Need help frog fishing.

[ApostleofDeus]

So I am using a 6'6" medium heavy fast rod with a 6:4;1 bait caster, 65# braid line while frog fishing. I am using a popper and walking frog, I am getting amazing and strong bites they take it under the surface yet for some reason I absolutely can not set the hooks. I have tried counting to two and pulling hard and I have tried crossing their eyes as soon as bite but no luck. I was using 20# fluorocarbon line and was able to get two to the bank with good hook sets. Any advice?

[optimator]

Are your hooks sharp?

[Hammer 4]

Generally, but not always, most will frog on a longer rod, and will be a heavy with a fast tip. Line is normally 50 to 65 lb braid.

 

The rod provides the power to both drag fish out of heavy cover, and to help insure good hook sets. The braid helps cuz it's strong and has little stretch..None of which helps if the hooks are not needle sharp.

 

I would use the fluro for something else, stick with the braid, I would however think about getting a more powerful rod.

[Dirtyeggroll]

Tighten your drag all the way.

 

Switch to braid.

[scaleface]

I dont fish frogs much but fish toads quite a bit . I have come to the conclusion that most of the times it is the fishes fault . They are hitting it explosively but not taking it . Cant hook a fish . Other times they are taking it good and I get lots of hook-ups .

[Captain Phil]

I love frog fishing.  Unfortunately, missed strikes are part of the game.   Try switching to these hooks.  They are Gambler Double Trouble Toad Hooks.  

 

[ApostleofDeus]

My hooks are sharp they are fresh out of the package and I am using braid. I'm assuming it's the rod I'm using. I was getting about 15-20 bites, just couldnt get the hook to set for some reason.

[frogflogger]

Softer tip - softer tip - heavy or med heavy but a softer tip.

[Captain Phil]

I use 30 pound braid and a 7 foot rod for frog fishing.  When I first started frog fishing, it was very frustrating for me.   I would set the hook the same way I did when I fished top water lures and it seemed I missed more fish than I caught.  When I learned to drop back on a strike, my hookup percentage increased.  Small fish often hit frogs.  They pull it under but can't get the frog past the hooks.  Trash fish like gar will often hit a frog.  A big bass will suck it under and hold on to the lure.  Frog fishing is so much fun, I have a hard time not doing it. 

[RichF]

Are there pike or pickeral where you're fishing?  I fish frogs a ton and do quite well.  I rarely miss bass.  Pike and pickeral on the other hand...They usually strike pretty violently but rarely actually eat the bait.  A lot of anglers think they're always getting bass blowups when they're actually getting the gators.  That could be part of it.

[swhit140]

I would go at least 7' rod w/MedHvy or Heavy depending on rod brand. I use a bit higher gear ratio, I fish a frog with a 7:3:1 reel. Get some 50lb braid and what frog are you using, how good are the hooks?

 

 

[Jaderose]

I frogged for years with basically the exact same set-up you are using.  Is it ideal?  No.  Is it the reason you are missing fish?  No.  You are missing frog fish for one simple reason...frog fishing is hard and requires lots and lots and lots of time and effort to get the timing down.  That's why people tend to give up on it.  I consider myself an "above average to good" frogger and I'm guessing my hookup rate is still only in the 80-90% range.  I have spent countless hours frogging and the old chestnuts about doing a "1 count" or "2 count" before setting the hook are nonsense.  You set the hook when the fish has the frog.  Period.  How do you know?  Experience and feel.  How do you get it?  Time spent frogging.  Bend your hooks out a little and keep practicing.  Frogging is my absolute favorite way to fish but it took some work and WHOOOLE bunch of frustration to get there.  To me, frogging is like chess...simple to do but hard to master.  BTW...none of the folks above that said you should get a longer rod and faster reel are wrong but wait until you can frog on what you got before you buy dedicated gear.  Only when you have started to get it down will any of that stuff help you.  

 

ps......I can actually remember the day the timing clicked for me.  I was having blow up after blow up and miss after miss and then I stopped missing.  I think it was about the time I stopped thinking.  I just reacted to what I was given.

