What is the benefit of a toad over a hollow body frog? Do you fish them sub surface at all?

Why yes I have a video on that!  Thanks for asking!

 

 

Those rage toads are great.  I used to have supreme confidence into those things.  They arent as weedless as hollow frog, but I had a much better hook up ratio with rage toads.

I love fishing frogs or toads, pulling them across the pads, letting the toad sink in the opening. BPS has the humpin’ toad when rigged weightless has an incredible slow sink rate.

 The blow ups or the swirl is exciting, but my hookup ratio is shamelessly low. I would say I miss 80% of my strikes, but it’s still fun.

They each have their own.
I fish a toad with a constant retrieve changing speeds until a pattern emerges. 
*Tip that could help some…
About 5-8ft from the boat I hit it hard to change direction instead of just reeling back. 
If you have a follower she will hit it hard more times than not. 
 

A hollow body frog is fished slower with a stop and go more than straight back. 
*Tip for this one….

Every time I stop I walk it a few times and start again. 
*Another…

If in a pad field I’ll let it rest on one for a few seconds then slide, walk, repeat 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

Because it sinks, you need to keep a toad moving (or plan for it sinking).  And because it is constantly moving it is a good way to cover water quickly.  Think of it like a weedless buzzbait.  You'll trigger fish that are more active and maybe get some negative fish to react if you pull it across their heads.  A frog can be fished slower (or faster).  Probably the best use of a frog though is the slower style into pockets and holes, along cover, over top of likely areas.  Fish that are a little slower/less agressive can be convinced to eat a frog that looks like a chunky and slow meal.  

I have five words to describe my toad fishing "Big swing and a miss."

I used to fish toads a lot when I was young and had tons of bites.

 

Let me tell you, a 6' Medium spinning rod and 15lb braid is NOT an ideal setup for this technqiue lol. 

4 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I used to fish toads a lot when I was young and had tons of bites.

 

Let me tell you, a 6' Medium spinning rod and 15lb braid is NOT an ideal setup for this technqiue lol. 

Killer setup for throwing 3" weightless pit bosses over pads just like a toad tho! 

Love toads, zoom and strike king. Rage shad is also amazing 

I use a Tough Toad floating toad. It's awesome! Almost sounds like a Plopper on the retrieve. Skips incredibly. Even comes with hooks.

 

Highly recommended! 

I have a pack of Strike King toads and they have double boot tail feet and do sound like a plopper.

 

I have a similar toad that I found, and I fished it the other day, getting 5 strikes but none got the hook. Probably bluegill. 

Love fishing Toads. Rage toad is my favorite. Crazy blow ups 

My favorite buzztoad is a weightless magnum speed worm - they’re good for weedless buzzing.  Frogs are better for slowly working a spot on top.  Or if they want more spitting or walking or chugging and less buzzing.  You can definitely pitch and flip a speed worm.

Thanks @Pat Brown I hadn't thought of that. I have thought of, and had some success running a weightless lizard as a topwater.

Toad pros:

Gets more open water bites

Triggers reaction strikes

Works well around sparse weeds

Sinks, so you can kill it when a fish misses and they may still grab it as it sinks. 

 

Cons:

Doesn't crawl across lilies as well. Works better along edges.

Requires bass to be a little more active.

 

Frog Pros:

Floats

Very weedless and comes across vegetation well

 

Cons:

Not as good in open water where fish can get a good look at it

If a bass misses it, and this happens a lot, it often won't try again

 

 

 

 

I fish them like everyone else. But I also do what Pat mentioned. A paddle tail swim bait retrieved on the surface is another great one to try 

IMO they are completely different lures (even though I throw them on the same setup). Toads are good when there's vegetation around but it's mostly under the surface and they are good for covering water. I use a 4/0 1/16oz gamakatsu spring lock with a zoom horny toad and a 7'3" heavy fast rod and I land most of the bites I get. 

 

A frog is good for heavier cover. It's also a slower retrieve so for me the idea is after you already have an idea of where they are going to be at and if it's a jungle on the surface throw a frog or if there's some vegetation around but also some open water maybe a popping frog instead. On the other hand if you are trying to find them first maybe go with a moving bait like a toad. Another thing that's pointed out in that video Glenn linked (at least I think that's the one) is you can actually fish a toad over sparse cover and then let it drop into a pocket. That actually does work and pretty sure that's going to be a no go with a frog.

 

To be fair I don't throw them as much as other lures but there are some ponds that I fish that get so much grass in them that there's times when a topwater is pretty much the only option and there's a period of time on those ponds where a toad shines. I also fish frogs on those ponds but would argue there's a time and a place for each and not sure I'd suggest lumping both into the same category.

I would add that the paddle tail type feet like the Stanley Ribbet toad have a louder sound than the curly tail feet like the Zoom Horny Toad. The Horny Toad is heavier so you can cast it further. I like to use a lightly weighted hook for the Ribbet. 

 

Then there's the Teckel Sprinker Frog. It's a sort of hybrid. It has the hollow frog body with a single paddle tail that gives a bit of a buzzbait gurgle. It's good around emergent vegetation edges and more open water. It' a little less weedless than a regular hollow body frog because the hooks are a bit more exposed. It's heavier than either of the other types and you can cast it a mile.