Avalonjohn44

Boy, I had a bait that I can't even remember the name of, but it was the best thing I can remember using. It was made in the early 90s, back when everyone was making their own version of the Sluggo by Lunker City. The bait that I remember was a knockoff slug that was similar in consistency to today's Gulp, maybe a little stiffer. It was shaped exactly like a sluggo, except the flat portion of the slug was jagged, like the tread of a tire... It was sold in two colors that I know of, solid yellow (not chartreuse) and grape. The special thing about it was that the bait made its own anise scented slime when it got wet. After a few dozen casts it would be a half disintegrated slimy mess, but would still catch fish... I had four packs of it but ran out around 1993 or so... Haven't seen it since, or met anyone that remembered what that bait was... (It was not Exude by Mister Twister...)

Ebay.

I just put 8 of these little suckers together, can't wait to fish them. I think they will crush at my local hole.

Can't wait to make about eight of these to try out.

Do they have Megastrike scent baked in, or is that 'sold separately'?

Both are excellent. I prefer the Zoom bait because it is sturdier. I fish mine in a variety of ways - weightless, on a jobee hook, shaky head, t-rigged. They probably work great on a jika rig too.

I have tried all of the most common ones. Koppers, Spro, KVD and the Booyah bait. I seem to keep gravitating back to the Kopper's bait, I just get more hits on it, and I think I land more of those hits. I tend to fish the Kopper's frog in the heavy vegetation, it seems to want to 'hop' out of the water and replicate a fleeing frog better. In more open water I usually try the Spro frog first, since it is easier to get it to traditionally walk the dog. I haven't tried bending the hooks upward a bit, but will give it a shot. One thing that I do to modify all of my frog baits is to use four tiny rubber bands (like from my son's braces), two on each leg/skirt and make the skirt look like legs. I make two joints one a little more than a third of the way down, and the other two thirds of the way down. If you place them right, the lower rubber band makes the strands flare out and it looks just like a frog's foot. It is cheaper than buying those add on legs, and the rubber bands last a long time.

Frogs, toads and more frogs.

Beaver baits skip well for me. The Sweet Beaver gets torn up rather easily so I use one of the knockoffs since they use less salt. They hold up longer.

I fish both, prefer the KVD 1.5. They catch more fish for me than anything else. Period. I love the BPS exclusive colors as well, they have sore lipped many a fish in NoVA last year and so far this year...

My favorites for little ponds: Sluggos, Mepps Fury #3 or #4, Finesse Worm, Cullprit 7.5" on a T-Rig, Pop-R, Spider Grub, Horny Toad...

A quick search turns up a blog post by somebody wondering the same thing: http://fishinghistory.blogspot.com/2008/01/from-whence-word-plug.html

I have a feeling everyone will have a different version of where the name was derived... Not complaining, I like to hear all the theories...

Looks the same as any other Spook Knock off, I would save a few bucks (and shipping) and try the Heddon Spook from your local Walmart.

I love the ones I've tried, but have a hard time with the price, especially when I know I can stock up at Wal-Mart on clearance Gammys at the end of the season.... The only one I buy with regularity is the flipping 5/0 and 6/0 sized hooks, I love these. I grabbed some VMC flipping hooks the other day to see how they measure up. The VMCs look identical, and are $3 less than the $7 Trokars. I haven't used them yet, but if they are comparable it would be a no brainer to buy the much cheaper brand...

Spearfishing.

Snag hook and some braid = Fresh water fight of your life.

My son and I use Lunker City Hellgies, 3 inchers. They devour them on a jighead.

If it absorbs any chlorine that is dissolved in the pool water (as well as anything else that is suspended in that neighborhood soup...) it will dissipate after a cast or two. If you don't feel confident that it won't dissolve off, roll it around in some mud and muck at the edge of the pond or lake you're fishing at. That ought to do it...

Sounds like a fish story to me...

That page has a phone number too. Can't hurt to keep trying. I'm surprised to hear that so many split on you. Some of mine have cracked after some heavy use (and casts into rocks...), but the wood underneath has held up on all of them. Maybe you just got a bad batch... Good luck, I hope you get somebody to fix it for you.

I haven't had a chance to get mine wet yet. This spring has been too cool, and mother natures seems to arrange rain every time I have a day off. Soon though, with any luck...

Mosher - It sounds like you have some baits from the late 80s, but I can't say for sure without seeing a picture. Koofy - Bagley has changed hands recently. If you bought the current run of baits in the totally clear box, you should be able to get in touch with somebody and get a refund or new baits: http://bagleybait.com/contact-us/ If you bought baits from before last year when they changed hands, you are most likely out of luck.

As mentioned, wait to feel the fish, then set the hook. It's an easy concept, but difficult to do. Practice, practice practice... Even so, you will still miss fish. The baits are bulky and difficult to set the hook on. Sometimes it isn't you missing the strike, but the bass missing the bait on a topwater strike. Other things like line stretch and rod power also come into play. Despite all these obstacles, there is nothing more fun, in my eyes, than frogging. As for hooks, I went out with a guide last year and we fished horny toads all morning. We were getting the same amount of strikes, he was landing twice as many fish as I was. He looked at the hooks I brought (both the Ribbit hooks and the Zoom hooks) and he just smiled and handed me a Trokar Flippin' hook. This hook is SICK. It is thick, sturdy and as sharp as rattlesnake's fang. I began landing more fish immediately and have used nothing since for my frogging. Yes, they are expensive. I will gladly pay the $3 or $4 extra per pack for more fish at the end of a day.

I have several. I normally fish them where I would a rapala floating minnow. I give it a semi-aggressive slashing twitch which drives the bait under a few inches and making the tail gurgle as it goes under. My best areas are outside weed lines or parallel to cattail rushes.