Got the opportunity to frog fish yesterday where there was a decent bite for the first time this season. I went 2 for 7. I suspect many were smaller fish that didn’t fully get it in their mouth. But I’m wondering if my hookset mechanics could be improved.

I noticed that I’m usually only getting 1 hook in the fish and not both hooks. During the bite window I noticed I wasn’t setting up towards 12 o’clock enough, more like towards 2 o’clock. I changed it to about 1 o’clock and then went 1 for 2. So I guess my question is, how important is it to have a 12 o’clock (straight up) hook set with frog fishing?

I was giving the fish a few seconds after hitting them so can rule that out as a potential issue.

FWIW. I hold my rod high during the retrieve. When a bass blows up on it I drop the rod and jack 'em. So I'm only giving them a second before I jerk.

There will be days when you miss a lot no matter what you do. I don't know why. Maybe they swat it because it's a territory thing and they are not really wanting to eat it. Maybe they just miss it because of poor aim on their part! In my experience most days they will have the whole frog in their mouth. If the ones you hook are by one hook in the lip and miss most others, well that is why we call it fishing and not catching!

Small bass and bluegills will swat your frog.

I caught a bass the other day on a frog. Got the blow up, jacked him right away, fought him thru the weeds and when I lipped him and looked in his mouth the frog had been swallowed. All I saw was the line going down his gullet. That means that he ate it and swallowed it immediately when he wacked it!

With this question about clocking yourself, I’m assuming you’re fishing from a kayak? If so, I always try to go for the 12 o’clock position to have the best leverage, but that’s not always possible. Having the right gear is the first step, stout rod, heavy line. I run 50lb braid minimum on an extra heavy rod. I bend out the hooks on most frogs so you can see a little bit of light between the hook and the body and on bigger frogs I change out the hooks completely. For all around frogging I like the scum frog launch frog because that thing never fills with water! Plus the body is extra soft. I slam them as soon as I see the splash and rarely miss a fish.

Gotta figure if you start setting the hook the instant the fish bites you’re already too slow 99% of the time where speed matters at all so I say make sure they got it good. Been working better for me this year and I have also had years where I couldn’t swing too fast - jack em the instant they bite and the frog is already mid digestion when I land the fish like @Lottabass . So I say let the fish tell you as flaky and imprecise as that tends to be.

I like to swing up and over my shoulder when overhanging trees and company in the boat allow for it. That seems to hook them the best.

As the worst frog fiherman in the world , I dont know where my rod is on the hookset, I just try to time it and sweep hard. Frogging is the only time I use braid . When I stick a fish , it stays stuck. I miss a lot though.

50% is a good rate frog fishing. 2 out of 7 is a little low but not off the radar.

You need stout bait casting gear, heavy braided line, and raw power for this type of fishing. I assume that's what you're using even though it wasn't stated.

Make sure the hooks are sharp. Also, you could try bending the hook points slightly upward and away from the body of the frog to see if that helps.

A hollow body frog with two hooks is a little different than a solid plastic with one hook. The bass won’t let go right away after hitting the surface lure. I throw it often especially in thick cover and especially during low light conditions . When you see the hit don’t set right away. I wait 2 seconds after I see the bite and set up extra hard. Using 55 to 65 pound YELLOW braid helps me see what direction the bass is going and then I set opposite that direction. Bass goes right I set over left shoulder, bass goes left I set over right shoulder. This alone helps me getting them buttoned to the hook solid. The 65 pound braid cuts through any pad stems as I fight the bass and get its head up. I seldom lose any bass after the initial bite. Almost every time both hooks are in the roof of the mouth on big fish. I love frog bites especially the hollow body ones. If you do get hung up with the fish and an unmovable object like wood or a rock, just loosen up the pressure and the fish often swims itself free of the object. Then feel the weight of the fish, and reset the hook. My frog bite seldom lasts past the sun in the 10:00 position! I will follow up a missed bass hit with a big Senko in the same area. This has been a good technique, and I good follow up. Nothing more exciting than an explosion of a HB frog!

I fish from a kayak or seated in a jon boat. You're angle is not as good as from a boat because the elevation of the tip is lower. I keep my rod high until the fish bites. Then I reel down fast and go ahead and cross its eyes. You gotta use braid in heavy cover. You can cast a frog a country mile. Mono can stretch 10%. Say you have 50' of mono line out, you really don't put pressure on the hooks until you've moved the tip 5'. Even then the tip is bending. That gives the fish a good chance to get off. A Hvy/fast action rods is very useful in the thick vegetation. I use a XH/XF frog-specific rod.

Try a toad or a Johnson Silver Minnow spoon. If the fish blasts a hole in the mat and totally misses, those will sink and give the fish a second chance. I've used frogs, toads, Silver Minnow, Strike King Moss Boss, weightless and weighted Senkos and lizards with some success. Use some kind of superline or flipping hook with the soft plastics.

12 hours ago, Jerkbait22 said:

I was giving the fish a few seconds after hitting them

This just causes missed fish. Dont wait.

Heavy action rod, straight 40lb braid and I was fishing from shore. I was using the clock position to try and give a sense of where the rod was going on hookset. I wasn’t going straight up but up and to the side.

I might as well fish without a hook, I miss hook sets that much. I keep fishing them though, I figure one day I’ll get the hang of it.

I like frog fishing, the casting accuracy and different retrievals you use can be the difference. Although, won’t matter to me ….. I’ll miss them anyway