Looking to buy a new top water frog. I've got a Spero popper frog that I use but I'm looking for one that kind of "walks" itself left to right and does not need to be manipulated so much by the angler. I've seen a few like this on YouTube video but never caught the make/manufacturer of it. Anyone have a specific recommendation for me?
Spro Bronzeye frogs walk well for me. Once you get the rhythm/candace down it's quite easy.
I've had problems walking them all. And I think I own almost all of them. lol.
I started using my own Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frogs and killing it. Love them. Easy to make and anyone can fish them.
Spro bronzeeye shad is probably easiest to walk.
Savage gear lily ninja. Walks like a charm.
If you have trouble walking any frog, you can always throw a split ring on them to make it a little easier.
I took my Spro Bronze Eye popper out for the first time today and was pleasantly surprised at how well it walks. Much easier than the Pad Crashers I've been fishing. Yoy having trouble walking the popper?
On 7/29/2017 at 6:35 AM, tcbass said:I've had problems walking them all. And I think I own almost all of them. lol.
I started using my own Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frogs and killing it. Love them. Easy to make and anyone can fish them.
You use the method that was posted on the forums here?
On 7/29/2017 at 9:38 AM, BrackishBassin said:I took my Spro Bronze Eye popper out for the first time today and was pleasantly surprised at how well it walks. Much easier than the Pad Crashers I've been fishing. Yoy having trouble walking the popper?
You use the method that was posted on the forums here?
You mean for walking the frog or the making the Sprinker?
Most frogs will walk, but my favorite is the booyah pad crashers. Just make sure to cut the skirt on all frogs to the same length of the body, otherwise there is to much drag to walk them effectively.
On 7/29/2017 at 9:38 AM, BrackishBassin said:I took my Spro Bronze Eye popper out for the first time today and was pleasantly surprised at how well it walks. Much easier than the Pad Crashers I've been fishing. Yoy having trouble walking the popper?
You use the method that was posted on the forums here?
Link?
Although I use a size 10 split ring and size 1 swivel and will be using a Snagproof Phat Frog because the Pad Crasher Jr. sank with the larger tackle.
On 7/29/2017 at 10:03 AM, tcbass said:
You mean for walking the frog or the making the Sprinker?
Sprinker
If I've got the popper one in a natural green color what color should I get this one in? I'd think something different to give myself more versatility compared to the one I've got. I was thinking I'd get a much darker color so it would show up better in that obviously a real a mossy pond is going to be dirty by nature. But I also understand the argument of make it look as close to the real thing as possible. But I'd that were true they wouldn't make so make colors and just the one green. So I'm torn on what to get and at the moment I just want to buy 2 versus 4 or 5.
Savage Gear makes a weedless mouse that walks extremely easily. I got mine at DSG awhile back and really like it so far.
On 7/29/2017 at 8:16 PM, pauldconyers said:If I've got the popper one in a natural green color what color should I get this one in? I'd think something different to give myself more versatility compared to the one I've got. I was thinking I'd get a much darker color so it would show up better in that obviously a real a mossy pond is going to be dirty by nature. But I also understand the argument of make it look as close to the real thing as possible. But I'd that were true they wouldn't make so make colors and just the one green. So I'm torn on what to get and at the moment I just want to buy 2 versus 4 or 5.
I like baitfish colors for walking baits. Solid white or similar is usually what I go with.
For me color-wise I usually get a white belly, a yellow belly, and a dark belly, either brown or black. I don't think the color of the top of the frog matters.
All Black or Alll white frog for me but I use River2Sea Bully Wa 2 and for a popper style their Spittin Wa. Both walk super easy.
On 7/29/2017 at 8:37 PM, Chance_Taker4 said:All Black or Alll white frog for me but I use River2Sea Bully Wa 2 and for a popper style their Spittin Wa. Both walk super easy.
I've thought about an all black (or at least the belly) model but I didn't know if that color would look unnatural to a fish and spook them.
On 7/29/2017 at 11:11 PM, pauldconyers said:I've thought about an all black (or at least the belly) model but I didn't know if that color would look unnatural to a fish and spook them.
When I was learning to use a frog my boater, as I fish as a co angler, told me that when a bass looks up at your bait majority of the time it looks black regardless of the color because of the shadow it makes blocking out the sun. All black is usually my most productive color.
Academy Sports H2O frogs.
On 7/29/2017 at 11:25 PM, Chance_Taker4 said:When I was learning to use a frog my boater, as I fish as a co angler, told me that when a bass looks up at your bait majority of the time it looks black regardless of the color because of the shadow it makes blocking out the sun. All black is usually my most productive color.
Does the common thought the darker water or conditions like thick moss and such lead to even more of a reason to use a black one? What about brown as it is slightly more natural or is black the way to go?
On 7/30/2017 at 12:28 AM, pauldconyers said:Does the common thought the darker water or conditions like thick moss and such lead to even more of a reason to use a black one? What about brown as it is slightly more natural or is black the way to go?
