Best walking frog

[Beetlebz]

What i mean by missing fish on the live target... well, here's my theory. I have a do-all heavy 7'6" fast rod but i have it spooled with 15lb YZH for jigs and deep rolling spinners and chatterbaits (incidentally I think I have decided to switch to 20lb).  YZH has a ton less stretch than mono but it still stretches. I lost count at around 200 (yes, you read that right) strikes and blow ups with no hooks... I suspect it was a lot of small fish but also when it got choked by a large bass I was expending the energy of my hookset stretching the line instead of burying those massive roofing nail hooks. Just yesterday I got a second reel with 65lb power pro to use. 

 

So I grabbed a bully wa 2 to try and when I get a new rod in a couple weeks as funds permit it's going to be a 7'3" to 7'6" exH on 65lb power pro. I'm hoping that will help.

[DINK WHISPERER]

3 hours ago, Beetlebz said:

Lol oh I have... I think that's why I'm settling on the bully wa 2 for an all around frog I think. I will try some others for matted vegetation later on but just to get started I want a great walking frog. I'm hoping my 7'6" heavy with braid will be enough to drive those massive hooks home. I suspect that the massive hooks are the reason I miss all the blow ups on the live target sunfish. Incidentally that's also the reason I was considering the snag proof bobbys perfect frog. So many choices. 

That's the mistake I made as well. I ordered a bunch of Bully Wa 2s during the 4th of July TW sale based on the tactical guys recommendations. Absolute garbage product! I swore off the original bully wa due to it filling up with water and sinking before getting back to the boat on a long cast. Also the body would tear really easily. Well, the 2 version that claims to have at least solved the taking on water issue is no better. Still takes on water and the body ripped after 3 dinks. The hook is also really flimsy compared to the original. Returned them all to TW. I'll stick to the proven snag proof with ITT. It's a shame too because they walk great and I like the bigger size. 

[Smalls]

I pretty much use my 7’7 mag m/h the same way you use your rod. I’ll use it for jigs, and other bottom contact baits as well as frogs and swimbaits. Mostly cause I’m too lazy to bring a 3rd rod with me bank fishing

 

So it’s perfectly adequate for frogging/pitching, and probably a little overgunning for Texas rigs, but works. 

 

When I fished a lot of places with rock, I used to tie a 15lb fluoro leader on. And I didn’t really notice much of a difference in my frog hookups. But I kept my leader short, maybe 30 inches at most. 

[YoTone]

Ive been liking the jackall kaera frog a lot. walks very nicely, compact but still 1/2 in weight  so it can still be used in heavy mats, has a drainage hole so im not squeezing it out every other cast and has some sexy colors.

 

 

[RichF]

I fish frogs A LOT. Ive tried a bunch. I like Spro Bronzeyes as my all around favorite. The Srop popping frogs walk incredibly well, better than the regular. Live Targets and Pad Crashers walk fine. Terminators are really good too but I'd have to agree with the guys that mentioned Ishs Phat Frog.  It's got some good qualities and has a really easy, wide walk, more like a spook. Problem with those is how thin they are. Very little hook gap and have the worst hookup ratio for me (i miss next to none on the others). 

[Beetlebz]

I ordered a couple different ones to try, but now I have to grab a new rod for my braid reel. I prefer all my rods to be in the mid 7s, but should I go heavy fast or extra heavy fast? The only other thing I'm going to use it for is flipping and pitching so I can go either way.

[Dangerfield]

1 hour ago, Beetlebz said:

I ordered a couple different ones to try, but now I have to grab a new rod for my braid reel. I prefer all my rods to be in the mid 7s, but should I go heavy fast or extra heavy fast? The only other thing I'm going to use it for is flipping and pitching so I can go either way.

Dobyns Fury 735 or a St Croix Premier. 

[Brett's_daddy]

I really like my iRod Fiber 7'5" Fred's Magic Stick H/F. You can get this rod for $110 at TW. It uses the exact same blank as the iRod Genesis 2.

[Beetlebz]

I prefer the favorite defender or phantom, but it seems like the consensus is that heavy is heavy enough and I dont need to go extra heavy. I've hauled a *lot* of bass in on my 7'6" defender ?

