i am using a froggi a lot lately and i get non stop strikes at it but they take a bite and let go immediately so fast its really hard to set the hook
i heared of peeps that they cut the strings that sim the legs to make em bite more towards the body also the hooks are pretty close to the body
maybe bend them out a bit ?
any suggestions or tips ?
I know this sounds odd,but i tie weedless hooks to the hooks attached to the frog.The hooks dangle with the stringy legs.Seem to get better hook set with this.Sometimes get caught up in weeds,but not too often.Almost the same as the extra hook put on a spinnerbait hook.Use strong line to tie onto the other hooks.
There's a pretty big difference between brands when it comes to hollow body frogs. Make sure that the ones you use have a soft and easily collapsible body, as this will by far have the biggest impact on your hookup ratio of all the lure characteristics. I've tried the Spro Bronzeye and the Koppers frogs that I was happy with the body on. I tried the original Tru-Tungsten and they were awful. I landed one fish out of maybe 30-40 hits.
Be careful about bending the hooks out. You still want the hook points to be covered by the body, otherwise you're going to get hung up on the pads which will ruin your presentation. I gave up on the BPS Kermit frog for this reason. The stock hook kept catching on the pads.
The hook set when fishing a frog can be a bit tricky. Some people swear by setting as soon as you can, others wait a while before setting. I've had the best success when I hesitate just a bit. Usually when I see a strike and can't see the frog any more, I'll reel down to take up slack, take a deep breath, and set as hard as I can. If the pads are thick I'll wait a touch longer for them to suck it down, if the cover is relatively sparse or it's in open water I'll set as soon as I get the slack out of the line as they should have gotten hold of it on the strike. On any given day, play around with it and see what works.
However, if you are setting the hook as a reaction immediately after seeing the strike, you'll most likely miss a lot of your fish. Often when you set the hook quickly and miss, they didn't actually get hold of the frog yet, more so than spitting it out. If you feel that they are indeed spitting it out too quickly, try putting a scent on the frog like smelly jelly or something similar.
A tip that has helped me limit the number of knee-jerk reaction hooksets has been to retrieve my frogs with the rod tip around 1-2pm. It forces you to lower your rod and reel down to get a good hookset, and the time it takes to do so will help you hesitate just a bit. If they're really holding on to it, you can reel down until you feel the fish on the other end and then set the hook. Just be sure to do so with some urgency, as a fish swimming around under the pads for a bit will be harder to properly hook and land.
Hope this helps a bit. Frog fishing is a ton of fun, and will only be better when you start landing more of your fish. Once you get a couple of nice ones, you'll be addicted for good =)
Be careful about bending the hooks out. You still want the hook points to be covered by the body, otherwise you're going to get hung up on the pads which will ruin your presentation. I gave up on the BPS Kermit frog for this reason. The stock hook kept catching on the pads.
The hook set when fishing a frog can be a bit tricky. Some people swear by setting as soon as you can, others wait a while before setting. I've had the best success when I hesitate just a bit. Usually when I see a strike and can't see the frog any more, I'll reel down to take up slack, take a deep breath, and set as hard as I can. If the pads are thick I'll wait a touch longer for them to suck it down, if the cover is relatively sparse or it's in open water I'll set as soon as I get the slack out of the line as they should have gotten hold of it on the strike. On any given day, play around with it and see what works.
However, if you are setting the hook as a reaction immediately after seeing the strike, you'll most likely miss a lot of your fish. Often when you set the hook quickly and miss, they didn't actually get hold of the frog yet, more so than spitting it out. If you feel that they are indeed spitting it out too quickly, try putting a scent on the frog like smelly jelly or something similar.
A tip that has helped me limit the number of knee-jerk reaction hooksets has been to retrieve my frogs with the rod tip around 1-2pm. It forces you to lower your rod and reel down to get a good hookset, and the time it takes to do so will help you hesitate just a bit. If they're really holding on to it, you can reel down until you feel the fish on the other end and then set the hook. Just be sure to do so with some urgency, as a fish swimming around under the pads for a bit will be harder to properly hook and land.
Hope this helps a bit. Frog fishing is a ton of fun, and will only be better when you start landing more of your fish. Once you get a couple of nice ones, you'll be addicted for good =)
I've had some great success with the Ribbit Frog... it not a hollow body frog but is equally successful.
http://www.fishstanley.com/ribbit.html
I've gotten some monster fish on them... the kicking legs seem to drive the bass crazy. Plus they are cheaper than most quality hollow body frogs. Give them a try!
http://www.fishstanley.com/ribbit.html
I've gotten some monster fish on them... the kicking legs seem to drive the bass crazy. Plus they are cheaper than most quality hollow body frogs. Give them a try!