After two seasons of trying to like my z-man toads, after a half dozen others, I’ve finally found the “best” toad…for me at least 

 

You can leave the legs intact and fish it like a “finesse buzzbait”, you can tear em a bit and make some ruckus, the hookup ratio is top notch with a 4/0 ewg (my usual fluke hook) which means it can be thrown on a MH with no problem. On top of that they’re durable, relatively buoyant and come in zoom’s nice color selection.

 

I’m sure others will chime in with toads they like more, as is the nature of any forum and a good thing…but man. This is the first road I’ve ever thrown where I haven’t had that “man, I wish THIS was different” thought 

Seems like going with the zoom version of almost anything is a good call! I’ve caught two packs of the horny toads collecting dust, maybe I will tie one on tonight.

I found the z-man toads too light. Love the zooms and rage toads for a little more plop. 

I get plenty of hits on the zoom but I struggle to get a hookset in them. I think 1 out of 10. I’ve fished them on MH, H, h+, mono, braid, etc. Owner ewg 5 or 6 /0.

I like the Zoom toads & so did this girl. 

 

 

Big girls have been hitting Horny Toads since before they had horns!!

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

The horny road bite today culminated in this nice little ~3lber right near the end, taken from wayyy under a pontoon boat

 

 

what a great little bait

Love me some horny toads.  The best part is not having to 'walk' them.  Just reel them back in and bam!

Just got some horny toads for the first time to put on a buzzbait.  

Like it, don't love it.

43 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

Like it, don't love it.

Well... They are Horny Toads...?

31 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Well... They are Horny Toads...?

"Do I make you Randy? Oh, behave...."

Zoom and ribbit and great. 

5 hours ago, Revival said:

Just got some horny toads for the first time to put on a buzzbait.  

They are one of the best choices for a buzz!

 

 

 

Mike

I think I get more blow-ups on Rage Toads, but my hook-up ratio is abysmal.  For no apparent reason, Keitechs barely get noticed. I like that the Zman float even with a big hook, but Zoom is probably best all around.

I've had horrible luck with frogs since I moved out of NY, exactly zero fish on popping or walking frogs in 2 years.....until I tried a horny toad.

 

a 4/0 hook and rigging the frog upside down so the point is resting in that hook channel have given me excellent results for hookup. Also doesnt tend to roll over like when I had it rigged right side up. 

They are a good option when a faster retrieve is needed.  I also like the YUM frog as it can have solid action at a slower pace.  One advantage of the ZOOM products is they always have a lot of colors available which can be a confidence boost for many.

 

5 hours ago, Functional said:

a 4/0 hook and rigging the frog upside down so the point is resting in that hook channel have given me excellent results for hookup. Also doesnt tend to roll over like when I had it rigged right side up. 

100%
 

this is exactly how I do it and it results in at least a 70% hookup ratio for me…probably higher, but I don’t want to exaggerate and make people go ?

My favorite as well

If the bass aren't coming up to the surface after the Horny Toad, you can Texas rig them and fish them on the bottom.  I told my dad this years ago and he thought I was nuts until he started catching them on the bottom next to a weed line.

Fished them since they can out in 2004 and have not found any I like better. My best 5 fish limit ever was on a horny toad. Trap Pond Delaware 5 best were 34lbs. Smallest fish I caught that evening was 3.5lbs. Sometimes I use them as a jig trailer for big bites.

 

Allen 

And if you want to really mess things up, throw the speed craw the same way...they are the same tail section with a different body

 

7 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

And if you want to really mess things up, throw the speed craw the same way...they are the same tail section with a different body

 

How do you keep them from rolling? Every time I try this they roll over on me.

 

Allen 

7 minutes ago, Munkin said:

How do you keep them from rolling? Every time I try this they roll over on me.

 

Allen 

using a lightly weighted EWG does the trick for me then I can drop it in pockets as I go over them

 

10 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

using a lightly weighted EWG does the trick for me then I can drop it in pockets as I go over them

 

 

Thinking of using the same hooks that I use for my flukes in current. 

 

Allen