i just received the frogs i ordered, a Koppers and Spro. Both are much softer plastic than what i was throwing. Should collapse much easier. I tied the Koppers on and bent the hooks out just a little. i’m hopeful these will do the trick. frogs are easier to fish than toads, but i will still fish both. i bought a couple of XPS rats also and they are also softer than the Cabelas frogs
i just received the frogs i ordered, a Koppers and Spro. Both are much softer plastic than what i was throwing. Should collapse much easier. I tied the Koppers on and bent the hooks out just a little. i’m hopeful these will do the trick. frogs are easier to fish than toads, but i will still fish both. i bought a couple of XPS rats also and they are also softer than the Cabelas frogs
Good deal! I had a Kopper’s back in the summer and wasn’t very happy with the durability. The front hole tore after the first fish and I ended up having to wrap braided line around it to seal it back up and keep water out. The paint also peeled off very easily. Spro’s, on the other hand, are much more durable and mine still looks brand new after catching many fish on it.
I think the frogs that have hooks that are over the top of the back vs along the sides have a better hooking percentage.
Many of those are probably Gama EWG frog hooks. A few years ago, I switched the hooks from owner to EWG on my snag proof frogs (along with trimming the thighs back) and can see the difference.
I have no clue then what the problem would be that you are missing fish on the hollow bodies then??? I have never used the Cabelas brand frogs so I don’t know how hard the body is. Here is a trick you can do to hopefully increse your hookups…. Bend the hooks out away from the frog as this will give you a wider gap on the hooks. I do this to all of my frogs and I have around a 75% hooking percantage with it
I just saw John Crews on youtube bend the hooks up off a spro frog like you said. he bends them up so they don’t contact the frog anywhere, probably more than you do. i was thinking, as long as it lands hook side up it shouldn’t snag up much more and the hookset has got to be easier and should help to catch more fish. thanks Jake
Went fishing yesterday at a lake i don’t fish much because of the fishing pressure. it is a forest preserve lake but it’s bigger than most and it is the diamond supposedly for the county so they spend a lot of time and money on it. I got there about 6:30am and still quite dark and cold, 34 degrees. i was comfortable though, thank god the wind was down. this lake is built more for boaters than bank fishermen. I can maybe fish 20% of this lake from the bank or less. no motors on this lake but you can launch and run your trolling motor or rent a boat from Memorial day to labor day. Anyway on with the story.
It was still real weedy, i couldn’t throw a spinnerbait, chatterbait or swimming jig with out getting weeded up so i tied on a horny toad. even it was snagging the hook bend with a long straight grass mixed in with the hydrilla. the hydrilla was still nice and green. I moved up the bank and tied on a Cabelas brand hollow bodied frog. after about 30 or 40 cast i was ready to pick up and move or leave to another lake. as i was contemplating my next move had a huge blow-up on the frog. she took it under but i didn’t set the hook till i felt her. and feel her i did, very strong and the back end of her came out of the water as she dove for the bottom. Huge fish! Finally i set the hook and thought i had her hook and the frog came out. my heart was pounding because i knew this was a big fish, maybe the biggest i ever caught, if i got her in. after she spit my frog out and my heart stopped pounding, i felt i did everything right but still couldn’t hook a fish. i just can’t get hooks into a bass with a hollow bodied frog. tons of blow-ups and zero fish. i was wondering if it was me or was it the frog, i don’t know how many of you guys have ever used a Cabelas brand hollow body but they seem fine to me and cast like a bullet. As soon as i got home i oredered a couple of Spro bronzeyes and a Koppers. Not sure if they will help but i get more blow-ups with the hollow body but catch more with the solid body frogs. Any suggestions would be appreciated. i had the legs trimmed to about a 1.5 ” from the body. Please help me catch them lunkers on the hollow body. oh, by the way, frog bite is still on!!!!. Thanks guys!
I’ve never missed a fish with a Strike King grass popping frog. It has the best hook up ratio of any frog I have ever fished. All the double hook hollow belly baits have terrible hookup issues.
I fish spros and koppers and love both of them…heres a little trick for the BPS and Cabelas frogs. I got a few kermits when they were on sale, They are stiff, but to fix that in a hot summer day or even spring when the sun is shining. put em on the dash board of your car or truck and them them bake in the heat. when you come back for em they will be super soft. I’ve done it to all of mine and they stay soft, it’s crazy. and yes I bend my hooks out a bit just for percaution, never had any issues with missing fish on the stock hooks, but if it helps, why not. Also you can do the sun trick to the frogs in the wintertime, just put em in front of your heater when you’re driving back from BPS or Cabelas and it kinda works the same way.
I have a pretty good hook up ratio with the hollow body frogs. If the bass takes it, most of the time he’s stuck. Perhaps being elevated on the deck of the boat helps.
I to have a good hook up rate on hollow body frogs. If I set the hook & there’s weight on the end, they’re toast. I think I’ve lost 3 fish that I stuck fighting them in the last 3 years. Now there’s plenty of times they miss or I yank it away from them, but I’ve never had hook up issues with Scum Frogs, Sumo Frogs, Spros, or Koppers that I’ve used.
I have a pretty good hook up ratio with the hollow body frogs. If the bass takes it, most of the time he’s stuck. Perhaps being elevated on the deck of the boat helps.
I was thinking the same thing as you about being on the deck of a boat and being on the bank at water level, you got a few feet of extra leverage and a sharper angle but hopefully with the suggestions you guys have given me, i will start hooking and not losing. thanks guys. i’m stoked for summer frog fishing already!!!!!
I fish spros and koppers and love both of them…heres a little trick for the BPS and Cabelas frogs. I got a few kermits when they were on sale, They are stiff, but to fix that in a hot summer day or even spring when the sun is shining. put em on the dash board of your car or truck and them them bake in the heat. when you come back for em they will be super soft. I’ve done it to all of mine and they stay soft, it’s crazy. and yes I bend my hooks out a bit just for percaution, never had any issues with missing fish on the stock hooks, but if it helps, why not. Also you can do the sun trick to the frogs in the wintertime, just put em in front of your heater when you’re driving back from BPS or Cabelas and it kinda works the same way.
If you’re looking for other floating weedless frog alternatives, especially if you want something that will stick fish including short strikers going after the legs, I recommend the Strike King grass frog and popping frog. They have a single upwards pointing hook and a stinger hook can be added for bass going after the legs or just short striking because they are having a hard time finding the lure in the slop. The fish get anywhere near these things and they get stuck. They don’t look like much and don’t catch many anglers but the lures have lots of action. The curl tails act as a weed guard for the stinger hook and also produce a buzzbait like action when burned over the water. The only reason I fish SPROs over the grass frogs now is because I no longer have the rod I used for the grass frogs. They are pretty light weight frogs and excellent on spinning tackle or graphite glass composite HM casting rod. I fish a lot of duckweed and the grass popping frogs ability to hook up with short striking fish is something I wish my SPROs were capable off.
