Test Drive: Snag Proof's Ish Phat Frog

For those of you who read this blog on a regular basis (or the Frog Pond for that matter) you know that Im not a huge fan of Snag Proof products. For the most part they look unfinished and lacking in some of the major advances currently available on the market today. But with that in mind I have recently been spending some time test driving the Snag Proof Ish Phat frog, and I think I may have made a new friend!

Below is a brief recap of my experience so far, and as a reminder this is just a "Test Drive" a complete review will be done and submitted on the Frog Pond (soon)

Conditions: Heavy Pads, sparse Timber, Open water

Fishing Time: 3hrs 

Blow-Ups: 7

Fish Hooked: 5

Fish Landed: 4

Hook-up Ratio: 70%

Pros: 

There are many Pro's to this frog but I will focus on what I feel are the two most important ones. First and foremost we need to talk about the 2 air chambers. The Phat frog was designed to be "unsinkable" Snag Proof accomplished this by adding a second "sealed" air chamber in the body of the frog. Unlike most frogs that will fill up with water due to an opening (usually around the hooks) the Phat frog has added an internal air pocket that is sealed and thus will not fill up with water, but still compresses when struck. The second chamber  is more like the one seen in all other frogs on the market and may pick up some water that will need to be expelled, but this will not effect the frogs performance or sink this battleship. 

Pro #2 is the new and improved stance, no, not the long slender body profile (but I do love that too), but the actual legs themselves. The Ish Phat frog improves on what has been one of my long time complaints about other Snag Proof products. By taking the legs from the side of the frog and placing them on the ass end, it gives the frog less drag when pulled over structure and it makes sure the legs are 

out of the way of the hooks, and your hook sets. This is a huge plus in my books

Cons:

There is not much that I can complain about when it comes to the Ish Phat frog, as mentioned above the frog is extremely well designed and moves very well in the water. If I was to focus on a couple areas of improvement I would have to say that the body is firmer then most high end frogs on the market today and this may effect your overall hook-up ratio. I believe they could produce a softer shell that would still allow this frog to do what it does best.

 It can also be priced a little on the high side, yes this is a good frog, but I don't believe it should be priced over $10 and compete with some of the designer frogs (can I use that term?). If you find it under the $10 mark you are doing well. 

the Breakdown

I was very impressed with the Ish Phat frog and after spending a few hours with it I was comfortable enough to use it in a tournament a week or so back (and it resulted in a few fish in the boat). This frog is the cream of the Snag Proof crop and should not be overlooked. I will be spending some more time with it over the next few weeks to ensure no annoyances creep up, but at this time Im happy to report that the Ish Phat frog will be a standard in my frog fishing arsenal for the foreseeable future.

Equipment:

Rod: Dobyns 736c

Reel: Daiwa Advantage

Line: SunLine FX2 Frog Line