Frog Review V2: Soft Bodies

Today as part 2 of my review on Frogs, I’m going to spend some time breaking down my soft plastic frog arsenal. This technique has become really popular over the past few years, and most plastics manufactures make one or more soft body frogs. These can be considered more versatile then the hollow body as the perform well in pads and slop, but shine in open water or around cover

here are some pros and cons of the soft bodied frogs I have fished, and I would love to hear any feedback on what frogs work well for you.

1) Zoom Horny Toad

Pros: Zoom makes a great soft plastic bait and the Horny toad is no exception. It has a very solid durable body that will hold up on multiple fish , a slotted belly allows for good hook placement and cleaner hooksets. The legs give a great kicking action and I have even heard of guys using them as jig trailers.. not me though.Cons: not to many cons to this bait. It is in my top 2 of soft bodied frogs that I fish. My only con may be that they are very popular and sell out super fast.

If I had to pick a flaw, I would say that some guys have issues hooking up due to the thick dense frog body. I have read some posts and product reviews that have suggested cutting a slot between the frogs legs to allow the hook to sit better, thus improving hook-ups.

2) Gulp Bat Wing

Pros: Like all gulp products the Bat Wing frog is loaded up with that special berkeley juice, and it has great movement in the water. The legs kick well and it is easy to keep this frog movingCons: This is easily my least favorite frog. The soft berkeley bait rips easy and is hard to keep proper hook placement. The bait moves well when you are twitching it, but almost free falls when you let any pressure off of it. As with all Gulp products, if the package gets any air in it, this thing drys up lile a stone

3) Spike It - Bog Frog

Pros: Like with all Spike-It products, this frogs comes in very cool colours combinations and has a super strong garlic scent. The longs legs kick well in the water. This baits swims in the water rather then buzzes

Cons: I found this bait works better as a trailer then a stand along frog. The thinner head allows hooks to easily rip them up, and the body is an odd shape making it make to find the perfect hook length.

4) Yum - Buzzfrog

Pros: Similar to the HonryToad this bait has a thicker body then most frogs on the market, it is pretty reziliant and holds up well to the abuse a topwater bait takes. It has a wide legs stance that gives it the loudest buzzbait 'gurgle" when retrieved. This is also one of the only salted frogs on the market today. also like the Hornytoad this bait comes with a hook slot to help keep the hook in place and the frog running weedless

Cons: This bait is meant to run fast. the thick spread legs work great as a buzzbait, but are not as conducive to the popping or stop and start action of other soft body frogs. This does not fall as well in the water as the Horny toad or the Gene Larew three legger (see below)

5) Mann's Hard Nose Swim Toad

Pros: Obviously as the name says this bait has a hard nose and keeps the hook in place better then most. Also as the name states, this frog swims very well, and makes a great camontion in the water. This frogs floats, and can hold up even under the weight of a 6/o hook.

Cons: The legs are long and thin, they are as soft as the nose is hard. They can be easily ripped on a strike. The soft legs are what makes this bait swim well, but dont expect it to churn the water like the buzzfrog, this guy is not built for that.

6) Sizmic Pop'n Toad

Pros: Well, it;s a sizmic toad, same great features as the classic toad. The legs have a strong paddle tail tip and the body although strong is not as dense or thick as the buzzfrog or the horny toad. Like the other it has a recessed hook slot to allow good hook-ups but keep the weeds out. This frog floats well, and the popper is a nice addition

Cons: This frog has a rigid body, i like the action when burning it in as a buzzbait, but I find it hard to work across the pads, and slower swimming is not it's strong suit.

7) Gene Larew - Three Legged Frog

Pros: This is officially my favorite frog on the market today. It does all things that a frog bait should and can do. It swims, the three legs give this bait a great soft swimming action and a nice slow fall on the pause. If you want to turn one, the three legs work like a mini buzz bait. And yes, it can be pulled acorss the slop and pads with ease. A nice color selection is available for these frogs

Cons: Two main flaws, the legs are fairly thin and this from often becomes a two legged frog, but if a standard from losses a leg, it is useless, not this guy, he still has two left to swim with. The body of this frog is also pretty soft. It is easy ti rip the hook out of the hose and do some damage to the bait

8) Net Bait - Frog

No pros and cons for this guy, he is not really in the same category as the above frogs. But with the growing popularity of drop shotting this frog is a nice addition to the line up. When nosed hooked and lightly pulled in the water this frog gives off a great action.

Wrap-up

When all is said and done most the above frogs could find a spot in your arsenal. My bet for best overall frog is the Gene Larew. But you cant go wrong with the Zoom Horny toad (best swimmer) or the Yum Buzz frog (best buzz bait). What are you currently using that I'm not? I'm always interested in growing my collection

Frog Review V1: Hollow Bodies

If you’re like me and love to fish frogs, then you already know that when it comes to frog fishing there is really three main frogs styles available on the market today, the hollow body, the hard body and the soft body. Each of these can be considered a totally different technique, but without argument each method would be considered by most as one of the most exciting and heart pounding ways to catch bass.

