Walking Bobby's Perfect Frog

[Micropterus salmoides]

I'm having difficulty getting the Bobby's Perfect Frog to walk. I fish from a kickboat so part of the problem may be that I can't walk the frog with rod tip down. I have to twitch the rod to the side. I do this with other walking baits without any difficulty. The rod has a soft enough tip so that's not an issue.

It looks like I will have to modify it some way. What modifications, if any, are you using to get Bobby's Perfect Frog to walk easier? There are three methods that I've heard of. Shortening both legs. Thinning out both legs by removing strands. Shortening only one leg. I would appreciate any help. Thanks.

[Jason C.]

One thing that I know alot of people like to do is put the frog straight up and cut from the bottom of the leg on the inside and cut straight up to the outside. Some say you get more action out of the legs like this when you pause it and it also allows you to walk it much easier. I hope this helps and makes sence!!

Tight Lines,
Jason C.

[DeltaDan]

DeltaLuke, DeltaJack and I spent all day from sun-up to sun-down on the South Delta with nothing but frogs and Jigs with a Senko for DeltaJacks 2and rod.

KILLED THEM ! .... Just no big sixe to them.


Anyhow - We ran into Dan Mathison while fishing Ricers End and I was telling him how Luke was covering me 3:1 or possibly even 4:1 on his Mustard Swamp Donkey. Dan sold me the last one of his specialties and it worked tremendously well !


What made it walk -- and so much easier ...... He put a split ring on the eye and trimmed the legs. It was liuke Forrest Gump taking off his leg braces .... "Run Forrest Run !!! " And run lil' Froggy did.

If Photobucket was working for me I could post a couple of pic's ..... I may need to do a scan after last night as the the DNS is still not working for me after the hackers got to it.


I can honestly say -- I have never see a frog with so much detail in the paintings/hues as in the one he sold me !!

I want more Dan !! ..... But for the price that KB gets his for $5 !! Heck- I'll even tip you $2 to get your van's door fixed.

[kb]

Damn I can walk a frog pretty well but I don't have a clue how to walk one better from a tube.....that sounds downright tough

kb

[J.Rios]

Have you tried a split ring on the nose?? It might allow the bait to rotate easier.

Oops! looks like I'm followin' Dans lead here.Try it I think you'll like it!!

[DeltaDan]

Yhea Jimmy ... Either my typing sucks or our Brentwood Edjaculation.


I think is it a combo of both -- but hopefully he gets it with Ahs' tip -- Cause AI do not want to spell check it for a 3ard time !!

[longshot]

Man thats tough being in a float tube!!! The key is poppin it with a loose line tip down in a boat but i dunno in a tube?
I find that its easier to "walk" a tournament frog than the perfect frog but my catch ratio is much better with the perfect frog. Go figure right?

LS

[Jason C.]

Hey longshot,
Do you change the hooks out on you tournament frogs? If not try that, that could be your problem right there with the hook-up ratio!

[DAN]

Come out with Dan Mathisen Outdoors. I am offering Frog Tactics Evening sessions 4pm til 830 for 150.00 out of River's End. I will show you how to work the Bobby's Perfect Snag Proof Frog in many situations, what keys to look for, playing the shade game, What mat is right for me and much more. Contact Dan@fishdelta.com to book your date. Prime dates are filling up fast 209-612-5028

[D.B.COOPER]

What kind of line are you using? According to Bobby(Barrack) you need to be using 50lb braid on a 806 Lamiglass. You make the frog walk on slack line. Takes some getting used to, but like anything else you'll figure it out. I do know he said you do not want to use anything higher than 50lb braid. It walks just fine right out of the package if you do it the way he says to do it. D.B.COOPER

[bassenvy]

from a tube your already out of position....and then walking with the rod tip up your looking for heartbreak

here's your answer....they walk on their own and are like a weedless jitterbug
http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpageHBFR2S-RCCF.html

[DAN]

Fenwick Elite Tech Frog Rod and 65 pound test braid, I break 50 on the hook set in some situations....The Fenwick Elite Tech rod has the best balance for walking and the power to handle the big fish, ask sTony he saw how well it handled an 8 the other night back in a tree....

[DeltaDan]

I used #65 Braid on my Crucial 7'6" CRC MH.

DeltaLuke used my Powell 705 with #50 braid.


He was using his Swamp Donkey on the lighter braid pole and it sort of has a split ring built into it. He topped me before I ran into Dan and purchased one of his frogs ... We were even keel after that perdy much with DeltaLuke running the front of the boat.

[Cooch]

I'm with KB & Bassenvy on this one!I remember last year or so, Bobby & I did a speaking seminars for one of the local tuber events here on the River out at Bethel Island. He made it very clear I recall, that attempting to walk that frog from a tube is a near impossible task due to being so low to the water and not being able to get your rod tip in the proper position to do so.

[CZ]

I've been searching for a photo for the last 30 minutes and cant find it, my best frog fish I have caught was while i was in my kickboat it was a 9.8 You certainly cant walk a frog in the same position as in a boat and yes this can burn you at times but with the frogs on the market that are made for walking you can keep your rod in a decent enough angle that when a fish slurps the frog down you can square up and stick'em.

