Solid Starter Frog?

[TotalNoob]

Looking for any suggestions to help sort through all the frogs on the market. Will be first time throwing a frog. There are a couple local ponds that I know have Largemouths. They have a lot of vegetation in them, having a hard time casting out my typical trig presentations, not sure I'm getting them in front of the fishes faces/in the strike zone. I'm also aware that frogs can produce big bites. 

 

Would like to bomb a frog out and cover some water, open to any/all suggestions. 

[NorthernBasser]

Booyah Pad Crasher is a great place to start. Shove a couple bb's in it's hole to add rattle/weight. 

[FishingGeekTX]

I agree, just get Booyah Pad Crashers and don't look back.  Both the large, and Jr fish great, good price, great hookup ratio, good durability.

I fished about 10 different frogs this year trying to answer that question, and I settled on pad crashers..I wish I had just asked up front

Doesn't take on water either, or rather...drains properly so you don't have to squeeze it.  I fished a hollow body fish today and it took on water..every cast had to squeeze it...garbage bin.

 

Only issue with booyah is the paint gets scuffed up after some fish trauma, but they are still fishable.

 

[MIbassyaker]

Yup, Pad Crasher all the way --  Enough weight for long casts, walkable on the retrieve, and soft so they collapse easily.  Also easy on the wallet.

[12poundbass]

Yup, pad crasher. I’ve had the same one for about 5 years. Shorten the tails a bit and make one a little shorter than the other. Enjoy! 

[Bluebasser86]

Echo, echo, echo!

 

Pad Crasher or Popping Pad Crasher is a great frog, not just a starter but all around. 

[Big Rick]

I'll be the odd man out here and give you another choice that works very well for me. The Jackall Gavacho Frog. I has a cupped mouth the will spit water and yet you can walk it with very little effort. Even with the cupped mouth I fish it in the slop. The hooks are beasts that are angled just right for high percentage hookups. This is a slimmer frog yet it's longer. And the Chartreuse Strike Gill has produced my biggest frog bass this year.  

 

[LadiMopar]

And for us old timers, who are somewhat stubborn about trying some of those new fangled things there is the tried and true Scum frog.

Which also comes with a slightly lower price than the apparent crowd favorite....So you can get more than one, a light color and a dark one for different conditions...or just a spare in case you lose it. 

[FordsnFishin]

Scum frog on cheap end. I throw spro frogs mainly. Expensive but can last a very long time.  Guess I'm going to have to give the pad crasher a shot. 

[Shimano_1]

As already stated the pad crasher. Went thru this exact thing a cple years ago. Tried them all and settled on the pad crasher as the best all around frog/value 

[bigjean663]

Same as everyone else has already mentioned....Pad crasher. The Spro bronze eye frogs are good too but kinda pricey. I think I’m the odd man out here when I say I also had good luck with the Lunkerhunt frogs. Only issue I had with them is durability. Any decent fish and it was almost a given you’d lose a leg. 

[FryDog62]

Pad crasher and poppin’ pad crasher... all you need.

[JediAmoeba]

Pad Crasher holds up.  I bought a 15 dollar frog and it took on so much water it was worthless - I had to put epoxy on the hole to stop it.  I have never had this problem with a pad crasher.

[schplurg]

I get my frogs at Walmart for $1.94. Just started trying them but I don't have a proper rod n reel really so bought a few on a whim. Haven't got a bite yet but only thrown it one day. Probably a piece o' crap but it casts fine and the action seems okay. Can pull it over pads and through brush no problem. 

 

I've caught plenty of bass on their Ozark Trail $1.97 cranks. I'd compare them to BPS branded cranks. I use these cheapies mainly at some ponds that require barbless hooks - I use these baits to fill my barbless Plano box and just pinch them all down.

[Drew03cmc]

@TotalNoob I've got some frogs I'd come off of. PM if interested. 

 

I really like the Booyah stuff. It's great quality and a good price. 

[Hammer 4]

Not to veer off topic, but have any of you guys tried the Live Target frog..?  It's been Years since I bought frogs, I have a nice frog rig, and bought a live target frog from TW. They got fairly good ratings, haven't seen much about them here though. 

[Catt]

Academy's H2o ?

[LonnieP]

5 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

Not to veer off topic, but have any of you guys tried the Live Target frog..?  It's been Years since I bought frogs, I have a nice frog rig, and bought a live target frog from TW. They got fairly good ratings, haven't seen much about them here though. 

Yes. The Live Target frog is my favorite and I've had good luck with it. 

[frogflogger]

After many years of throwing frogs and owning way way too many I have no overall favorite - different frogs for different situations is my motto.

 

[gilkeybr]

If you're bombing casts to open water, I'd put a vote in for a Teckel Sprinker frog.  

[Brett's_daddy]

My vote goes to the Terminator Walking Frog. I have a hard time making walking baits do the "walk-the-dog" style retrive but even I can make the Terminator frog walk and they definitely catch bass, a nice big frog for easy walking and hard strikes!!!

[the reel ess]

This would have been a good poll question. looks like Booyah FTW. I also like their popping model.

 

I would add that, more important than the brand of frog to getting bites and landing fish, is the rod/reel/line you use. I use a frog model rod that's 7'3" H-Fast. Use the stoutest rod you have. Longer is better. Your flipping stick will do if you have one. Use at least 50# braid and a good strong reel. A high speed retrieve is helpful. Give the fish just a moment to be sure it has the bait, then cross its eyes with the hookset. The idea is to give that fish no slack after you set the hook. Drag it to the top of cover and reel it in quickly. If you let them play, they'll fill that hook gap with grass or lilies and get leverage on the hook or wrap a log. With a strong enough combo, you can all-but-cinch the drag and get almost any size bass out of cover. You will miss some bites so be patient. You'll develop some good habits.

 

14 hours ago, JediAmoeba said:

Pad Crasher holds up.  I bought a 15 dollar frog and it took on so much water it was worthless - I had to put epoxy on the hole to stop it.  I have never had this problem with a pad crasher.

I know the one you're speaking of. I had the same experience. I wouldn't recommend that frog to anyone unless I was competing against them.

 

[Deleted account]

9 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

Not to veer off topic, but have any of you guys tried the Live Target frog..? 

Yes, it was one of the "it" frogs after the Spro was all the rage. two of my least favorite.

[flyfisher]

I don't like the pad crasher myself but have become partial to the terminator walking and popping frogs.  I have also recently tried the river2sea spitting frog and really like it.  Bottom line is there are a lot of good frogs out there.  My favorite for walking is the megabass pony gabot but the durability makes a yamamoto senko look like a piece of steel.  

[Timberwolf530]

18 hours ago, LadiMopar said:

And for us old timers, who are somewhat stubborn about trying some of those new fangled things there is the tried and true Scum frog.

Which also comes with a slightly lower price than the apparent crowd favorite....So you can get more than one, a light color and a dark one for different conditions...or just a spare in case you lose it. 

I keep buying the $10 + frogs for some reason, but I always go back to the scum frog.  Why?  The main reason is that all those expensive frogs are too stiff, and I really think I miss more fish because of it.  The scum frog is very soft/pliable, and compresses easily in the fishes mouth when setting the hook.  The fish can't see what's up there anyway, so who cares what it looks like.  The fact that it's cheaper is an added bonus, but I'd keep buying them even if they were $10 because IMO they work the best.