Frog lure tips

[Crimson0087]

I have a local pond and recently I can't catch anything....the only thing I have gotten a bite on is a top water frog....but as soon as they blow up on the frog....they immediately spit it out....I've read all about giving them a second before you set the hook....but it's like nearly instantly that they bite it and then spit it out...I can't even react fast enough to set the hook if I wanted to....any idea why this is?

[casts_by_fly]

probably small fish.  Smaller bass under 10" will often blow up but not actually take it.  A decent bass that wants the frog will eat the frog.

 

Also, frog fishing can be infuriating some times.  They eat, you see it disappear, and somehow you still don't connect.  Toads aren't much different.  It just comes with the territory.

 

All that said, if they are eating a frog on the surface then you can get them to eat other things.  Note where the frog blowups were and come back a half hour later with a small worm or another small topwater.  The fish won't be far away and there's a good chance they are still aggressive.

[Bankc]

Sometimes they'll swat a frog to stun it.  So if it looks like your frog got blown up, but you don't feel any weight on the line, let it sit there a minute before retrieving it.  Make it look like a stunned frog.  

 

Also, sometimes it's a good idea to bend the hooks up on frogs to get better hookup ratios.  They'll catch more weeds that way.  But if it's not too thick and the frog is mostly going over the stuff, it can work.  

 

And Casts-by-fly's suggestion of a follow up bait is also a good one.  I prefer T-rigged Senkos for this.  

[Pat Brown]

Some things worth trying:

 

Z Man floating plastic buzz toad or GOAT rigged buzz toad style paused over the top of these 'swatters'

 

Vary your retrieve or dead stick the frog after a miss for a LONG time and see if they commit....

 

Downsize the frog.  Adjust color to match forage.

 

I'd play around with all of the above!  Also don't be afraid to try a buzzbait gurgled riiiiight under the surface with your rod tip pointed straight up 😉

[GRiver]

@Crimson0087 I had a hard time with frogs, still not very good. I’ve learned patience is the key, and watching my line to see if the bass has the frog. I’ve found that after a blowup I wait…. If my line is not moving I’m guessing they missed or swatted it as @Bankc said. I’ll twitch it for a few seconds to try and look like a stunned frog. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I guess timing is everything. My advice might not be the best…. I still miss way more than I catch with frogs. 

[Catt]

Immediately drop that frog rod & pick up a worm rod (weighted or unweighted). Cast to the exact spot of the blow up. 

[12poundbass]

A few things 

 

1: Don’t swing until you feel the weight of the fish. If you don’t feel the fish leave it their and twitch it a couple times.

 

2: If you swing and miss cast right back to their. A lot of times they’ll blow it up again.

 

3: Like @Catt have a back up soft plastic ready to toss out there. That soft plastic will usually pick them off. I myself prefer a light tungsten weight with a Texas rigged craw. 

[Big Rick]

16 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Z Man floating plastic buzz toad or GOAT rigged buzz toad style paused over the top of these 'swatters'

This is great advice. Often times bass will blow up on a regular frog and miss but will completely engulf a smaller meal option. The GOAT toad has been my number one frog option the last couple of years. It's a buzz bait and regular frog all in one, depending on retrieve cadence. 

 

Also, a fluke or wacky rigged Senko will often time entice a bite. 

[Bass hunter man]

Bass suck in their prey so by the time you see the blow up, and don't see the frog, the bass should already have the frog in its mouth. At that point bow the rod to the fish, take up the slack and set the hook aggressively. 

[Captain Phil]

I fish frogs and toads mostly in pads.  Watch closely behind your lure as you make your retrieve.   Big fish will often trail a frog for some distance   The bigger the fish, the bigger the wake.  If this happens, stop reeling when you get to the edge and let the lure sink under it's own weight.  I have caught a number of big fish this way.   Dropping back on a strike is difficult to master, but it is effective. 

[Pat Brown]

If you're in super heavy cover like leaf mats, pads or matted hydrilla, I have got some of my most violent strikes twitching my hollow frog in place.  No horizontal movement.  Don't be afraid to fish them very very slow and twitch them in place while 'hung' on the mat.

[Mobasser]

On 11/8/2023 at 4:28 AM, Catt said:

Immediately drop that frog rod & pick up a worm rod (weighted or unweighted). Cast to the exact spot of the blow up. 

I've had similar problems hooking fish on frogs. I've had fish swat at them or make a lunge at them also. But as Catt says, throw a plastic bait at the same spot quickly. I use a lightly weighted plastic worm. Oftentimes they'll hit it.

[Catt]

For many years in our marshes we threw a gold Johnson Spoon with a Uncle Josh pork chunk trailer. Johnson Spoons are notorious for missing fish. 

 

We used spoons as a search bait, that blowup just revealed the bass's location.

 

What is the purpose of a "search bait"?

 

To locate the bass so you can slowdown & work the area over.

 

Frog: search bait.

[Darth-Baiter]

are you throwing a topwater frog because of the cover?  or is it wide opened water and you are still throwing the frog.  

[Russell13]

In my pond smaller bass will come up and attack the frog but they don’t take it.this may be the case and you might want to try downsizing your profile. This is a ton of information about setting the hook on a frog. The best advice I got was to wait until you feel the fish pulling the line. A follow up bait is also a good idea. I’ve been using the Yamatanuki lately and have had success with it. 
just my two cents 
 

[Darth-Baiter]

dude never come back?  guess he figured it out!!