Can't get the hang of topwater frogs (Help)?

I have thrown a topwater frog a couple of times and always gotten hit but never managed a hook set. My father is addicted to the rush he gets when a fish slams a frog from heavy cover but he has never landed a single fish with them (And he has every color available at our local dicks sporting goods).

Is their a specific way to set the hook on topwater frog? Should we let it swim with it for a few seconds?

Or should we trim the legs down a little bit?

I really want to start landing all the fish that I saw smash the frogs I have thrown.

Thanks - Dan.

Forgot to mention we usually throw Live Target frogs and Spro.

Frog hookups can be difficult in general. In my experience, I've thrown on a trailer hook. 2 trailer hooks seemed to throw off things and mostly tangled with each other. One hook however did make a difference and my hook-up ratio has increased as a result. I don't think it will ever be 100% but we can always hope for it. Good luck!

It's hard to do but you have to wait a second to feel the fish on there and then set it

It's hard to do but you have to wait a second to feel the fish on there and then set it

So wait for the line to go tight after the frog goes under and then hookset?

I throw frogs when possible myself.
Try and remember not to set the hook on the blowup. Wait 2-3 seconds and i frog is gone cross their eyes (as neil says)!
make sure you have a frog with enough backbone to get good hook set and i like braid, no stretch and no reason to be line shy.
if using soft frog like zoom ect. My best advice is use biggest hook possible. i kicked a boaters but in a tourney once with same frog,same color,basically everything the same except i didn't tell him i had the biggest hook i could use. I place 3rd exclusively on a frog bite and out-landed 3 fish to his one or better.
Good luck

everything that jwall said and after that 2-3 sec. remember to real up all the slack, so that your rod is pointed directly at the fish, all the slack so that you feal the fish(that little bit of tension,) and slam that b****. i usually set the hook to one side or the other, not directly up as you would a jig or somthing.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Jay just a little. 2-3 seconds is too long. Its not a big difference but 1-2 seconds tops is what i would recommend..... twitch ... twitch... BLAST... 1 mississippi SET!!!!

I believe I am right by waiting A second. I thank you

I have had the most luck waiting 1.87 seconds. Josh aka the livewell coordinator mans the stopwatch and whistle so I get extremely accurate hooksets. I'd like to thank Casio for the pro-staff opportunity.

It can be tough, but the payoff is great!


First and foremost like others mention you need the right equipment to go after those bass in deep cover. A MH rod at the very least will be alright( I know it's not the best, but i throw frogs ATM on my 7'6 MH Powell diesel and haven't lost a fish yet that i have set the hook on) and you should have a reel that supports a ratio of at least 7:0:1 etc. Alot of people wait for the massive blast on the surface. Thats not the case all the time. I can recall some days where the bass were barley sucking in the frog. If you weren't paying attention you wouldn't even realize the frog was gone from the surface of the water. When it comes to setting the hook you REALLY need to watch the frog and your line. When you see those big blow ups sometimes the bass misses and just makes it seem like you took down the frog. Then you end up winding up for a crazy hookset and the frog ends up flying away and spooking the fish... When you see a bass come charging after your frog DONT PANIC or get excited and stop your retrieve or anything different then how that bass got the attention of your lure in the first place. If it's a hit and miss just quickly retrieve your lure and try and place it where your original cast was if the bass dint hit to far away. When it comes to waiting to set the hook IMO you really just need to pay attention. Ive set the hook on bass like i was fishing a jig to times where i was watching the bass swim away with the frog. Just get out on the water and commit to learning and after awhile you will be catching just about all the bass that bite!

Should of mention to after evey cast DEAD STICK your bait. Don't even twitch your frog let it sit for AT LEAST 5-10 secs. I personally like to wait longer depending on how the fishing is

BTW Im no pro frogger by any means. Just sharing whats worked for me and whats caught my quality fish while froging

i agree with almost everyone in here, you will never land every frog fish fact is that you will probably lose more than you land its just the nature of frog fishing but if you wait til you feel the fish you are ready to set. i like to use a 7'6" medium heavy flippin stick with an extra fast tip for froggin, the extra fast tip is quite soft compared to the rest of the rod and will allow the tip to load up before the fish really feels any major resistance so with my specific set up i set either when i feel the weight of the fish or see my rod tip start to load then i imediately set the hook. it helps if you keep a second rod (preferably spinning) spooled with lighter braid than the frog rod (mine is spooled with 30lb pp) and rigged with a senko so if and when your fish misses the frog or you jump the gun on the set you can reel the frog quickly out of the way and pitch the worm to the same spot, in my experiance the fish is almost always still there looking for something to kill (which will be your worm if you are quick enough lol) good luck

After the blowup, breath out, lower your rod tip, take up the slack and then let 'er rip as you inhale. The bass doesn't usually spit the frog right away, it holds onto it for a few seconds. Took me a while to get the timing down cause the adrenalin is pumping on the blowup.

its one of my favorite ways to fish so much f-in fun! (can be frustrating at first. when you get it though you'll feel like THE man.) i also agree the the guy that was saying "watch the frog closely". if you do get that blow up and the fish misses it you'll be able to see the frog still and continue you retrive.

frogs are one of my favorite things to throw and believe it or not ive had my most success on frogs this year. what everyone said on this topic is true. using a longer rod at least 7 feet and braid at least 20lb really helps. twitch the frog a couple times let it sit for about 10 seconds then keep repeating that pattern. and id also agree you went to see the fish take it, wait a second then set the hook. youll catch a lot of fish iff you do it right

All the takes I get on the frog are snapping turtles