Some people love throwing a jig. However, throwing a topwater frog is regarded as some of the most fun you can have bass fishing. Sure, some anglers might say they prefer a crankbait or throwing soft plastics, but when it comes to pure excitement nothing beats it.
When the frog bite is on there it can be tough to beat. Throwing a hollow body or a popper near some lily pads and then seeing the fish fly out of the water after your lure is something that can be hard to beat.
Table Of Contents
Best Topwater Frogs
- Booyah Pad Crasher Bullfrog
- Booyah Toad Runner Frog
- Spro Bronzeye Popper
- Stanley Ribbit
- Lunker Hunt Pocket Frog
So, if this sounds interesting to you then check out the information below. We’re going to cover different features, techniques, colors, as well as some different products for you to try out on your next bass fishing trip.
What Is A Topwater Frog?
A topwater frog is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a lure that is fished on top of the water and is meant to mimic the way a frog swims. There are different types of frog lures that swim differently but they all are achieving the same thing.
They can also be made out of several different materials. Some of the poppers are made out of different plastics, or even wood. Where the hollow body frogs are made of a flexible plastic that is surprisingly durable.
Many of the hollow-bodied frogs also come weedless. This allows you to throw this lure around a thick cover and you won’t have to worry about getting any grass, weeds, or lily pads hung up in your hooks.
When To Use A Topwater Frog?
If you’ve ever spent time with a bass angler you’ve probably heard them say these words, “this area looks froggy”. They’re referencing the way the water looks. Maybe there’s a lot of cover on the water from lily pads. Sometimes you can catch them in open water too.
So, locating cover can be a great indication of a spot to throw a frog. However, it’s not always that simple. For example, if the water temperature is too cold it won’t matter what kind of cover you see. Chances are the bass are hugging the bottom of the lake and won’t chase topwater.
The best time to throw a frog is late spring, summer, and into early fall. When you stop seeing frogs out hopping along the banks of the river or lake is when you should stop throwing a topwater frog.
When throwing a frog you should follow the same rules as other topwater lures. Mornings and evenings work best on sunny days and don’t be afraid to try and throw one if it happens to be overcast out.
Also, nighttime frogging can be great. It won’t be as effective as using a buzz bait, but if there is a little light from the moon and you can see the strike then try it out and see if the fish will come up and take it.
If it’s the middle of a bright sunny day and you feel like throwing a topwater then try to find shady spots. Near docks, overhanging trees, and of course lily pads. The fish will hold in the darker cooler water and they might be enticed by your frog.
How To Use A Topwater Frog?
Now that you’ve found a spot to throw a frog lets go over a few techniques on how to work the lure properly. First, it all depends on what type of frog lure you have. Poppers and hollow bodies are going to be fished similarly but we’re going to discuss the unique differences below.
Hollow Bodied Frog
This is easily the most popular type of frog to fish with. They’re lightweight, weedless, and surprisingly durable. With these, you’ll be slowly working the frog across the surface of the water. Making it look like a frog swimming from lily pad to lily pad or back to shore.
The hooks on this frog are rigged up to be weedless. Which means they’re not going to be sticking straight out. So it will take the bass biting down onto the soft body of the frog in order for it to get hooked.
So, when fishing this lure you cannot set the hook right away when a fish hits. You have to show restraint and allow the fish to take the lure first. Then you can give a big hookset to ensure the weedless hooks snare the fish.
Popper Frog
Popper frogs are going to be rigged weedless as well as having your normal treble hooks attached. When fishing the treble hooked kind you don’t have to worry about allows the fish to take the lure before you set the hook. Instead, it should hook itself.
If using a weedless popper frog then you should set the hook in the same way you would a hollow body. Allow the fish to take the lure and then set it. It’s tough to learn this at first but once you get it down you’ll be reeling in more fish.
You don’t have as much control over a popper frog as you do a hollow body. The popper is meant to do one thing and that is it gives a loud gurgle and pop as you twitch it through the water. Some days the fish like this extra noise and vibration.
Plopping Frog
These are frog lures that have paddle tails on the back of them. They can be either weedless or feature treble hooks. Since this frog you’ll be actively reeling in you don’t have to worry about setting the hook as much since the fish will hook itself.
These lures differ from the other two because you’ll be actively reeling these in instead of twitching them. These are an easier frog lure to use since you don’t have to worry about twitching and reeling slack or setting the hook.
Cast this lure parallel to weed lines and wait for a bass to sneak out and take it under. Also, you can cast this lure a few inches onto the shore and reel it into the water. This makes it more lifelike and will help get you more bites.
Best Color For Popper Frog
You don’t need to have a wide variety of colors for your frogs. All you need is the basic colors of white, black, and some natural colors. These natural colors include brown, yellow, and green. If you only had to have two then get white and black.
Also, many times the top of the frog will have an elaborate pattern while the belly is just black, white, or yellow. Don’t be fooled by this. The fish is seeing the belly of the lure and a little bit of the sides, not it’s back.