 

 

Also....my response is ONLY about Bass.  The waters I fish have no Pike or anything else that would hit a frog.  If those are your problem, I dunno

[DitchPanda]

I frogged with a 6ft6 medhvy fast for years with 65# braid and caught tons of fish. Lock your drag down so there is no slip when you swing. Also feel for the fish...it's not about amount of time just watch your line and feel for weight..once you get the hang of it it's very easy and literally only takes a second. Most important I've seen is bend the hooks out a little that way there is no chance of the points sticking in the frog.

[r83srock]

I frog fish with a 6’6” medium heavy and heavy braid on occasion. The shorter rod doesn’t lack power, but the tip speed is slower on the set and you don’t move as much line as a longer rod. Just make sure you reel up all the slack before you set and reel immediately upon hook up. My pad crashers don’t have an issue with hooking bass, but you can take a pair of pliers and bend the hooks up and your hooking percent will increase. If you haven’t already, try a pad crasher or poppin pad crasher, or a scum frog trophy series 5/8 oz, they practically set themselves on those.

[Bass Ninja]

1 hour ago, Jaderose said:

I frogged for years with basically the exact same set-up you are using.  Is it ideal?  No.  Is it the reason you are missing fish?  No.  You are missing frog fish for one simple reason...frog fishing is hard and requires lots and lots and lots of time and effort to get the timing down.  That's why people tend to give up on it.  I consider myself an "above average to good" frogger and I'm guessing my hookup rate is still only in the 80-90% range.  I have spent countless hours frogging and the old chestnuts about doing a "1 count" or "2 count" before setting the hook are nonsense.  You set the hook when the fish has the frog.  Period.  How do you know?  Experience and feel.  How do you get it?  Time spent frogging.  Bend your hooks out a little and keep practicing.  Frogging is my absolute favorite way to fish but it took some work and WHOOOLE bunch of frustration to get there.  To me, frogging is like chess...simple to do but hard to master.  BTW...none of the folks above that said you should get a longer rod and faster reel are wrong but wait until you can frog on what you got before you buy dedicated gear.  Only when you have started to get it down will any of that stuff help you.  

 

ps......I can actually remember the day the timing clicked for me.  I was having blow up after blow up and miss after miss and then I stopped missing.  I think it was about the time I stopped thinking.  I just reacted to what I was given.

 

 

Also....my response is ONLY about Bass.  The waters I fish have no Pike or anything else that would hit a frog.  If those are your problem, I dunno

Couldn't have said it better. This is gold! I frogged for a year with a cheap baitcaster and walmart heavy action ugly stick casting rod and 30lb braid. I've since upgraded to a nicer, 7ft heavy with a decent baitcaster on 40lb braid. I have a hard time believing its the rod. Sometimes I count a couple seconds, sometimes I swing right away. Can't exactly explain why, except like Jaderose said, its just instinct. I've also found that smaller bass make nice blowups but can't quite get a solid bite on the frog in the thick stuff. 3lbs and up usually don't miss. I can't emphasize enough what Jaderose said. I stopped missing when I stopped over thinking and I just instinctively set the hook. I've never sharpened my hooks, bent them out, or seen a noticeable difference with one brand or type of frog over the other. Sometimes the fish slap it beneath the water and then turn to take it in their mouth, so setting the hook too soon would be a miss, and sometimes the bigger fish just come up below and slurp it in, and if I wait to set the hook they spit it back out. Just takes time to develop that feel to recognize what they're doing when they hit it. Hope that helps. Best of luck out there. 

[Jaderose]

1 hour ago, Bass Ninja said:

I've never sharpened my hooks, bent them out, or seen a noticeable difference with one brand or type of frog over the other. Sometimes the fish slap it beneath the water and then turn to take it in their mouth, so setting the hook too soon would be a miss, and sometimes the bigger fish just come up below and slurp it in,

I don't alter my frogs in any way either.  I almost exclusively use Scumfrog Trophy Series and love them.  I told him that because I don't know what he's using and every little bit helps.  I've had fish knock my frog 6ft in the air when they slap at it.  Makes me laugh every time.  I've also found that huge blow-ups usually mean smaller fish.  The truly big girls will sound like a toilet flush and the frog will just disappear.  To the OP..when you DO set the hook on a fish, THAT is when that longer rod and faster reel comes in handy.  You want them up and outta there FAST.  I fish VERY heavy mats and My goal is to get them up and ski them into the boat.  You do NOT want them going down or you're gonna be reeling in 30 lbs of muck, too.

