Need Help With Frog Hook-Ups 2025
Green Trout reply :
I have picked out my frog, know where I am fishing, and know what gear I am using. I am using a h20 xpress frog and have 40lb braid with a 7.3 MH Baitcasting rod. Now, how do you get more hook ups with frogs? I have heard you get a lot of misses with frogs. Is this correct? Is there ways to prevent the misses?
BassTravis reply :
Whenever the swirl or blow up occurs: Stop, lower your rod tip, and count to 3 before you set the hook, unless you feel the fish before you get to 3.
gardnerjigman reply :
When your frog disappears, set the hook. By the time you stop. Drop the rod, count to 3, 5-7 seconds have gone by, and that is exactly what your (big) fish will do, go bye...
livetofish28 reply :
Part of the game. I've had times where the frog is blown completely out of the water with no fish. It just happens.
Tight lines
Andrew
Shanes7614 reply :
On 7/7/2015 at 7:17 AM, gardnerjigman said:When your frog disappears, set the hook. By the time you stop. Drop the rod, count to 3, 5-7 seconds have gone by, and that is exactly what your (big) fish will do, go bye...
Best answer IMO. Only time I will pause briefly is if the frog is being fished over SUPER heavy stuff. Then just a brief drop the rod and set.
Master Bait'r reply :
Yeah you will wear the frog a few times no matter what, but I tend to just set the hook as soon as it's hit. If you give them a few seconds they're overwhelmingly likely to spit it out before you set. Also some people like to bend their hooks up and out, some like to add trailer hooks and some like to put upsized hooks in place of the stock ones. It all depends on you, OP. So get out there and give it a try. You will find your comfort zone.
tater555 reply :
I know it is opposite what everyone else is saying, but I give my frog just enough time to float back up. If I don't see it after a second or two, I cross their eyes. If it does float up I let it sit about five seconds and then try to walk it in place. If I don't get hit doing that I reel it back in and throw something else in the same spot (normally a senko or some other Texas rigged plastic)
papajoe222 reply :
Hook-ups on topwater baits are always a crap shoot. At times you will find the bait half way down their throat and other times, it will be a single hook in the fleshy part of the lip. What makes it more frustrating with frogs is the fact that there is no hook at the end of the bait like the hard baits have, so it the fish just grabs the legs, you're going to come up empty whether you wait, or set the hook as soon as your frog disappears. My advice is to set the hook whenever. If she has it in her mouth, you'll hook-up.
Big Bait Fishing reply :
the key to fishing moving style frogs is that when your reeling them , keep your rod tip at 11 o'clock , keeping a bow in your line , when a bass hits your frog , no matter how fast you try to set your hook , the brief time it takes to move the slack out of your line (remember the bow in your line ) the bass will now have your frog in it's mouth enabling you to get a hook into it 
i fish mostly Canyon plastics 4.5'' frogs with an Owner beast hook in 4/0 or 6/0 unweighted .
i rarely ever miss hooking up unless the bass straight missed the frog .
gardnerjigman reply :
On 7/7/2015 at 11:25 AM, papajoe222 said:What makes it more frustrating with frogs is the fact that there is no hook at the end of the bait like the hard baits have, so it the fish just grabs the legs, you're going to come up empty whether you wait, or set the hook as soon as your frog disappears.
That's why as soon as I take a frog out of the package, I trim all but about an inch of leg off the frog. It walks a lot tighter, and I get better hook ups. I also believe I get more strikes like this.
the reel ess reply :
Answers will be all over the place with this. Watch YouTube videos of Ish Monroe, Dean Rojas, Bama Bass and Dave Mercer. Especially BAMABASS. Form your own opinion because there's not a real concensus. Cool thing about Mercer is he'll show you when he misses fish and it's quite often with the frog. Some of the others are edited to take out all the missed hooksets.
My Opinion, FWIW, is you'll likely miss about 50% during the day with blue skies. Sometimes it'll take a fish 3 swipes to get it. Wait a little longer then. Low light, they'll suck it down better and you can set quicker.
Keep a dark colored plastic rigged to pitch to the spot of a miss if it happens twice. They'll often hit it on the fall. Good luck.
Shanes7614 reply :
On 7/7/2015 at 12:36 PM, pgersumky said:the key to fishing moving style frogs is that when your reeling them , keep your rod tip at 11 o'clock , keeping a bow in your line , when a bass hits your frog , no matter how fast you try to set your hook , the brief time it takes to move the slack out of your line (remember the bow in your line ) the bass will now have your frog in it's mouth enabling you to get a hook into it
i fish mostly Canyon plastics 4.5'' frogs with an Owner beast hook in 4/0 or 6/0 unweighted .
i rarely ever miss hooking up unless the bass straight missed the frog .
Is this a solid plastic frog or hollow body? Hollow bodies tend to be a little harder with hookup rates.
gardnerjigman reply :
On 7/7/2015 at 11:57 PM, Shanes7614 said:Is this a solid plastic frog or hollow body? Hollow bodies tend to be a little harder with hookup rates.
I have to assume he is talking about a solid plastic frog from the reeling in comment.
Shanes7614 reply :
On 7/8/2015 at 12:02 AM, gardnerjigman said:I have to assume he is talking about a solid plastic frog from the reeling in comment.