When selecting the color of your frog you should take into account the color of the water as well as what the cloud cover is. An overcast day in dark water would mean you should throw a darker color frog. Black and brown would be a good bet for the best frog. On clear days in clear water, you should be throwing white, or yellow.
Frog Fishing Tackle
You’re going to be fishing in a heavy cover so you need a set up that is going to allow you to horse these fish out so you can get a good hookup and land them. Braid is a must-have and so is a bait caster reel with a heavy rod. This also helps with snags.
You don’t need to worry about line visibility in the water, which means braid is your best bet. Braid also works best because it floats. If you use fluorocarbon the line will pull your lure into the water and make your frog useless. You’ll need a 20-pound braid or heavier.
A 7’ heavy action rod is also needed. You’re going to be throwing this frog around weeds, lily pads, and all other different kinds of cover. Chances are the big bass is going to take your lure and dive right back into the cover. So you’ll need the extra power from the heavy rod to not only pull out a bass but also a few extra pounds of grass, weeds, or pads.
You’ll also need a bait caster. A spinning reel can work but it does not have the same torque that a baitcaster has. If you’re not going to be fishing in heavy cover then a medium to a medium-heavy rod with any reel you want will work too.
Topwater Frog Reviews
Now that we know all about frog lures let’s talk about the actual products. Check out the lures below and see which ones are going to work best for you!
1. Booyah Pad Crasher Bullfrog
Booyah is one of the best-known names in the world of fishing lures. They make great spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and are best known for their topwater frog lures. These are a great first frog lure to get.
It’s a hollow-bodied, weedless frog that comes in eight different colors. So, you can have a color that will be able to cover just about any condition you can think of. From a clear day to an overcast day to a muddy water day.
The legs of this frog are made of long strands of rubber. So after you finish plopping this through the weeds the legs will dangle and move. This will help entice a strike from a bass waiting below the surface.
Buy the Booyah Pad Crasher Bullfrog On Amazon
2. Booyah Toad Runner Frog
This has a similar body to the pad crasher bullfrog. It’s weedless with a pointed nose and also comes in eight different colors. The biggest difference is it is a plopping frog. It features a paddle on the back instead of legs.
This is great if you want to chug it through the water. It works very well if the bass are looking for a fast-moving lure that makes a lot of noise and displaces a lot of water. No need to wait on the hookset for this lure.
Since you don’t have to wait on the hookset this makes it a great lure for someone who is either new to fishing or new to fishing with a frog. If you enjoy frog fishing then you should have a few of these in your tackle box too.
Buy The Booyah Toad Runner Frog On Amazon
3. Spro Bronzeye Popper
You’ll be fishing this similarly to the pad crasher. You won’t be swimming it as much though. Instead, you’ll be throwing this adjacent to heavy cover to try and entice a fish to leave its cover to come out and eat.
Pop these next docks, lily pads, and weed lines. Vary the retrieve between fast, slow, and medium in order to figure out what the fish are keying in on for that day. Begin slow and work your way to a quicker retrieve.
This lure also features 16 different colors. Meaning you can have a whole tackle box full of these things if you really want to. Also, they’re outfitted with Gamakatsu hooks, which are regarded as some of the best hooks you can purchase.
Buy The Spro Bronzeye Popper On Amazon
4. Stanley Ribbit
This lure is plopper but is different from any other frog on this list. This is a soft plastic frog that comes in a bag just like a soft plastic worm or crawfish lure would. Which means you have to hook it yourself.
Learning how to hook it properly is not all that difficult. You can just rig it up weedless like you would any other soft plastic. Or you can just stick the hook sticking right out of the back or the bottom.
You’ll be fishing this by running it past any type of cover or vegetation. You need to make you’re reeling it fast enough though. Since this is plastic and not hollow bodies it will sink if not reeled in at an accurate pace.
Buy The Stanley Ribbit On Amazon
5. Lunker Hunt Pocket Frog
Another weedless hollow-bodied style topwater frog. This is very similar to the pad crasher but instead of rubber strands for legs, it has more lifelike looking frog legs. Making it look more realistic than just about any other lures out there.
Featuring nine different colors this frog has a color for any conditions you can think of . Making it an essential lure for just about any tackle box.
You can throw this either into the cover or around cover. Making it a very versatile lure and something all bass fishermen should have with them.
Buy The Lunker Hunt Pocket Frog On Amazon
Conclusion
After reading all that you hopefully have a better understanding of how to fish frogs and exactly what they are. They’re a very effective lure and are a mainstay in just about every bass anglers tackle box.
Also, check out the livetarget hollow body frog, lunkerhunt lunker frog, bronzeye frog, and the poppin’ pad crasher.
So, check out Amazon or other online stores for frogs. I’m sure you’ll be able to find one that meets all of your needs and will catch you a ton of fish!