Frog frustration! 2025
Eric J reply :
I love Topwater and usually fish a popper with decent success but I am trying to learn the "art" of frogging... All I can say about this morning is... AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!
I was fishing a local pond that is new to me, second time fishing it. I was throwing plastics with no luck and decided to go with a soft hollow body frog, Weedless with the rubber trailers. I must have had 10 hits on this thing and not a single hook set! I waited, then waited longer and no deal. What the hell am I doing wrong? Frustrating when you find the right bait and can't land a thing,
Catt reply :
Welcome to frog fishing ????
Junger reply :
I cut down the skirt legs to about 2-3" to help with short strikes. But yeah, all you can really do is wait until you feel the weight of the fish before trying to set it.
Sometimes, they just swipe at it instead of trying to inhale it.
J Francho reply :
Funny story about frog fishing a local pond that has some BIG fish in it. I getting blow ups, but they were not right at the bait. I couldn't figure out what they were doing and why they were missing. Then I saw it happen closer to me. They weren't missing. They were nailing blue gill that were distracted and nipping at the skirted frog legs! So, I used a two pronged attack: fire a frog out there, let a bunch of gills move in, then toss a floating Mattlures Hard Gill in there. Caught quite a few.
DINK WHISPERER reply :
Waiting is the first thing you're doing wrong! I'll never understand why people tell you to do that. When you see that blow up the fish has already either inhaled or missed your bait all together and is headed down. While you wait he already spit it if he ever had it to begin with! Try it, you'll see.
Jar11591 reply :
On 7/20/2018 at 10:28 PM, DINK WHISPERER said:Waiting is the first thing you're doing wrong! I'll never understand why people tell you to do that. When you see that blow up the fish has already either inhaled or missed your bait all together and is headed down. While you wait he already spit it if he ever had it to begin with! Try it, you'll see.
I agree.
Junger reply :
On 7/20/2018 at 10:28 PM, DINK WHISPERER said:Waiting is the first thing you're doing wrong! I'll never understand why people tell you to do that. When you see that blow up the fish has already either inhaled or missed your bait all together and is headed down. While you wait he already spit it if he ever had it to begin with! Try it, you'll see.
I disagree, but everyone fishes their own way and that's part of fishing. I have more hook ups waiting for the weight of the fish. They certainly can inhale the frog and an immediate hookset while they're turned will probably get you the fish, but sometimes, they don't fully have it and they regrip the frog after turning which coincides with feeling the weight. They can also certainly spit it out too.
DINK WHISPERER reply :
Also the right gear is really important too. Most frog hooks are thick gauge and require a really stout rod and braided line to get a good hookset.
GReb reply :
If you aren’t in muck then you can switch to bigger hooks that stick off the body of the bait about a quarter inch.
Everyone misses fish on frogs.
tander reply :
Heavy action 7' rod with high speed reel, 50# braid and a frog with the hooks bent up slightly. Wait until you feel fish, they often miss it the first strike.
tcbass reply :
I’ve caught a few hollow body frog fish and missed a lot.
Started making Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frogs (paddle tailed frogs) and not only did my hookup ratio go way up so did my bites.
I think the hookup ratio went up because the frog is usually on the retrieve and the bass hook themselves, similar to fishing a crankbait. Caught a lot just letting them sit on the landing too.
The results speak for themselves. If you are getting hit on topwater you’ll really get hit with these. Try it out. I always start with a Whopper Plopper and if it’s too weedy for that I’ll switch to paddle tail frogs. Open water, pads, mats, docks, structure, wherever, these plain just catch fish.
SlappinKraken reply :
Frog fishing is full of misses. This is especially true if you are throwing it on top of some vegetation. Often times I really try to get them to bite on the edge or in holes because my hook up ratio is a ton higher, but this isn't always possible.
Otherwise as mentioned it could be your equipment or the frog. If you are in more open water then ten misses kinda high and I would bend out the hooks slightly.
You can also use the frog as a search bait and if they miss throw a soft plastic at them.
