Frogfather

You'll like the mouse. It fills with a little bit of water but action is killer.

Not my cup of tea.

nope. can't say that I have.

I've never been to Napoleon but heard about football team a few years ago, 2012?, playoffs. Gotta represent with the gear!

The 216/Cleveland! Hard to believe I'm going to say this: home of the World Champion Cleveland Cavs...Yup. Grown men were crying over this.

Floro: I've been using San Diego Jam last few years. I like it because it can be done quickly, less tag getting wasted and I haven't broken a fish off. Stronger? Double SDJ... Braid: SDJ or Palomar.

I have found, snag proof Ish's phat frog take on the least amount of water but it is a little bit more difficult to walk and they hold up really well. Best value (learn how to walk and set hook) is Pad Crusher. Great little frog there! White is a killer for me. Best all-around frog is LiveTarget. More .02 worth of help: pull hooks away from the body of frog with pliers. This will help hook up ratio. Lake Fork has a frog trailer for hollow body frogs and it works great but limits the walking of frog but will increase hook-ups. Make sure your not reeling too much line when your trying to walk frog. Sometimes we get caught up in what we see on TV or others doing on the water and don't fully understand why they do it. Slack is important to walk. No slack; no walkie. Best of luck!

I think this comes down to what you said, yes, the money will not be as much of a factor as the design element. Shimano might not be as open with KVD to practically do whatever he wants from a design stand point on both rods and reels. Money would be a push unless another company would throw an insane amount at him. They won't because they will not get a return on this investment. Quantum would be more likely to drop KVD vs. KVD leaving for another brand/company. Boat, Lure, and the rest of his major sponsor companies would be in the same predicament.

I have to be flexible with my storage because I will Hike to multiple lakes in addition to my home lake where the boat is. All of my bait storage is able to be condensed quickly and easily into my backpack for my travels on and off the boat. The deep 3700 are great! I put frogs and cranks in there and it cut down on extra boxes I have to carry. All of my plastics are in their original packages in ziplock baggies. I think it's the easiest and most convenient storage method for me. I am able to see the bait I want and I have endless ways of organizing senkos, trailers, color, mend-it/junk, size, and so on. Plus it holds up well to water. All terminal tackle is in a regular 3700.

Oh the memories that await! Wise choice to join the way of the frog White. Black. Green. When I started I bought 2 of each. 1 I modified by trimming leg skirt in line with hook and the other I didn't. I opened all the hooks. Play around with what fish want during both am, pm, overcast/rain, and sunny. Buy booyah because of cost to start. Plus, they are a good bait. Consider buying trailer hook. I do use them and they do increase hook ups but you will lose some walking action at the start. Horny toad is a good soft plastic that you rig on to offset/EWG hook. Green pumpkin. Great Scott, have a follow up bait! 5 inch GYCB works like a champ when you swing and miss once or twice. Last thing, have fun with where you try to place frog. Plopping it down from a tree or bush is almost as good as where you intended to cast! Look for irregularities in the nastiest stuff: points, jagged edges, 2 types of vegetation, pockets all provide promising leads for bass. I'm excited to hear about your journey in frogging!! FF

Great decision on your road! I fish hollow body. These tips are based on that… •After cast, wait for ripples to dissipate before you work the frog. More realistic legs dangling and such. •Stop working the bait in open holes. Give it a few seconds for the ripples to move then work frog. •Don't over-work/walk. Too much is too much. •No such thing as a bad cast. •Skip and cast from different positions and angles the frog into hard to get to places will help you tremdiously because others can't get their bait to these spots and you'll be pulling hogs out from there •Trailer hooks might increase hookup ratio but will limit movement of bait. If movement (walking) is the reason for the strikes, brace yourself this is simple, take trailer hook off. I used a lot of trailer hooks this past summer and they do work. •Dont panic! The hardest adjustment to fishing toad/frog is marching the surface excitement that is caused by the strike. Before I set the hook, I try to say my full government name, then, I go for broke on the set. I have added some plastics toads for next summer. I'm interested to learn if plastic toads are any different that what I listed above. FF

