Frog Fishing Commitment

[flhunter91]

I was thinking of taking a full day with my frogs and just seeing what I can get. Has anyone ever tried going a whole day with just topwater frogs. Share some stories!

[Chuck7]

Not afull day//but I won the tournament here last year using that lure..It's my most consistent BIG BASS lure..but eventually the bass will get used to it..

I have tried nothing but a spinnerbait once before though and was amazed..that works to..along islands and shorelines..But when I come across hydrilla flats..Mr. Horny Toad goes to work.{ -; ..and usually catches big mama

[flhunter91]

I have never caught a frog fish because I give up on it to early which I know I shouldn't do. I have done the spinnerbait thing. Till about 1 and a half years ago I stayed away from the hydrilla. I just really want to get that frog bass I just need the commitment.

[Chuck7]

If i had one lure to fish OUR situation EAST SIDE..it would be the frog.{ Horny Toad}.WHEN they are biting...

When not biting...pitching a rubber worm or chucking a spinnerbait.

and when the tourny is looking helpless...a wild shiner..LOL

[Chuck7]

Zack...

If you are fising Horny Toads let me give you some advice that has helped me land bass..I hope it works for you..

. The bass will boil up big time on those frogs.DO NOT set the hook right away..you will be tempted but don't...treat the frog as it were a rubber worm..the bass will inhale the frog and run..reel in the slack and set the hook good...I wait 2 full seconds ..and set the hook with a 7 foot medium rod..I do use 20 pound braid when fishing frogs because of the thick hydrilla..I use a medium rod to help absorb some of the shock.on the hook set...because I've been broken off alot on hook sets.With the medium rods I don't break off.


I don't miss alot of frog bass...and frog bass tend to run much bigger than all the other lures..Topwater for some reason attracts bigger fish..

This is also a great lure in lily pads..The lighter colored toads seem to float better but the frogs do sink..so ya got to keep them moving..splash splash pause....splash splash pause...etc.etc...usually on the pause you get attacked..nothing like top water..{ -;

I introduced my son Matt last year to the Horny Toad..this was his first fish..little over 5 pounds..he's
hooked. thiis is a pit at Carlton Palmor by the Mall.

[m.t.hands]

good way to build confidence in a lure, i have done it bunches of times with baits that i'd rather not utilize, but if the fish like it, well got to go with what works....

that said, 'd rather take a beating than fish finese fishing, but it has its time and place....

the frog will catch'em...but don't rule out other top-water baits that have a history of catching big fish, like a spook (pop-r, buzzbait) , try not to get hung up on one bait...

[Oneshot7]

I know plenty of people that have done it, they often have two to three good fish in a sack from the early morning bite, but if your in a tourney, a solid string of keepers will beat the two to three big fish 9 times out of 10. Just use it til you build your confidence on it, and keep switching up the retrieve, they bite them subsurface as well.

[Chuck7]

LOL Brent..you are correct..My son fishes from time to time with Jay..Jay has fished many serious tournaments and won money.and is constantly SWITCHING lures Matt said..AND CONSTANTLY catches fish..even when he catches a fish on a lure he still changes.Jay's favorite lure is the fluke..I fished against jay once oin the East SIde Zach and lost by 10 ounces ] -; ..He's not bad..

Zack ..some other top water lures that worked for me on the East SIde were
Rapala Floaters Gold and black back
Torpedoes
Those new jointed rubber baits..20.00 a piece..found one in a tree..


But still because of the weedless effect...my favorite is Horny Toad

I also agree with MT..a good way to build confidence in a lure..I tried this once with a spinner bait..I brought nothing but 2 or 3 spinnerbaits to the EAST SIDE and boated 8 nice tournament sized bass..I fished real close to islands..

When I first came to Florida I had never caught a fish on a rubber worm..I tried fishing nothing but a worm..and now I like rubber worms.


I've even tried Shiners before LOL nothing but shiners.LOL


and then MTHands introduced me to the jig..and I went out one day and used nothing but the jig..I was impressed with the BIG BASS that hit the jig..FACT I lost a monster last year that straightened my hook some
..not alot of bites though

Last year I tried noting but the fluke..not to shabby but smaller fish.

Last of all..last year there was alot of talk about crankbaits..I went to Tenoroc Zack and used nothing but deep diving crankbaits.,.not to bad but my arm was sorelol and good chunky bass..and lost a HORSE at Tenoroc on a deep diving Rapala

[Gangly]

The Horny Toad is great. After Chuck's success with it early on last year, I decided to try it and havent looked back since. They are great lures that can be fished many different ways. In my area, they prefer a subsurface retrieve where it creates a bulge on the surface without actually breaking the surface. Pull, Pull, Pause is the name of the game. Fishing it all day once is a great way to learn a bait, but its also a great way to learn too hate a bait. Make sure you go on a potentially good day, not a generaly accepted bad day such as a blue bird sky right after a 2 day storm. It's sometimes hard to catch anything on those days, and using a new lure and catching nothing all day will quickly leave a bad taste in your mouth for that lure. My best luck with the horny toad was usually about mid day, around 12-2, in the dead middle of the summer, throwing close the bank and coming through the nasty stuff with it. I had decent luck at night, but for some reason, my larger catches where ruing the middle of the day.

[flhunter91]

Thanks for all of the great tips guys.