Size and hooks used have me thinking solid. But a bow in your line while reeling doesn't make a ton of sense. My line with solid bodies tends to go straight from my rod tip to the frog especially in cover.
gardnerjigman reply :
On 7/8/2015 at 12:06 AM, Shanes7614 said:Size and hooks used have me thinking solid. But a bow in your line while reeling doesn't make a ton of sense. My line with solid bodies tends to go straight from my rod tip to the frog especially in cover.
Yah. A little confused as well. Big difference in hook up ratio between solid bodies and hollow. Heck, my wife catches the crap out of bass on solid bodies on a medium spinning combo. Huge difference in driving 2 hooks home versus 1
Big Bait Fishing reply :
On 7/7/2015 at 11:57 PM, Shanes7614 said:Is this a solid plastic frog or hollow body? Hollow bodies tend to be a little harder with hookup rates.
the canyon plastic frog are essentially a soft plastic frog with a hollow tube in the middle , i'll post a picture of it rigged in a little bit.
Big Bait Fishing reply :
On 7/8/2015 at 12:09 AM, gardnerjigman said:Yah. A little confused as well. Big difference in hook up ratio between solid bodies and hollow. Heck, my wife catches the crap out of bass on solid bodies on a medium spinning combo. Huge difference in driving 2 hooks home versus 1
i'm talking about a straight retrieve , i try to move my frog as slow as possible while still getting the legs churning , if you keep your rod tip pointed up and reel slow , you will cause a bow or sag in your line but your bait will keep moving , give it a try and you will see what im talking about . with that bow in your line , when the bass grabs it , the bass will take up some of the slack and when you go to set the hook , you will hook up 95% of the time if the frog is in it's mouth . like i posted , the frogs i use are semi-hollow , but this technique will work with other soft plastic frogs/toads . i also throw Rage tail toads and Zoom frogs and this is the only way i fish them .
gardnerjigman reply :
On 7/8/2015 at 1:39 AM, pgersumky said:i'm talking about a straight retrieve , i try to move my frog as slow as possible while still getting the legs churning , if you keep your rod tip pointed up and reel slow , you will cause a bow or sag in your line but your bait will keep moving , give it a try and you will see what im talking about . with that bow in your line , when the bass grabs it , the bass will take up some of the slack and when you go to set the hook , you will hook up 95% of the time if the frog is in it's mouth . like i posted , the frogs i use are semi-hollow , but this technique will work with other soft plastic frogs/toads . i also throw Rage tail toads and Zoom frogs and this is the only way i fish them .
So you are talking about a buzz style toad, where the legs churn up water. We are talking about hollow body frogs with skirted legs.
I totally get what you are talking about with the slight bow in your line while working a toad. Mine looks similar. I was confused since we were talking about hollow body frogs and your retrieve technique.
Clear as mud now! 
Big Bait Fishing reply :
next time you are fishing a soft plastic frog , keep your rod tip up , start your retrieve to get the frog on the surface , slow down the retrieve to were the frogs legs are churning and you'll form a bow in your line , i know , kinda hard to imagine un less you try it !! but do try it and you'll see
Big Bait Fishing reply :
On 7/8/2015 at 1:43 AM, gardnerjigman said:So you are talking about a buzz style toad, where the legs churn up water. We are talking about hollow body frogs with skirted legs.
I totally get what you are talking about with the slight bow in your line while working a toad. Mine looks similar. I was confused since we were talking about hollow body frogs and your retrieve technique.
Clear as mud now!
you can retrieve a hollow body frog basically the same way , just keep your rod tip up , not down , and keep a little slack in your line .
gardnerjigman reply :
On 7/8/2015 at 1:46 AM, pgersumky said:you can retrieve a hollow body frog basically the same way , just keep your rod tip up , not down , and keep a little slack in your line .
I guess I don't see the action you are putting on a hollow body frog with skirted legs if you just reel it in...
Big Bait Fishing reply :
here is the frog ( Canyon Plastics 4.5'' frog , Old Tymers series ) notice the hollowness of it , you can see the hook inside , these things are the best frog i've ever come across , when i see them in tackle stores , i buy them all !!!
Shanes7614 reply :
On 7/8/2015 at 1:46 AM, pgersumky said:you can retrieve a hollow body frog basically the same way , just keep your rod tip up , not down , and keep a little slack in your line .
Hollow body frogs are typically worked like a Zara spook or other similar "walk the dog" type baits. If you are just reeling in a hollow body frog your not doing it any justice. That being said I have had them been hit before while burning the frog back to make my next cast but not the typical action you want it for.
Dwight Hottle reply :
Watch this video if you need help with hook sets.
http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/159765-one-of-captain-shanes-best-vids/
bassin is addicting reply :
with hollow bodied frogs.... I use the trailer hook by Lake Fork.
for me, it works wonders and I catch way more fish.
I am surprised that it doesn't get hung more, but it doesn't. so I keep using it.
blckshirt98 reply :
Also if you miss that first hookset don't reel your frog in, keep working it. The bass will come back around for a second shot at it.
Kyrazzy7 reply :
I always like to mod my frogs right away. First I'll start by trimming the legs at least 1". And it could be more. Depends on desired action. Next, and this is a MUST for better hook up ratio. Bend the hooks up and out just a touch. This makes it a little less weedless BUT you'll get a better hook up ratio, and catch more fish. It's my favorite way to fish.
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