Today I’m going to spend some time breaking down my frog arsenal staring with Hollow bodies (my favourite method). I want to share some pros and cons of the frogs I have fished, and I would love to hear any feedback on what frogs work well for you.

Here is my hollow body arsenal..

let's break them down..

1) Scum Frogs

Pros: The Scum frog is one of the lowest priced frogs on the market today, but it my mind it is also one of the most effective. It has a super light weight body that allows for easy hook sets as bass seem to hold on them much longer than most other frogs. Scum frogs as available in a large variety of colours and styles. They offer a popper and a dog walker model as well as small version. Scum Frogs are also easily altered; you can add and remove rattles or weights to help alter the presentation. Personally, i think they are perfect just the way they are.

Cons: Some of the features that make Scum Frogs great may also be considered their down fall. The light weight body can make them hard to throw in windy conditions and at times can the flung into the air by a fish on a violent blow-up. The body also needs to be adjust after most hook sets and this means more time out of the water.

Here are some of the other Scum Frog body types...

Popper & Dog Walker

Tiny toad

2) Spro BronzeEye Frog

Pros: these frogs have been on the market for a few seasons now and until the introduction of live target frogs this season would easily be considered the top dog (or frog) when it came to hollow bodies. The life like colourful paintjob really stands out in a market that for the most part was filled with solid coloured baits. The weight system makes these cast like a dream and sit firm on the slops mats. These frogs will withstand the most violent of blow-ups

Cons: If we are talking price, then I think it could be considered a con, and over $10 a frog this is a pricey item to add to your arsenal. I also find the bodies to be too firm, Im not able to set as many hook-ups as I do with other softer body baits.

3) Snagg Proof – Bobby’s Perfect Frog

Pros: The EWG gamakatsu hooks is a good place to start, this is one the differences in the Bobby’s Pro vs the standard snag proof frog. The other big perk is that this frog was designed to be walked. It sits differently in the water and the legs are placed to give it that perfect dog walking motion. This frog fishes well in the sop but better in open water surrounding the slop or pads. The Bobby’s perfect would beconsidered a middle weight, not as heavy as a spro frog but it has more weight then the scum frogs

Cons: Like the scum frog a pro can sometimes be considered a flaw. I have had hook set issues with this frog, I believe he way the legs are set can affect how long this frog is being held by the fish. It may also just be a confidence thing

4) Mann’s Super frog

Pros: The Mann’s frog moves well in the water, it is easy to cast, and the wide body sits well on the pads and slop. It is rare that it will flip, and it is easy to pull through all types of vegetation. This frog is priced well at under $5 and is considered a premium frog

Cons: This is a wide frog, it makes walking the dog harder than on most hollow bodies, and of all the frogs I use this has my lowest hook-up ratio, Personally I believe this is due to the wide body. The wide thinner profile body gives the fish less to chomp down on and I don’t think the hooks are easily exposed.

5) Live Target (Koppers)

This frog is to new on the market for me to be able to review, I have not yet had it on the water, but I have purchased one in each size and I can say that like all live target lured this look is outstanding. The realistic colors and features are second to none . The frog has a nice weight, but a much softer body then the Spro (it’s closest competition). It sits great in the water and can be easily walked. This frog will catch me some fish this season.

Spring Prep Guide V2: Sorting & Storing Soft Plastics

One of the hardest things for a Bass angler to sort is his/her huge collection of plastic baits. These vary from worms, tubes, frogs, lizards, kreatures, trailers and many more styles, too numerous to count. here is how I work to keep mine organized.

Step 1 - Get Organized

a few seasons ago I started purchasing the below plastic storage drawers. They fairly heavy duty and make for easy sorting. On the front lip of each drawer I place a label to identify what type of bait is stored inside. Some labels are fairly generic stating "worms" or "tubes" other drawers are technique specific, such as "dropshot" or "wacky", in these drawers you will not only find plastics associated with those techniques but also the terminal tackle. Here is an example of two of my drawer systems

Step 2 - No wasted space

As you can see in the above image I not only have filled these drawers to capacity, but I have also added a small storage bin to the top. In this bin, I store quick grab items that I may need on my way out the door. It includes, things like...

- sunscreen and bug spray
- spare sun glasses
- first aid kit
- weigh scale
- rod and lure wraps
- line spools
- misc accessories

Step 3 - Keep it fresh

it is very easy over the coarse of the season to just throw your plastics in any old drawer and not keep it organized. It is worth it, to take the extra time after an outing to store items properly. Nothing is worse then prepping for a tournament or a trip and not being able to find the baits you want. I also keep one drawer that is filled with my fav baits, or plastics that I take on 90% of my trips. this allows me to grab them really quick.

