with the toad runner is the tendency for the legs to get askew to the hook bend, but it doesn't seem to be anything more than an annoyance to me, they still bite it when that happens.

[FCPhil]

I’ve only tried the sprinker frog but I’ve had a nearly perfect hookup ratio with it. The first day I went 6/6. I know this is counter intuitive for frog fishing but I just lean back on them as soon as they strike, like a crankbait or a whopper plopper, no pause like a normal frog. If it is plowing down in the water make sure there is no water inside. 

[tcbass]

36 minutes ago, FCPhil said:

I’ve only tried the sprinker frog but I’ve had a nearly perfect hookup ratio with it. The first day I went 6/6. I know this is counter intuitive for frog fishing but I just lean back on them as soon as they strike, like a crankbait or a whopper plopper, no pause like a normal frog. If it is plowing down in the water make sure there is no water inside. 

 

I think hooksets on paddletail frogs are justl ike crankbaits because you're in a retrieve when the fish hits and it hooks itself unlike a regular hollow body frog hit where it maybe stationary and you want to wait a second before setting the hook.

[NewEnglandFishing]

Those frog tails are pretty pricey.

[tcbass]

41 minutes ago, NewEnglandFishing said:

Those frog tails are pretty pricey.

 

You can use whatever paddle tail you want. 

 

Here are Gambler Big EZ Swimbaits. $4.39 a pack. Cheaper than the $7.99 Teckel Frog Tails.  

 

 

 

[NewEnglandFishing]

So why wouldn't the Booyah toad runner just do the trick without having to build your own? Seems to be the same components without having to buy all the different supplies.

 

[tcbass]

5 minutes ago, NewEnglandFishing said:

So why wouldn't the Booyah toad runner just do the trick without having to build your own? Seems to be the same components without having to buy all the different supplies.

 

 

Own both Teckel Sprinker Frogs and Booyah Toadrunners, neither run well for some reason. The Booyah seemed to dive for the first 5 feet in waves and the Teckel didn't run much better. Both ran better on glass flat water, however, I run my frogs in all weather conditions. I've watched all of the videos and they run great for other folks. I have had hits on both Teckel and Booyah. Only landed a northern on the Teckel. 

 

If the Booyah Toadrunner ran well I'd just use that because it's only $9.99 but it doesn't work well for me.

 

Now that I have plenty of knock-off Owner CPS Centering Springs and Teckel Sprinker Frog tails (bought from TW during sale), I'll just keep replacing Booyah Pad Crashers at $5.99 as I lose them to use and giving to friends.

[NewEnglandFishing]

Makes sense. Like anything, I guess there is always a start up cost. Thanks for the tips!

[tcbass]

2 hours ago, NewEnglandFishing said:

Makes sense. Like anything, I guess there is always a start up cost. Thanks for the tips!

 

 

Yeap. Got the Hyamass springs from Amazon, $7.99 for 200 which is 4 cents each and then the Teckel Tails for $5.99 a pack. So that’s not too bad. 

 

I haven't had fish destroy a Booyah Pad Crasher yet just losing them by giving them to friends so this small investment should last quite some time. 

 

And these plain catch fish. I think of the Homemade Teckel frogs like Senkos. Eventually they get worn out or lost and you have to replace them. 

 

[NewEnglandFishing]

I'll wait till payday to grab a set up. Anxious to try it out.

[YoTone]

before i lost my toad runner  it always seemed to foul up with the hook getting pushed over to one side. too bad i lost it would of liked to fish it more but my initial impressions was that the plastic seemed harder than the standard pad crasher. i doubt ill be picking up another. i do fine on top toad.

[Joshua Vandamm]

On 7/10/2018 at 9:01 PM, tcbass said:

Update:

 

 

So, I used the Teckel Sprinker Frog, Booyah Toad Runner, and my Homemade Teckel frogs the other day. Went out and it was fairly windy. 

Was a better day for a Whopper Plopper because the WP makes a great commotion even with quite a chop on the water. However, there are weeds just below the surface and my WP got caught up each time I cast so I went to the frogs.

