Lunker frog problems

[Graham Robson]

Has anyone had trouble setting the hook with the lunker frogs? I've been through 2 and fish tear them up but I have yet to get one on shore. Today I even bought the one with the trailer hook. Its been raining all day and it just stopped so I went down to the pond and they tore it up but I could never get the hook set no matter what I tried. I ended up losing te luer after a bass hit it and I pulled and the line broke. Now granted the biggest bass I've caught in this pond was roughly 2lbs. Are the fish to small possibly to get a good bite? 

[Brew City Bass]

Good chance they're just popping it. 

Last year I had a phenom I posted about. Bass were nailing my frog, popping it 2-6ft in the air. They were very obviously not feeding, just very upset my frog was in their waters. 

[Eric86]

I have found that frogs can be pretty tuff to get to the boat.  This is my 2nd year using them.  My first year i probably only caught 15% of them and this year somewhere around 80%. I was using 17lb mono with a MHF rod and i believe i wasnt hook setting correctly.

 

This year i bought a better frog setup.  I have 50lb braid and a 7ft 3in heavy rod and i added a lake fork trailer hook to my frogs if i could.  I worked on my hook set by when i saw them hit it i would lower my rod to around 4 o'clock, reel in all my slack to where i could barely feel the bass on the line, then swing for the fences.

 

Im not sure if its the setup or my hook set or both but im doing much better.  During the first year i was almost ready to give up with them but i didnt because there are so many people that do well frogging.  Watch some videos and keep working with em, you will get better.

 

Also i have caught some pretty small ones with a frog.  I literally made one skip 8 feet during a hookset and ripped a good size hole in his mouth.

[drew4779]

Could just be your setup.  The proper setup is critical with frog fishing.  

[OnthePotomac]

I have gone to the Lake Fork Frog Hook shown here.  With this thing there is no miss if they bite it.  Just slip each side over each hook and you will nail them right through the upper lip.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/lake-fork-trophy-lures-frog-tail-hook

[MrFrost]

Also, be sure it's bass.  Believe it or not, frogs like to attack hollow body frogs.  A lot.  Lol.

[Eric86]

I caught a blue gill on one a couple weeks ago so ya...  everything picks on frogs.

[FishingGeekTX]

Lunkerhunt has a good hookup ratio for a soft frog in my experience.  I find their legs (in the real leg versions) to tear off too easy, but it's a soft body with large hook exposure.

Frogs do have a lower hookup than many other lures, and there is a learning curve with these lures.  Typically I will throw treble hook topwater if I can, and buzzbaits after that if I can, and frog only if it's in cover/weeds, in part due to lower hookup.

 

Tips:

- Use a hard hookset.  Between the soft body, single large hook (double but it's often one you sink), and the potential for weeds in the way, use your version of a "hard"  jerking hookset every time.

 

 - If not in cover, many have better success waiting 1-2 seconds before hookset, helping improve the chance of engulfing the frog in the case they just had it's edge or legs.  I recommend that, it seems to have improved my hookup with frogs.

 

 - If in heavy cover, I opt to just set the hook immediately, and try to get them up and over weeds/etc., as fast as possible.  I have very low success in letting a bass run around in deep cover for any length of time.  Too many potential complications to count.