Step 4 - Overflow

I use one of these drawers to store overflow or excess terminal tackle. Terminal tackle is not the easiest to keep organized, but having everything in place place has helped me more times then I can count. During the season I keep most terminal tackle in my bag, as it is pretty standard where as the bait size and color selection may change from event to event

Quick Tip - Junk drawer are a good idea!

We all have them, piles of plastics we bought because they looked cool or were on sale. We may have used them once or never opened them at all. I never dispose of or give away these baits, I store them in a junk drawer and re visit them every few seasons. (yep I even have a banjo minnow and flying lure in there)

Spring Prep Guide: Get your gear ready

I think every one gets ready for the open water season a little different from the next guy. My spring prep usually follows the morning period to hits me after my last ice fishing trip of the season.

The only way to combat the grief you feel as the ice melts, is to start getting ready for open water, and the season of your choice, for me the first season to open is Crappie, then Trout, Walleye, Pike and finally my beloved Bass.

Step 1 - My prep guide kicks into high gear when I start to see all the new lures and tackle hit the shelves. Im an early season buyer, I try to beat the rush and get me hands on the seasons new tackle. Not only does this ensure I get the color choices and sizes Im looking for, but Im also not left out in the cold waiting for stock to arrive during the actual fishing season.

Step 2- When the first order arrives, it signals me that it is now time to re-organize the plano boxes. If your like me, by the end of the season my once organized arsenal is now a mess, with terminal tackle in most boxes, cranks mixed with top water baits and so on and so on.

I start routing through each box and pulling out anything that does not belong. Baits that I have lost confidence in or shake my head about are pulled from their boxes and added to the collection of dead baits to be reviewed in the future. When I'm done hopefully all the boxes look like this...

Step 3 - Once the boxes are all in great shape, I begin working on the actual shelf I store then in. Like the boxes it gets disorganized over the season and fills up with junk that I quickly remove from my tackle bags in between trips. I organize the boxes in order of importance to me, so ones that will also be in my tackle bag in each trip go in the first slot and I work my way back to the dead bait boxes. I also store line, scents and other accessories on this shelve so I take some extra time to discard empty containers and re-organize the pile. This is also a great time to take a look at your rain gear and wadders. I clean them, check for any damage and hang them up so they are ready to go.

Step 4 - On to the rods and reels. I check the line on all my reels, and replace any that is at the end of it's life span. This season I changed more then usually as I loaded up on the new Suffix 832 line. Once the line has been changed out, I placed the reel back on the rod.

Rods are checked up and down for any damage, and then given a good test run in the back yard. Each nigh while BBQ'ing dinner I bring a baitcaster up with me and do some test casts and flips in the back yard. Make sure the new line is running smooth and that there is no issues with the reel or rod.

Thats it, as a non boat owner, this is my quick 4 step prep guide as we get ready for the season. These steps are some times repeated while awaiting the season but in short that is all i need to do.

Quick Tip: Keep your Reel Boxes

Reels boxes are great for storing reels, imagine that. So dont discard them once you remove the reel, put them a side and use them to store your gear in the off season or while transporting them. That is their main use in life

BASS TALK Seminar - Peterborough On

*THIS IS A RE-POST OF MY BLOG FROM THE WFN SITE

This past Sunday I attendied my first ever BassTalk seminar, and was lucky enough to attend one held in the OFAH Ampitheatre in Peterborough On. This venue is the perfect host for a day long fishing seminar, with comfortable seating, a giant screen and a wall of replica mounts (all done by Advanced Taxidermy) of Ontario record weight fish. This place is an anglers dream.

The event it self was very well run by anglers David Chong and Doug Brownridge, it was very informative and worth every penny of the admission price.

The day was started off by WFN TV Host and Bass Master Classic MC Dave Mercer. Mercer spent this time giving insight into the mind set and attitude of the anglers in the Bass master events. His seminar although not technique specific was well received by the group and provided a great insight in what it takes for a Canadian Angler to compete in the ultra competitive US Market. I think Mercer really set the tone for whole event, that tone being that we as anglers need to work together to share knowledge and help grow the sport.

David Chong was the second speaker, his topic was Tubular Magic a very informative discussion on different tube techniques and products available on the market. I found Chongs presentation the most informative of the bunch and scrolled down pages of notes of tips and techniques that never crossed my mind. he was very open sharing the brands and styles of tubes and hooks he uses. He presented some alternative methods for traditional tube used that I know I will be breaking out this summer.

