Discovered how to keep the Ribbit Frog from flipping over

[scaleface]

This works . I've only been fishing the ribbit for about a month and been experimenting   . Heres how to keep it from coming in upside down with an unweighted hook . When putting the hook back inside the frog rig it a little short instead of inserting the hook exactly where it lines up . Just a little bit short will cause a slight bow  belly-down  and that will  cause it to come in correctly . If you rig it a little long it will bow belly up and will come in upside down every time. 

[riverbasser]

I always thought it was small discrepetency's in the plastic itself. Put one on no problems, switch it out and its flipping.

 

Nice tip

[Catt]

That also helps keep the nose from sliding down the hook on all plastics.

[scaleface]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

That also helps keep the nose from sliding down the hook on all plastics.

You do that with other plastics ?

[Catt]

12 minutes ago, scaleface said:

You do that with other plastics ?

 

The complaint most anglers have with soft plastics is they slide down the hook.

 

Part of the problem I see is y'all rigging them too tight. 

 

Ya don't want a pronounced bow in it but ya don't want it as tight as Dick's hat band either!

 

Not sure if I'm wording it right ?

 

[panfish12]

Thanks for the tip! I'll have to give it a try.

[ChrisD46]

I believe having that slight bow in the toad belly gives it a different "planing" response on the retrieve too which could prove useful for getting bass to key in on the toad.

[Black Hawk Basser]

Tip of the day!  I just slammed half a dozen on Ribbits Sunday morning, even with it running upside down.  Your tip seems logical, I hadn't thought of trying that.

[BassNJake]

that tip is good for the first fish but what happens when you tear the plastic that you are skin hooking too?

Now you cant place it in the same spot because its tore and now you no longer have the bend in the belly.

 

I carry one of those "torch" lighters and routinely "fix" baits on the go

 

Hand pouring my own baits has completely solved the flipping over issue for me.

I'm working on a modified version that uses the keitech frog body and the ribbit paddle tail feet.

I have a couple that I poured but they need a little adjusting before I can call it a success

 

[fin]

On 7/8/2019 at 10:17 PM, scaleface said:

I've only been fishing the ribbit for about a month and been experimenting

I've been fishing the ribbit for about 5 years and still been experimenting. It's a great bait, but finding the perfect rig that will stay perfect, and be "loose" enough to hookup is not easy.

 

You're right about that bend for sure. It will start swimming faster and it also makes the head poke up and look more natural.

 

20 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

that tip is good for the first fish but what happens when you tear the plastic that you are skin hooking too?

Now you cant place it in the same spot because its tore and now you no longer have the bend in the belly.

I carry one of those "torch" lighters and routinely "fix" baits on the go

Never tried that. Good idea.

 

[scaleface]

1 hour ago, BassNJake said:

that tip is good for the first fish but what happens when you tear the plastic that you are skin hooking too?

Now you cant place it in the same spot because its tore and now you no longer have the bend in the belly.

I  dont skin hook the first fish or two because the point lays in the slot ,  at least it does with the hooks I have been using . After the first fish or two  I skin hook it and when that spot gets worn out I  skin hook it  too the left or right side of the slot  . I dont get many fish  before the hook rips through the nose and I have to replace the   lure .

1 hour ago, BassNJake said:

I'm working on a modified version that uses the keitech frog body and the ribbit paddle tail feet.

I have a couple that I poured but they need a little adjusting before I can call it a success

I'd like to see what you have come up with .

[BassNJake]

1 minute ago, scaleface said:

I  dont skin hook the first fish or two because the point lays in the slot ,  at least it does with the hooks I have been using . After the first fish or two  I skin hook it and when that spot gets worn out I  skin hook it  too the left or right side of the slot  . I dont get many fish  before the hook rips through the nose and I have to replace the   lure .