Black colored lures will catch fish in most water. I only throw black frogs and white frogs. The frogs around here have a white belly so that works for me
On 7/30/2017 at 1:18 AM, CroakHunter said:Black colored lures will catch fish in most water. I only throw black frogs and white frogs. The frogs around here have a white belly so that works for me
What situations would you throw the black versus the white?
On 7/30/2017 at 1:27 AM, pauldconyers said:What situations would you throw the black versus the white?
I like black for dark times. Night fishing, thick mats, rain, and dark water and fishing for fish that don't have shad as a forrage. White belly is all of the above plus it can be used as a shad immitator.
On 7/30/2017 at 12:28 AM, pauldconyers said:Does the common thought the darker water or conditions like thick moss and such lead to even more of a reason to use a black one? What about brown as it is slightly more natural or is black the way to go?
What Croakhunter said. I only use white and black frogs to really simplify things. I attended a Bass University a couple years ago with Ike and G-Man. Swindle was describing his jig selection. He said he uses a black jig or a brown jig with maybe so red, blue or green mixed in but all his jigs are Black or Brown. That is mostly how I select frogs, jigs or much anything else. Will a multi colored frog out produce a black from in some situations? Sure but the bites I get from the black is sufficient enough for me not to spend unnecessary money on different baits that may or may not produce 1 or 2 more bass than what I'm already catching.
Well I had my first experience fishing a frog this evening. Based upon recommendations I bought two of the Spro Bronze Eye frogs. The midnight walker model and the albino white. I didn't catch anything but I think it had more to do with the pond I was at. I am sure it is somewhat acquired skill but I do not think I working the lure correctly at all. The reason I say that the YouTube videos I have watched of frogs being walked looks like while they are coming back to the angler that they are kind of jerking back and forth to the right and left kind of dancing. When I tried kind of twitching the rod as I retrieved it it looked more like a swimmer doing the butterfly stroke, the head kept kind of popping up out of the water. Twitching my 7 foot rod from the bank was not the easiest thing, I found I could do just as good doing a herky-jerky retrieve on my reel and get the exact same affect of what my rod twitching was doing. What advice would you give me to do this properly? Perhaps a video link?
Any frog will walk..Any!
It's the way folks work it that matters. The reason "it looked more like a swimmer doing the butterfly stroke" and "the head kept kind of popping up out of the water" seems to me that your retrieving it more like a jek bait or a popper.
Throw it out, let it sit a few seconds on the slack line resulting from the cast, engage the reel, with a slow deliberate motion of you wrist only, use 1/2 the force you normally would working a top water popper and the frog will turn.
Continue working it the same way until the slack becomes to much to move the frog with the same force. Pick up SOME slack with just a few turns of the reel and contine until you're past the strike zone you chose.
The key to all this is slack line. If the frog "pop's up" you don't have enough and/or you're working it more like a popper.
Mike
My favorite and the one that stays tied on all the time is the Booyah Poppin' Pad Crasher. If you just twitch-twitch it, it walks easily. But you can occasionally give it a pop. It seems to get noticed on the pads better for me. Believe me, it takes a little time to get the knack of walking a frog. But I catch a lot more right off the top of the pads than I do in open water. The ones I do catch in open water usually attack the bait before I start a retrieve.
On 7/31/2017 at 8:43 PM, pauldconyers said:Well I had my first experience fishing a frog this evening. Based upon recommendations I bought two of the Spro Bronze Eye frogs. The midnight walker model and the albino white. I didn't catch anything but I think it had more to do with the pond I was at. I am sure it is somewhat acquired skill but I do not think I working the lure correctly at all. The reason I say that the YouTube videos I have watched of frogs being walked looks like while they are coming back to the angler that they are kind of jerking back and forth to the right and left kind of dancing. When I tried kind of twitching the rod as I retrieved it it looked more like a swimmer doing the butterfly stroke, the head kept kind of popping up out of the water. Twitching my 7 foot rod from the bank was not the easiest thing, I found I could do just as good doing a herky-jerky retrieve on my reel and get the exact same affect of what my rod twitching was doing. What advice would you give me to do this properly? Perhaps a video link?
The best advice I can give for fishing a frog is to use it at a place with a lot of weeds or other vegetation. You'll get a lot more bites on and around that vegetation than in the open water. The "walk" won't matter that much on the mat because you're just making fish aware of its presence. I had a frog for years before I ever caught anything on it because I was fishing a sand and mud bottom lake that was devoid of weeds. They'll also work well around laydowns, stumps and docks. They're a presentation that needs to be used around specific shallow cover, not as much in open water. Whenever you see a mixture of these covers, like say, a log around some lilies or weeds at the base of a dock, throw the frog. It works better at the edge, so throw it up on the bank if you can and have it drop in and surprise bass. It's a stealthy critter and you'll be amazed how shallow fish will be even in summer.
I got tired of the big lake rat race and bought a kayak and started fishing ponds and smaller bodies of water. The frog excels in shallow places where the fish are looking up. And if you see a fish chase bait around vegetation, always throw a frog at it. Lastly, they'll work better in the morning and evening than high noon. Of course, that's just a generality, not a rule so don't hesitate to throw it anytime conditions are right.