 

Immediately caught one with my Homemade Teckel frog made with a Booyah Pad Crasher. Nice fish. I gave the lure to my friend to use and I started throwing the Booyah Toad Runner. It did not run well. It seemed to dive for the first 5 feet for some reason. After about an hour I switched to the Teckel. The Teckel also did not run well in the waves. I finally tried my Homemade Teckel frog made with a Spro King Daddy frog and that one also dove for about the first 5 feet like the Booyah. So strange. 

 

Note: I did use a Mustad KVD Fastach Snap with swivel on all of the frogs. 

 

While I was having no luck and getting no bites with these frogs my friend caught 5 fish with the Homemade Teckel Frog made with the Booyah Pad Crasher.

 

Today I went out with another friend and used my Homemade Frog with Booyah Pad Crasher and caught 7 bass in 4 hours. 

 

My friend caught one with his regular Scum Frog. I took his Scum Frog and added a Teckel Tail to it and caught 1. I gave it back to him and he caught 1. I let him keep the tail on his frog.

 

The Scum Frog obviously worked but I think the tail doesn't run as easily as it does on the Booyah Pad Crasher. So, I'll stick with those for now.

 

 

On the way home I hit Walmart and saw that they had a KVD Sexy Frog for $4.96. I bought that. If it works as well as the Booyah and holds up to all the abuse from bass then I will switch to them as they are about $2 cheaper per frog than the Booyah Pad Crasher.

Good fishin'

I don’t know what the sprinker tails are like or made of (silicon? Floats? Heavy? Etc), But I bet you could duplicate or improve on it with this stuff...

thoughts?

[tcbass]

2 hours ago, Joshua Vandamm said:

I don’t know what the sprinker tails are like or made of (silicon? Floats? Heavy? Etc), But I bet you could duplicate or improve on it with this stuff...

thoughts?

 

 

Cool. 

 

 

You’d have to come up with some type of mold I think. 

[Joshua Vandamm]

20 hours ago, tcbass said:

 

 

Cool. 

 

 

You’d have to come up with some type of mold I think. 

It’s like clay. You shape by hand then it hardens. 

[tcbass]

Update:

 

Tried the KVD Sexy Frog. 

 

Wow, this thing sucks. It took on water every cast and had to be squeezed to release water every cast. All I did was snip the legs shorter. It will float the tail though. Used it for 30 mins and went back to the Booyah Pad Crasher.

 

 

The Booyah Pad Crasher is my permanent frog now. No more testing other frogs. The Booyah lasts many fish, doesn't need to be squeezed to release water, has sharp hooks, and is cheap.

 

 

 

[DINK WHISPERER]

36 minutes ago, tcbass said:

Update:

 

Tried the KVD Sexy Frog. 

 

Wow, this thing sucks. It took on water every cast and had to be squeezed to release water every cast. All I did was snip the legs shorter. It will float the tail though. Used it for 30 mins and went back to the Booyah Pad Crasher.

 

 

The Booyah Pad Crasher is my permanent frog now. No more testing other frogs. The Booyah lasts many fish, doesn't need to be squeezed to release water, has sharp hooks, and is cheap.

 

 

 

That's weird. My son only uses the sexy frog and it only has to be squeezed maybe every 10 casts. Has been an outstanding frog especially for the price and can be found locally at Walmart. 

[tcbass]

14 minutes ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

That's weird. My son only uses the sexy frog and it only has to be squeezed maybe every 10 casts. Has been an outstanding frog especially for the price and can be found locally at Walmart. 

 

Maybe I got a bad one.

 

Either way, the Booyah Pad Crasher for me has to only be squeezed if a fish bites it and misses.

[FishDewd]

I have 3 frogs, one is a popping, but they're all booyah pad crashers. I'm yet to even get a blow-up on them, albeit I can't walk a frog whatsoever lol. I may accidentally walk it a few times but can't repeat it. Poppers on the other hand I can walk... yeah I don't know either.