Dens228 reply :
When I'm on a roll I'm probably get a hook up about 50% of the time......that being said I think, based on the misses that are close up, the bass are missing a large percentage of the time. Usually right behind the frog, but I've also seen them miss by quite a bit.
tcbass reply :
On 7/21/2018 at 2:17 AM, Dens228 said:When I'm on a roll I'm probably get a hook up about 50% of the time......that being said I think, based on the misses that are close up, the bass are missing a large percentage of the time. Usually right behind the frog, but I've also seen them miss by quite a bit.
When I used to get a blowup and miss I usually throw a Senko after it.
With the Homemade Teckel frog I've noticed if a bass misses it I just keep reeling slowly and usually they'll hit it a second or third time to finally get it. Gotten a lot of fish after they've missed this way.
Dirtyeggroll reply :
Is your drag tight? I once missed 8 blowups in a row until one of them really held on to it and pull some drag, then spit it out. I tightened my drag and then caught 3 fish in a row (all over 4 lbs).
Ratherbfishing reply :
My brother and I took turns casting to a single bass (it hit and missed about 8 times) before FINALLY one of us got a hook set. Watching that frog jump up into the air with each bite is almost as fun as catching the fish. But yeah, it can get frustrating. SOME hollow baits have better hook ratios than others. Might try a diff bait.
tcbass reply :
On 7/21/2018 at 2:41 AM, Ratherbfishing said:My brother and I took turns casting to a single bass (it hit and missed about 8 times) before FINALLY one of us got a hook set. Watching that frog jump up into the air with each bite is almost as fun as catching the fish. But yeah, it can get frustrating. SOME hollow baits have better hook ratios than others. Might try a diff bait.
I kept casting to a huge (for me) bass in pads once using a Spro Popper Frog. 24 hits later after like 40 casts finally reeled her in. I think she was just over 4lbs. Released her to live another day. Was awesome finally catching that one.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 7/20/2018 at 10:28 PM, DINK WHISPERER said:Waiting is the first thing you're doing wrong! I'll never understand why people tell you to do that. When you see that blow up the fish has already either inhaled or missed your bait all together and is headed down. While you wait he already spit it if he ever had it to begin with! Try it, you'll see.
Agree, drives me crazy to hear the suggestion to wait 3 seconds or whatever arbitrary number people come up with. Watch the pros that are good froggers, none of them are waiting to feel the fish. At most you'll see them wait to see if their frog is still there or not, which is all I do. If my frog is gone, I'm swinging. There's only 1 reason it could be gone, and that's because the fish has pulled it under. Waiting just gives them time to spit the bait out and/or bury up in the slop real bad and make setting the hook and getting the fish out even harder.
Pickle_Power reply :
I've probably had equal luck with hooksets waiting, and with immediately swinging. Both pretty low percentage for me!
It does seem like I get slightly better results waiting just a split second when I'm running a T rigged buzz toad, just to drop the rod tip and hit them hard.
I think this is the main thing - the right rod and low stretch line to tear through weeds that may be between you and the fish.
AllAboutThatBass reply :
I don’t understand why people say to wait. Set the hook when the fish is on the way down. Once he blows up and you can no longer see your frog but you can see his tail, he’s headed straight down. There only one place the frog can be. In his mouth. Cross his eyes. I use to have terrible hookup ratio when i waited and now my hookup ratio is 80-90 percent and the frog is choked without bending out hooks. Id upload pics of choked frogs but i can’t from my phone without resizing.
A-Jay reply :
On 7/22/2018 at 11:56 PM, AllAboutThatBass said:I don’t understand why people say to wait. Set the hook when the fish is on the way down. Once he blows up and you can no longer see your frog but you can see his tail, he’s headed straight down. There only one place the frog can be. In his mouth. Cross his eyes. I use to have terrible hookup ratio when i waited and now my hookup ratio is 80-90 percent and the frog is choked without bending out hooks. Id upload pics of choked frogs but i can’t from my phone without resizing.
Perhaps you don't realize it however what you've described above - is "waiting"; but I agree with you.
The "waiting" reference is directed at Not Setting the hook the second one sees the bass strike the bait.