Joey Muszynski was up third, for those who dont know Joey, he and his partner shattered the Canadian tournament weight record just last season when the weighed in just over 31lb's in the 2010 Simcoe Open. Joey held a very informative discussion around pre-fishing to win. He thoroughly covered off many tips an techniques that make him a successful tournament angler. He discussed off and on water tactics to help with your prefishing as well as covered off prefishing by species and by season. It was great to see this young and upcoming angler share how he has been successful

Doug Brownridge took the place of Jarrod Dean who was called away on business. The topic of course was Jig fishing. This was a topic I was excited to learn from Jarrod and angler who was know as a premier Jig fisherman, but in his place I was happy with another successful jig fisherman in Brownridge. He covered off the basic tips an techniques of jig fishing and really touched on how many anglers are over thinking the technique. Doug uses two jigs, two colors, tow color trailers both in the same style chunk. He really makes it simple, and is successful at it. he discussed skirt options as well as rods and line options. He really stressed the fact that you need to be very conformable with the jig you use and know how it feels and know how each bite feels.

Josh Myers, was an angler I had not heard much about prior to this seminar, but as a professional angler for the past 8 years Josh has brought in over 130,000 in winnings. Josh spent time discussing small mouth fishing, but also discussed breaking down a large lake to help find fish. He had some great high tech approaches that he shared, along with the websites he uses for mapping and weigh points. As was mentioned in the days seminars.. weigh points are free... so use them.

Last speaker of the day was another WFN anger, JP DeRose, JP discussed fishing in heavy cover, another topic near and dear to my heart. He brought along video footage from his show (including outtakes) and discussed in detail tips and tackle needed to get fish out of that heavy cover. It was a great upbeat seminar to end the day.

With a 50/50 draw, and early bird giveaway, a silent auction and both breakfast (Timmies a true Canadian breakfast) and lunch, this seminar was very well run. With great anglers joining forces with great sponsors (Shimano, Yamaha, Power Pro and so on) these events should be on your "to-do" list every spring. I walked out an improved angler and will be getting on board for a few more event next season

May Recipe: Cedar Smoked Maple Salmon

I know spring is in the air and the last thing anyone wants to do is think about Fall or next winter, but I came across these photos I took last fall of one of my fav recipes.

Cedar Smoked salmon is one of the last things I cook each season before the BBQ goes into hibernation. It is a very simple recipe...

1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp Maple Sugar (or regular brown sugar)
2 tbsp soy sauce (natural brew if possible, less salt more flavor)
1 clove garlic,(minced)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 servings portions of salmon (skin on preferred)
2 cedar planks (soaked min 2hrs up to 24hrs)

Mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic and pepper and pour into a ziplock bag. Add the salmon and give it a good rub down. Let stand for 1-2 hrs.

Heat up the BBQ, place soaked planks on the BBQ face side down, leave it for up to 3 minutes, or until it starts to smoke slightly, turn them over, add some oil to the board and add the salmon, sprinkle with some maple sugar and Close the lid and let cook for 15 minutes (depending on thickness). DONT TOUCH IT!

After 15 minutes, lift the lid and if your lucky this is what you will find....

The Evolution of Fishing on TV

As a kid growing up in Canada, saturday morning did not represent "saturday morning cartoons" but instead it meant "saturday morning fishing shows". I had to be the first one to the remote each saturday to ensure I could gain control of the TV set and make it through at least 2 of the shows that were on saturday mornings, shows like Real Fishing with Bob Izumi, Canadian Sport fishing (with Italo and Henry pre scandal) andFish'n Canada, with the Viola Brothers and Pete bowman. These shows offered the perfect mix of fish catching and entertainment, something that both my dad and I could enjoy and my sister could hate

As I got older and became more and more interested in the sport of fishing, i was no longer as interested in shows that were based solely on entertainment (even though they did provide some knowledge early fishing shows were as much about the host as the fishing), I wanted some more meat to a fishing show. So when WFN entered my life I was super excited. I was now able to expand my TV watching and knowledge past my childhood idols and start to listen to professional anglers talk about current tactics on bodies of water in conditions I too would some day be faced with. Shows like Classic Patterns (my personal favorite), Linders Fishing edge, Gettin School'd, Lost Lakeand so on.

This new caliber of fishing show will help expand the sport for anglers who are looking for more in depth knowledge and expertise. Shows like Classic Patterns have really helped me to gain confidence in baits that have been locked away in my tackle bag for years. On this new fishing show the anglers knowledge is more important then his sense of humor or his celebrity guest. These shows are what WFN is all about, growing fishing as a sport, and growing the anglers that are watching.

I want to finish this up by stating that I have no problems with shows like Real Fishing, Fish'n Canada, Fish TV, Facts of Fishing the Show, Kent Herbeck outdoors and so on, these are all important shows in the WFN line-up and are all shows I watch on a weekly basis, they provide me and thousands of others with the saturday morning fishing fix, and give me a chuckle while doing so. Both entertainment and knowledge is key in a fishing program, and I have very happy with the way Fishing programs have gown over the years, and want to thank WFN for making sure I can see them all.