I broke down and chucked out 10 bucks for a livetarget frog, 3/4oz green/yellow. Got the chance to take it out this evening and as soon as the sun set, it was on like donkey kong! After several casts along the edge of weeds, I had a huge blowup and hooked on to yet another PB…a 25” 8lb 6oz LM!!!! I was kicking myself for not having a camera on hand and it was just too dark to take a photo with my cell phone. I fished on to catch a few more in the 2-3 pound range. They were absolutely slaughtering this thing! Unfortunately, the frog started to throw in the towel and began taking on water halfway through a retrieve. Each time a fish slammed it, the hook would pull through and the boy would be free sliding along the line. This ended up forming a tear at the side of the hole and the only solution I can think of would be to put some gorilla glue on it and hope it holds up.
I’ve been digging the 3/4oz Koppers I have too. They walk easy, although that hasn’t meant much for bites, but when I do get a bite on one, it’s never been under a 2lber & I got my best of the year one just over 4.5 on one. Definitely gonna get some more, probably some of the smaller sized ones. Pricewise I don’t think they’re that bad, almost the same price as Spros, so I won’t find it hard to pony up the cash for some more. I didn’t get a Dahlberg frog this year, but I will have one for next year for sure. Kind of sucks I didn’t get one to throw this year, they look awesome, but I probably won’t get any in time for the dying frog bite around here.
I’ve been digging the 3/4oz Koppers I have too. They walk easy, although that hasn’t meant much for bites, but when I do get a bite on one, it’s never been under a 2lber & I got my best of the year one just over 4.5 on one. Definitely gonna get some more, probably some of the smaller sized ones. Pricewise I don’t think they’re that bad, almost the same price as Spros, so I won’t find it hard to pony up the cash for some more. I didn’t get a Dahlberg frog this year, but I will have one for next year for sure. Kind of sucks I didn’t get one to throw this year, they look awesome, but I probably won’t get any in time for the dying frog bite around here.
Walking hasn’t done much good for me either. I just throw them then ‘skitter’ them 3-4 times, pause and repeat. They crush them during the pause.
Congrats, Cranker. Those frogs are really good looking; I’ll have to give them a try before winter hits this year.
LilJakeC - 13 August 2011 10:00 PM
Congrats on the new PB Cranker!!! What makes it even better is the fact that it was caught on a topwater.
No doubt. In my opinion, there really is nothing like having a big bass blowup on a top water. I really like using Jitterbugs and buzzbaits at night. I always think of it as the calm before the storm. Everything is so peaceful and quiet at night, then boom, a big one hits! It scares the hell out of me every time, but I love it.
*repair update* I found an even better fix! I took a 12” piece of 30# braid line and tied it tight around the ‘hook eye’ then wrapped both ends around it about 4 or 5 times and finally tied it all off and cut off the excess ends. Not only did this repair the tear, but formed a tighter seal around the eye to prevent the hook from being pulled through again.
Congrats on your PB! I bought the same frog today. I was really debating betwwen 5/8 and 3/4. I went with the 3/4. Does size of the frog matter?
Personally, I base my weight decisions on the type of water I am fishing. I opt for heavier frogs for open water conditions and go very light when fishing in and around cover. I very rarely throw frogs in open water, though, so I have very few heavy frog setups. However, when I do happen to throw a frog in open water, I want to be able to get nice, long casts, which is why I like heavier setups. When fishing cover, I always run into areas where I want to skip the frog under trees and what not. A heavy frog is very hard to skip, especially without spooking fish. I really prefer cheap, weightless frogs for this purpose; cheap because I do tend to screw up and cast into trees and what not on occasion.
Mercer was pushing for smaller frogs early & bigger frogs late in the TW iCast video for the new smaller size Koppers frogs. Seems to make some sense, but then I think about the big frogs I’ve seen early & then the small frogs I see late in the year & don’t think so much of it. Experiment & see what works for me is the way I do it, although I do think you get more quality bites on the bigger frogs, just like when you upsize other baits.
I personally prefer the larger frog to allow more casting distance. Another reason I go large is so that I don’t have to mess with the smaller, shorter fish taking it. I’ve only had large bass take on the 3/4 oz kopper.
So sixty views and no responses and now I know why. My Matzuo Kroaker Frog likes to take on water soon after it hit the water and my brother was making fun of me as I squeezed the water out of the frogs ARSE.
My brother on the other hand had a Koppers frog and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Neither of us caught a damn thing but we sure had fun. Regardless of the fact that we didn’t catch a fish my frog was drowning while his was popping across the surface like it should have.
It was our first time fishing frogs and I can honestly say you get what you pay for.