 

[Bass Ninja]

13 hours ago, Jaderose said:

I don't alter my frogs in any way either.  I almost exclusively use Scumfrog Trophy Series and love them.  I told him that because I don't know what he's using and every little bit helps.  I've had fish knock my frog 6ft in the air when they slap at it.  Makes me laugh every time.  I've also found that huge blow-ups usually mean smaller fish.  The truly big girls will sound like a toilet flush and the frog will just disappear.  To the OP..when you DO set the hook on a fish, THAT is when that longer rod and faster reel comes in handy.  You want them up and outta there FAST.  I fish VERY heavy mats and My goal is to get them up and ski them into the boat.  You do NOT want them going down or you're gonna be reeling in 30 lbs of muck, too.

 

I've had the same experience with the blowups. I mean I've had the occasional big one come exploding through really thick mats, but in general, 4lbs and up, it seems to just be a quite little slurp and my frog is gone. And yes, went fishing with a buddy last week. He hooked into a solid one, but didn't get the head up and ski it in. Lost it after trying to crank it through the 3rd patch of weeds. I almost cried for him lol 

[BassNJake]

From Dean Rojas :

 

Hookset mechanics

You’ve probably had this debate with your fishing buddies at some point. Once a big bass explodes on your frog, do you purposely hesitate for a half-second or set the hook right away? The conundrum has been around since the inception of frog fishing and Rojas has a definite preference.

“I hit ‘em as soon as I see ‘em,” Rojas said. “I do end up pulling it away from them at times, but that’s not always a bad thing. When they miss it, they’ll often open up a hole in the cover which gives you a specific target to make another cast towards—they’ll usually eat it again. I’d rather totally whiff on the hookset than halfway stick them and ruin my chances of fooling them again.”

[BassNJake]

On 7/14/2020 at 7:05 AM, scaleface said:

I dont fish frogs much but fish toads quite a bit . I have come to the conclusion that most of the times it is the fishes fault . They are hitting it explosively but not taking it . Cant hook a fish . Other times they are taking it good and I get lots of hook-ups .

I'll agree seems like there are times when they just smack the toad but dont eat it.

Thats when I like to employ the alabama shake to the toad.

The legs are still creating a disturbance but now the entire toad is moving left, right, stopping and going

This allows the bait to stay near the target/ in the strike zone longer

 

My wrist and forearm hate that I use this technique though

 

[the reel ess]

Watch YouTube videos on increasing hookups. Bend those hooks out a bit. Trim the legs a bit so they're no longer than the body. Use a Booyah Pad Crasher. The body is just the right texture and very durable. I like 50# braid and cinch my drag down. I use a 7'3" X Hvy-X Fast frog specific Cabela's Tournament XT rod. Longer and stiffer the lever, the better the leverage.

 

And you'll still miss a good many fish.

[Luke Barnes]

I recently bought a 7'2 H/F and 60lb braid for frogging and still had the same issue of missing so many hooksets, then came to the conclusion, the Booyah Toad Runner sucks for hookup ratio on smaller fish. I went to a Popping Pad Crasher and bam, nailed them. That big boot tail or the way the body is really made the hookup ratio garbage. 

[scaleface]

I hate toads . Yesterday afternoon I managed   one hookup in 10 hits but they are the only lure that I can fish the chara matts with . Fishing the edges with a buzzbait I nailed 5 of 6 .

[txchaser]

For the next couple of strikes don't set the hook at all. Just start reeling. You'll get to feel what happens when they really have it or not, whether they spit it out, etc. 

I don't expect you'll catch those fish, but you'll be able to feel what's going on.

[DitchPanda]

So after my first response to this post I went fishing and totally whiffed on a hellacious frog bite. I suck. Take whatever advice I gave and throw it in the trash.

[cal9323]

I struggled last year but have been really successful this year. I have been throwing the soft body plastic frogs (Stanley Ribbit). I switched to a 7’ heavy rod and only missed on one blowup. The rest I landed.