I'm in a similar situation: 5+ pounders are monsters where I fish. My two cents... Reel: as mentioned before IPT (low 30s) and weight are extremely important elements to pick a reel. Rod: MH-fast. 10+3= 0men is ablsoulety the best rod in your price range. I'm on my 4th frog rod and will be going back to 10+3= 0men next summer. Fishes a little on the heavy side compared to my other mh rods. Quality is outstanding, 7/7'1 in length. Frog = No Micro guides. Too much junk. Line: 50 lbs braid. Powerpro side notes: -Longer rods are not ideal for frogging because of issues with casting accuracy, walking the frog, and skipping with longer Rod is more difficult. -if you are flipping more than frogging, longer Rod is the way to go. -have follow up bait when frogging when you miss (senko/Etc...) -trailer hook for frog will help increase hook up but decrease action of frog. Hope this helps FF

PM Bluebasser86. He makes some great chatterbaits. I've been using green pumpkin skirt with black plate because of clear water I don't want too much shine and flash. Trailer: GYCB Swim Senko or Zman's swimming bait. Zman's last forever but not crazy about the colors. RoLo hit it on the head with what to look for and where to throw.

I do not like these frogs. Too many issues: hook-up, water logged, and too many other things to ensure it's a good bait (super glue like you stated). I get the sales pitch, live action and such, but it simply doesn't produce as much as other do. Booyah is better and you can buy two for the price of one lunker. My lunkers sit in one of my tackle boxes and never see the light of day. I have been using Ish Moonre's frogs a lot this summer. I've been impressed with them. Might be the best $10 frog I've used. This frog plus Lake Fork Trail Hook has been my ticket. My two cents.

Truly outstanding story. Well done! If you're interested, Red Cross has a Lifesaver Award. Here is the link: http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m9440178_Red_Cross_Lifesaver_Awards_Denver.pdf

FG Knot is the way to go. This video is by far the easiest way to tie it that I've found. Bottom line: it's the strongest knot out there and thinest too. If this knot goes through an eye or two, no biggie! I love it. Just started to tie it this year and I won't be tying any other knot when joining braid to FC or anything else. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjzUb5QRKuk

Good read!

Does anyone have any information on the Yamamoto Funka Frog? When will it be available? Anyone see one in person? There is some information out there but nothing more than iCast videos from TW and a small write up from ***. Thanks!

As polarizing [pun intended] a topic this is, the results are simple. Anyone that puts on my 580G's wants to walk away with them! I was an Oakley guy. Then, I became a Maui Jim guy. Now, I'm all Costa. The reason is simple my vision is better with these glasses than without. Not to mention the protection/polarization, lens options, comfort, and style. This will be my 2nd summer with 580G's. Bottom line, you don't know how good they are unless you wear them. If you were to buy only one, as I have, here is what I would suggest: Blue Lens. 580G. Make sure you try on different frames. They have a lot and each seem to fit differently. If possible, get a frame with the holes at the bottom to reduce fog. Happy hunting!

I use similar lbs test. As others mentioned, check that you are tying the knot correctly. Also, sounds like your leader might be too long. I don't like the knot to pass through any guides. This could cause the failure./break in the line. Finally, buy better line. I save money on the Backing and/or braid but when it comes to Fluorocarbon, you get what you pay for. For the record, I use a leader on all my rods except topwater casting and spinning.

X2

Frog (duh!) 5 Inch Green Pumpkin w/ flake (gold, black, red) GYCB-T-Rigged Either Jig or Crankbait

Stuff looks great.

Bankbeater said it. When ever someone asks me for a present, I tell them BPS gift card. Good years I can hit around $300. Office secret santa, anniversary, X-Mas, you name it. Sorry, I don't want socks for my birthday! Also, as previously mentioned, when you find something you like buy it in bulk. Doing the math will tell you if you are saving money. Finally, and most importantly, it cost us $0.00 to have fun and pass down our knowledge to others so listen.

More often than not, I'm moving the boat or figure out another way to get the bait in there. I'm hitting that spot one way or another. I stink with opposite hand and backhand.