Frog fishing

[rbrick]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the forum and look forward to learning from all of you.I live in Tallahassee,Fl and this is my first year fishing frogs.I am getting some incredible explosions on the frog but I am unable to hook them.I have tried sharpening the hooks,waiting 3 seconds to set the hook and using braided nonstrech line.Nothing helps.I am beginning to think I have chosen a frog with a bad design.Can any one recommend one that has a better hookup rate?Or any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanx,

rick

[awjweb]

Hi Rick,

I love fishing the scum frogs too!  It really gets your heart thumping when the bass explodes through the cover.  My most common error is getting too excited and setting the hook too early. If I can get myself to calm down and wait until the I feel the fish *pulling* on my line I am usually sucessful in hooking the fish. Just try to be a bit lazy and it should help.  Also I find that bass that go for the frog are very aggressive and will strike repeatedly if they miss. If you miss a fish try again several times before moving on.

[bpm2000]

Cant help ya but to clarify - what frog exactly are you throwing out there?

[awjweb]

Rick,

BTW... I use these frogs. They snag once in a while but they are vey soft and hook up well

[WBFishing]

I have 1 of those, the snagproof original and 2 Spro Frogs, I have not had a bite of them but I like them. I started fishing Zoom Horny Toads,about 2 months ago, with a Gamakatsu 5/0 Offset EWG on 20 lb braid. Like he said in a previous post, feel the fish, then set hard on him/her. My hook up ratio is not stellar because I will get excited. 2 for 4 on grass mats and 0/2 open water--if this was baseball i would be a threat with my .333, but this ain't baseball...

[RecMar8541]

i tried frog fishing....but throwing those little tiny fly shaped crankbaits proved my undoing...

welcome to the boards Rick!!

[awjweb]

Good one RecMar

A couple of years ago I actually did catch a big bull frog while casting a frog (the kind in the picture, i think). I had cast to a spot on the shore line and had a pretty big blow-up but didn't hook anything. I thought it was a bass. I threw the lure there several more times and each time there was a blow-up. Finally I hooked the critter. It didn't fight much so I knew it wasn't a big bass. My buddy almost wet his pants laughing at me when I landed a bull frog. I guess it was being territorial and didn't like my frog lure invading it's home. It was *tough* to get it unhooked because both hooks went through the roof of its mouth and out the top. I finally did manage though. We still laugh about it everytime we get togther.

[RecMar8541]

mayhap twas just the season and your rubber frog was just to hot for the real mccoy to resist!

[the ohh face]

live ones work real well

[WBFishing]

When I was a kid, I would raid the cows drinking hole every spring because the frogs would lay eggs in there.  I would get the tadpoles and the frogs that still had there little tadpole tails and fish with them.  I used to get my little Zebco and cane pole worn out in that farm pond.  Used to come home muddy and smelling like cow pies, but I always had the best time.

[Guest avid]

When I was a kid, I would raid the cows drinking hole every spring because the frogs would lay eggs in there. I would get the tadpoles and the frogs that still had there little tadpole tails and fish with them. I used to get my little Zebco and cane pole worn out in that farm pond. Used to come home muddy and smelling like cow pies, but I always had the best time.

Ya gotta love it.

Man, those were the days eh?

As far as having trouble hooking fish with soft bodied frogs, all I can say is "welcome to the club"  I have my best hook up percentage with the spro bronzeye.  but your always gonna miss some.

My frog rod (not horny toad) is a 4 power loomis with 50 lb braid.  You have to discipline yourself not to strike untill you feel the weight of the fish, then sock it to em.  

Great way to fish, Sooooo much fun......but it can be frustrating.  

good luck and have fun.

avid

[roadwarrior]

Welcome aboard!

[jasone]

I had so much trouble hooking up with the Bronze eye.  I switched this year to a Sumo frog.  Hope it works out better.

J

[skillet]

WELCOME to the forums!! IMHO the strike to hook-up rate is pretty dismal with soft-bodied baits, but you just can't resist useing them for the heart-stopping strikes and the ones that do get stuck ;D

                                            As Ever,

                                             Skillet

[One Sock]

I really have no problems with hook ups on frog fishing, then again I only use soft plastic frogs, when I say soft I'm not talking about zoom horny toads either, those things are tough to pull a hook through. Try some of the hand poured ones, there are some amazing hand poured baits out there and they work better than the name brands and can cost a lot less, one word of caution, buy in small amounts first to see what kind of quality your dealing with. Not everyone uses the same ingredients. More and more pro bass fisherman are finding that hand poured baits will almost always outfish your store bought baits, they won't tell you that because the big names are who sponser them JMO

[rbrick]

Thank you all for the kind greeting and the info.Skillet you're right I'm already addicted to this kind of fishing and I haven't even caught anything yet.Those explosions are addictive.One Sock what brand of hand poured frog do you use?

I've just ordered some Mann's Phat Rat,They claim to have an 87% better hook-up rate.Has anyone tried them?They use a treble hook design.