[Smalls]

17 hours ago, Beetlebz said:

I ordered a couple different ones to try, but now I have to grab a new rod for my braid reel. I prefer all my rods to be in the mid 7s, but should I go heavy fast or extra heavy fast? The only other thing I'm going to use it for is flipping and pitching so I can go either way.

I prefer extra fast. I’ll often switch to a smaller frog if I’m getting short strikes, so I like a little extra tip to really rocket em out there. Plus I think it helps me keep em pinned, giving a little extra cushion to a 2x4 of a rod. 

[BuzzHudson19c]

On 7/22/2018 at 2:53 PM, J.Vincent said:

Savage Gear Lily Frog, Booyah Pad Crasher or maybe the Lunkerhunt Froglet

 

Bingo. Lily Ninja for sho!

[Beetlebz]

So I had dead still water and overcast Skies this morning so I decided to string up with braid and throw nothing but the Frog all day. The first contestant is the bully wa 2 in lemon lime with the white belly. Man, I couldn't get this thing to walk and save my life. Eventually I tried trimming the skirt... once I cut it up around half way I was able to walk it, but only with tiny tiny twitches and really small movements. Again my basis for comparison is the live target sunfish which walks like a spook. 

 

I only got 2 blow ups all morning and neither were good direct hits. I don't necessarily contribute the lack of fish to the Frog though, the fishing was really really tough today. I couldn't even get bit on the Ned.

 

Next up, hopefully tomorrow morning, will be the terminator walking frog and if it goes well, the poppin pad crasher. 

[Beetlebz]

If anyone cares... the terminator walking frog is the TICKET. Thing walks like a spook, has the drain holes in the back so it cleans itself out on the cast. I threw it for an entire day and didn't catch a single Bass (been super tough here) but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm going to get a couple more just to try them out for comparison sake but the Terminator walking frog is the Frog I've been looking for.

[Brett's_daddy]

57 minutes ago, Beetlebz said:

If anyone cares... the terminator walking frog is the TICKET. Thing walks like a spook, has the drain holes in the back so it cleans itself out on the cast. I threw it for an entire day and didn't catch a single Bass (been super tough here) but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm going to get a couple more just to try them out for comparison sake but the Terminator walking frog is the Frog I've been looking for.

Glad to hear this! I haven't had a chance to get out and fish mine yet...darn life, just seems to keep getting in the way of me fishing...lol. I hope to get out soon though and hearing stuff like this makes me glad i picked a few up a couple weeks ago .

[Beetlebz]

On 7/31/2018 at 3:03 PM, Brett's_daddy said:

Glad to hear this! I haven't had a chance to get out and fish mine yet...darn life, just seems to keep getting in the way of me fishing...lol. I hope to get out soon though and hearing stuff like this makes me glad i picked a few up a couple weeks ago .

It had a bit of a side to side slither out of the box. I cut about an inch off one skirt and 1.25 to 1.5 off the other, really woke up the action. I could probably get an even wider walk with less forward movement if i cut them even, but i haven't found a need. The one I got is green with a white belly. I want to get one with a yellow belly and a black belly to try next. 

 

It was a huge relief, after my disappointment with the bully wa 2 I didn't think I was ever going to find "the one".

[Beetlebz]

Finally! After a battle that cost millions of dollars and thousands of lives... I finally got on my first frog bite. Tons of little blow ups, but the topwater bite has been rough here lately. I tossed the frog up on a shallow bank around some rocks that were only a couple feet under the surface. Is that a toilet? I thought... who's flushing a toilet way out here? This 4 pounder got wrecked on the black terminator walking frog.

 

 

[Smalls]

That’s a good lookin hog, with a textbook hook set! I bet it felt real good, awesome job. 

[flyfisher]

Terminators are easy to walk, especially the popping version and that is even leaving the legs long.  The easiest frog to walk out of the dozen i have tried over the years is the Megabass pony Gabot, hands down.  It has two drawbacks though, price and durability.  The plastic is super soft which is awesome for hooklets but not so much on durability.  I caught a bunch on it and then i caught a near citation sized bowfin and he completely tore it to pieces.