Ok gotcha!! My problem with not skin hooking it, is as soon as I skip the bait it gets pushed down on the hook side exposing the point to catch anything and everything in the water. I guess I could use a bobber stop to keep it from sliding down

 

On a side note when skin hooking to the right or the left you can get the bait to run left or right

this helps when running down a bank or weed edge

[scaleface]

 

34 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

My problem with not skin hooking it, is as soon as I skip the bait it gets pushed down on the hook side exposing the point to catch anything and everything in the water.

I've been using this hook that I found   sometime ago . I think its an eagle Claw .Its sort of a hybrid between a reg. offset and wide gap . It has a wide bend then tilted inward . Without   skin hooking it , the point lies in  the gap .There are two hooks in the photo to compare . The one I'm referring too is on the bottom . Then I also use the  small size parasite clip  that  keeps the bait from sliding down . There are probably a lot better ways to rig it  .. I dont have the best hookup percentage but a lot of those misses are little fish .

[wdp]

I’m a huge fan of the Ribbit Double Take hooks. The screw lock helps keep the frog from tearing up as much so you’ll catch more fish per bait. Added benefit I’ve experienced is hook ratio is better plus, the Ribbit frogs seem to swim upright better..... at least for me anyways. 

[scaleface]

3 minutes ago, wdp said:

I’m a huge fan of the Ribbit Double Take hooks. The screw lock helps keep the frog from tearing up as much so you’ll catch more fish per bait. Added benefit I’ve experienced is hook ratio is better plus, the Ribbit frogs seem to swim upright better..... at least for me anyways. 

I'm  going to try those . Next time I make an order I will add some .

[fin]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

 

I've been using this hook that I found   sometime ago . I think its an eagle Claw .Its sort of a hybrid between a reg. offset and wide gap . It has a wide bend then tilted inward . Without   skin hooking it , the point lies in  the gap .There are two hooks in the photo to compare . The one I'm referring too is on the bottom . Then I also use the  small size parasite clip  that  keeps the bait from sliding down . There are probably a lot better ways to rig it  .. I dont have the best hookup percentage but a lot of those misses are little fish .

 

Aw yeah, I like that hook. I don't think it's wide enough for the Ribbit, but I'd like to know what that is.

 

I've never used a parasite clip, so thanks for showing that. I don't think it's really necessary for the Ribbit since they're so hard and tough, but I'd like to have some for craws and stuff.

 

My latest rig uses a c-pin in the frog's crotch for the keel weighted hook to go through, with a small bit of a plastic worm on the hook to keep the hook from sliding too easily.

 

I've never tried the Ribbit Double Take hooks either. That may be the best way to go, but I always thought I could come up with something without having to buy a special hook. I've spent a lot avoiding it, lol.

[scaleface]

On 7/11/2019 at 6:06 PM, fin said:

I've never used a parasite clip, so thanks for showing that. I don't think it's really necessary for the Ribbit since they're so hard and tough, but I'd like to have some for craws and stuff.

I'm  trying different rigging's . I think a plain old barrel swivel would work better than the Parasite clip because the P.C. only has a loop on one end which keeps the toad from sliding down the shaft but does not  keep it from sliding past the eye and up the line . A swivel will keep it secured much better and get the lure to last longer, at least I think  it would . I    have one rigged and ready to go with the swivel .

[fin]

40 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I'm  trying different rigging's . I think a plain old barrel swivel would work better than the Parasite clip because the P.C. only has a loop on one end which keeps the toad from sliding down the shaft but does not  keep it from sliding past the eye and up the line . A swivel will keep it secured much better and get the lure to last longer, at least I think  it would . I    have one rigged and ready to go with the swivel .

The problem with the swivel from my perspective is that I'm using a keel weight - can't slide the swivel past it.

 

I've never had problems with the lead edge getting torn up, only the tail edge where the point goes through the crotch. But I don't have lily pads or much grass anymore, so that makes a difference. I got a lot more hits with the ribbit when I had lily pads.