That split second 'pause or wait' it takes to allow the fish to get the bait & turn it's head down or at least away for the angler is all it takes. Waiting much after that can spell trouble, especially if we're presenting the bait in some heavy sloppy cover. When a bass has time she'll weave that line through all kinds of jungle which makes everything that happens after that an exercise in frustration.
A-Jay
BaitFinesse reply :
You gotta love off when they hit the bait square on from below but forget to open their mouths so they send the bait and themselves straight into the air. That's always entertaining to see.
Junger reply :
Not advocating waiting like 3 seconds, but just wait to feel the weight of the fish, it could be a split second, or it could be 1 second if it didn't eat it fully and hasn't turned yet. But yeah, frog fishing can be frustrating if they're just slashing at it.
Way north bass guy reply :
It’s funny how frogging works, for several years, it seemed I missed a terrible percentage of fish on the hookset. For whatever reason, the last few years I’ve done much better. Maybe it was a rod change, but I’m honestly at about a 90% hookup ratio with frogs now, and I don’t wait too long to set either. It seems like you just need to get a good “feel” for when to hit them, and once you figure it out, it’s game on.
YoTone reply :
whats helped me this year is being calm when the strike happens. i try to, when i see the strike, drop my rod tip down reel in the slack then crack the whip. I think those two movements gives me enough time for me to judge if the bass has taken it down or not.
Matt_3479 reply :
past 4 years I began fishing hollow bodied frogs with terrible hookup ratios. So I rarely threw them, and would throw them back in the box after 15 mins eventually cause I couldn’t hook into one.
this year I purchased a dedicated frog rod, threw the right line on it and spent a large amount of money so far on different frogs to try. Different sizes, colours and have had much better luck and is one of my new favorite ways to fish. Trimming the legs have worked well with me for hook ups, bending the hooks up a hair and out a smidge has increased my hook up ratio. The smaller frogs seems to be inhaled better but don’t walk as nice. I’ve had great success so far with Jackall kaera frogs for size!
MrFrost reply :
I noticed a huge decrease in missed blow ups when I got a dedicated frog setup. I got a 7'3'' Heavy/Fast, paired with braid. There is little to no give, with the stiff rod, and line that doesn't stretch, so if the fish has a good bite, you can count on a hook set.
I have dedicated a considerable amount of time to frog fishing in the two months I've been fishing. I have learned how to watch the water/cover around my frog and sometimes you can actually see movement signalling an incoming fish. It's really cool when you can see the strike coming!
Being so aware, I have actually learned to really watch the blow ups, and I noticed something that I don't see talked about much, either on here, or on YouTube, so I'm not sure if I'm right, or if I'm crazy, but I have started to determine that some of the missed blow ups I've had, are actually not bass at all, and are large bull frogs.
Having hooked one I can guarantee they go for the bait, lol. And I am convinced that some of the smaller blow ups are frogs attacking the bait. I have witnessed one frog literally stalk my bait, and jump from the pads onto the top of the frog!
You can also bend your hooks up, not a lot, but slightly open up the angle on them, and they will catch a little better, but I don't do that to my new frogs now that I have a dedicated setup that takes a good amount of "work" out of it for me.
It's definitely a learning process, but it is well worth it for the fun involved. I personally love to hunt lilly pads! Before you know it, you'll be having fun with it! I have a spot that is so perfect for "frog" fishing, I don't even need a frog anymore, lol...
bhoff reply :
I don't agree with the no waiting thing but I feel like some people get the wrong idea. Waiting for me means seeing the blow up and giving the fish maybe a second to take the bait in better. I'm not looking at the watch and counting out 10 seconds or something. This differs from say texas rig or jig fishing where my reaction is nearly instant when I feel the bite.
MrFrost reply :
I feel like everyone is different. If you notice that you're setting the hook and your frog is flying back towards you, your reaction times are probably on the fast side, and you would benefit from slowing yourself down slightly and allowing a pause long enough for the fish to close it's mouth so you can set your hook.
If you find that you go to set your hook and there is no resistance, well then your reaction is too slow, and the fish has already spit your bait. You'd benefit from speeding up your reaction by setting your hook more immediate.
Even if you get your reaction times dialed in perfect, you will still have some missed blow ups for any number of reasons, but that's part of the thrill of the hunt.
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