What frogs would you suggest for your basic bank fisherman who fishes ponds and small lakes? I fish in North Central Arkansas. Right now I have a booyah popping frog in black and a natural brown color with white belly (I know top color doesn't matter since the fish mainly sees the bottom, but I still wanted a natural looking frog vs bone white), and I have the same natural color in booyah pad crasher meant for "walking the dog." They are all 1/2 oz, 2 1/4 inch frogs, and I cut about an inch off of the tail. I'll get one walking frog in black but I'm really focusing on getting popping down right now. When I threw my poppin frogs today on a small lake near me I got 8 straight bites in like a 30-minute span with no hookups. I waited a moment after the blowup each time to help the fish get the lure but still didn't get a hookup. Should I buy one of those 1 and a half inch frogs for when smaller bass bite (1-2 lbs)? I also tried fishing some heavy padded areas and would get hung up from time to time. Should I get a heavy frog like the Scum Frog Trophy frog? Am I overthinking it? I'm a simple angler at the end of the day. I don't want all the bells and whistles. I just want what I need. And I would really appreciate yall's thoughts.

@Pat Brown

3 hours ago, Cael B said:

I waited a moment after the blowup each time to help the fish get the lure but still didn't get a hookup.

When you see the blowup, the fish has already turned and is diving back down. Don’t wait on frog hooksets. I know conventional bass knowledge says to wait, but in my opinion it only causes lost or missed fish. 

Not Pat Brown but to make it easier get a white walking frog and heavy yellow braid ( 65lb) so that you can keep track of the lure.  With a dark frog and dark line it's easy to loose track of the lure.

When you get a blowup and don't see the lure, strike.  Heavy line is also easier to use in pads.  It floats higher.

Hey ya!

 

Frogs are among my favorite way to fish.

 

Like all baits - they are a tool and situational and there are times that the frog is the only rod you need to bring and times when it can help locate fish but won’t catch a ton and times when it doesn’t work - like all lures.

 

Getting an idea of when these windows of opportunity occur on your body of water is going to be the first order of business since it sounds like you’ve found some bass - they’re just not committing (typical late summer bass).

 

I don’t think color matters much in terms of matching forage but certain colors can work better than others at certain times and under certain conditions.

 

I'm more apt to select a black frog on a super calm sunny sticky day where the water is clear because I just want high contrast and a silhouette that is easy for bass to find without any bold unnatural colors.

 

Early in the morning or fishing during a new moon or on a cloudy drizzly fall day I’m more apt to select a white or yellow or frog so the fish can find that frog better in the darker conditions.

 

a red or pink or fire tiger or black chartreuse lime green polka dot frog etc etc - those are for when fish are CLOBBERING top water OR when I’m fishing thick heavy dense mats or pads or wood or shade and can work in any conditions - it’s more so i can see that crazy weird little thing disappear.

 

I agree that if you’re waiting to feel fish with a frog, you’re gonna have a long sad wait until you catch fish on a frog a lot.

 

 

I’m at the point now when I fish a frog that I don’t even blink - if that frog is surrounded by churning froth and chaos and I can’t see it when it was just happily walking its way back to me - I’m swinging as soon as I *hear* anything happen to my frog.  I’m swinging as soon as I see anything happen to my frog.

 

In very clear water, I’ve had the privilege of watching huge bass come right up to my frog eat it and spit it out faster than I could even process it.  Don’t wait for nothing.

So, where does this leave us?
 

Bass fishing boils down to the depth the bass are feeding at and the speed they want your bait at.

 

Frog fishing boils down to putting your bait, quiet quietly and accurately in just the right spots consistently and frequently and being very prepared.

 

Slack line management is critical to success so focusing on managing slack line while you’re retrieving the the bait is very very important.

 

Very intentionally importing action and not just mechanically walking it or popping it in is very very important.

 

Casting to target and saturating areas with casts is often wise with a frog, and I like to fish my cast all the way back to the boat or the bank with lots of nice long pauses.

 

Popping frogs walk better than walking, frogs and walking frogs often splash and spit better than popping frogs so I would ignore the nomenclature and focus mostly on the profile and what you’re doing with the frog not the branding.

 

I do think sometimes a really small frog can work a lot better and the end of the summer is often sometimes so I would definitely give smaller profile frogs a try!

 

It sounds like you’re well on your way to having a lot of success based on what it sounds like the fish are doing to your bait you’re just gonna have to show up make the casts from far away be stealthier swing faster and keep the slack out of your line, etc., and you’ll start hooking into some of these fish that are biting!

 

It’s a lot like big swimbait fishing or jig fishing. It’s not like fishing a popper or a spook.

 

Once I got that figured out, I had a lot more success.

 

Personally, I've eschewed using "regular" hollow body frogs and instead use soft plastic frogs or toads with single EWG for bank fishing. This helps with hookups IMO. And not having dual exposed hooks helps with the inevitable bad cast/trees/brush that's likely with bank fishing.

 

My current favorite is the Tough Toad. It makes as little or as much commotion as you want. Darn near sounds like a Plopper at a certain retrieve speed. Skips incredibly. Can work it like a popper (it floats). It won't walk the dog though.

 

The legs are quite stubby, so the hook makes it easily into the mouth. The hook channel is very deep, so the hook is very well protected without the need for texposing/skinhooking. The fish seem to hook themselves.

 

It's also nearly indestructible and comes with hooks. 

 

I've been very, very pleasantly surprised with this bait and have nothing but praise for it.

 

Here's a couple photos compared to the 4" Goat Toad.

 

 

Following along with this thread -- I had many of the same questions/challenges as @Cael B

Now I see that one of my biggest errors has been waiting to set the hook - great info as usual from    the Bass Resource Community

I use a regular sized normal frog with silicone skirt material for legs,  and the smaller Lunker Hunt Pocket Frog with molded legs.

 

I've noticied that with the ponds I fish, there is a lot of smaller fish that will get the frog, but not the hook, they grab the legs, and if I set the hook immediately, they rip a leg off with the pocket frog, or in the case of a frog with silicone skirt material, they don't get the hook.

 

If I suspect it's smaller fish, and I still want to catch them, then I wait a second or two before setting the hook. I've caught rock bass on the pocket frog before!

 

I almost never fish a popping frog. I normally fish an H20X brand frog, just because that's what I happen to have.

 

If they are hitting frogs, any frog will work, and if they aren't hitting frogs, then they will turn down any frog regardless of features or price.

 

If there is any open water at all, I will follow up a frog with a weightless fluke, and often they commit to that if they are unsure about the frog.

I like the Berkley Swamp Lord (regular and popping version). MF Bluegill and Maverick are the two colors I use but honestly any of them will probably work. Just cracked a nice one on the popping version this morning actually

 

Also see a pic of a toad above and like throwing those too. My personal favorite is the Zoom Horny Toad in green pumpkin pearl (or maybe black light) and like that on a 1/16oz 4/0 gamakatsu swimbait hook. That's about all I use these days as it works and I don't see any need to use anything else. 50lb sufix 832 on a heavy fast rod with a 150 size reel is my personal preference for these lures and also use the same rod for flipping and pitching most of the time.

 

Keep in mind you probably aren't going to catch as many on a frog but it's worth wait. Try to get out early in the morning (right before sunrise works well) and it can also help if it's cloudy or partly cloudy. When you do get a bite you are going to want to set the hook hard and that feeling when you do that right and then landing a big one covered in grass is one of the best in bass fishing IMHO.