Decided to save a little gas last weekend and took the kick out instead of the boat and we smacked'em on frogs throughout the day. You just got to make sure you are in the best position possible to set up and swing on'em when they eat it.

[L Dub]

I fish from a tube all the time. My two answers would be Viento, Megaforce. Those twitch bars REALLY help.

[Micropterus salmoides]

Thanks for the replies guys. My kickboat seat is higher than most, plus I use a tempur-pedic foam cushion, so my rod is at about a 20 degree downward angle. Still not the optimal downward angle to walk a frog, however. I only keep my rod tip high if I'm fishing mats. I'm using 65lb Power Pro. I do remember Bobby suggesting using 50lb for walking frogs, but I think he switched to 65lb because he broke off fish with 50lb. I don't know if he switched back to 50lb. The day I was trying to walk the Perfect Frog it was very windy and my frog was gliding across the surface. Maybe calmer conditions will make it easier. Walking frogs is relatively new for me so I probably will have to experiment with different positions, frogs, and frog tweaks to get it right, but when I do, FISH ON!

[L Dub]

I don't know that you really need to 'walk' it. I think location is more important and then you just twitch, twitch, wait.

But then again, I haven't caught and frog fish yet so I'm prolly talkin out of my keister.

[Paul W]

I bought one of these frogs a year or so ago...I couldnt walk the thing for beans. Went back to Spro Bonzeye frogs....I can easily walk them, so thats all I use now.

Paul

[longshot]

I havent switched hooks on the baits i have and NEED too thanks Jason!!!
Walking the frog is mandatory to catching fish in most cases the only time that its not is when you have a huge backlash and your picking it out SWOOOSH!!! Consistant
The other day i had to break off my line because i had a big nest and i was winding up my line bringing in my frog straight and steady SWOOOSH 4lber and i got it to the boat.
LS

[TomL]

I love fishing the frog. It might be the only thing that I am good at. I walk the crap out of it. I fished a frog everyday for 5 months 2 years ago - and every trip out between March and October ever since - If I had to pick one bait to live and die with in Nor Cal... it'd be my FROGS!

In my opinion, if you aren't fishing it as much in open water (walking it) as you are in the slop then you are missing a lot of fish you could be catching.

Sure you see open water and think - spook, popper, Lunker Punker, Buzz Bait - I see FROG... FROG... FROG... Especially if there is shade or shade pockets. Don't get me wrong I love my punkers - but, I survive on the Frog!

Couple things to keep in mind about walking the frog.
#1 I believe its all about the rod. I use a 6'10" Heavy rod with a really fast tip (Quantum for me but, you can use any brand you wish). You need that fast tip so you can get the thing to move and then give it slack line immediately. That's the big trick, slide-slack almost simultaneously. Do no start the slide of the frog until you have already taken up the slack in the line. If you do it will not walk right. Its more of a popping action with the rod then a slide action - so I should have said pop-slack. You need to get a rhythm going or it stops walking! Takes some practice, but once you get it to do what you want - HOLD ON!

#2 You need to throw the frog in the most impossible spots. Especially in the heat of the summer - The further underneath a dock, a mat, a fallen tree -- whatever you can find that has some water under it and shade, the better you are going to be!

#3 Modify the frog - I prefer fine rubber legs like on the River2Sea frogs... I do like the Step-Wa frog for throwing way back under stuff - especially trees. Because sometimes I get my frog 20 feet under a tree and the line is over 2 branches and under 3 branches and whooosh.... Fish on - but, only if it is walking! I also use the Snagproof (Bobby's Perfect or Tournament Series whichever - they are close enough) I pull the legs out, replace them with soft rubber legs - sometimes I add ceramic paint to the bottom etc. I think the bait walks better with the soft rubber legs - also gives the bait a little more action when you dead stick it.

#4 65 LB braid and nothing else! I use Sufix because it doesn't slip - but, any braid will do!

#5 If you add a split ring to the nose - that helps, but it also makes it a lot less weedless.

#6 Don't bother buying 10 colors of frogs, save your money and stick to 3 colors of your favorite styles. White one, yellow headed black bird and a version of green. Start with the Yellow headed black bird - you get some strikes but no fish. Switch up the speed - nothing then switch to white. Same thing strikes but no fish, mix up the speed... still nothing go green. Same thing - switch speeds then move along - If you still aren't catching them - well, time to try a different technique.

FYI - My frog box contains -
6 Snagproof Yellow headed Black birds
3 Snagproof All white
6 River2Sea Step Wa Yellow Headed Black birds
3 Step Wa's White
2 reen Step Wa
2 Cicadia (?? Something like that) SnagProof
2 Black Basiriski's
2 White Basiriski's

The Basiriski's have a time and place and they can be great!
I am 80% done with an instructional video on most of this - with modifying a frog footage, on the water footage to show typical spots to look for.. Casting and retrieving tips. This video will be on OutdoorProShop.com in the next week or so. I will gladly post a link to it here if you are interested. I am sure it will help anyone looking to learn more about frog fishing!!

That's my .02!

P.S. - if you can walk a frog from a TUBE - my hat is off to you, well done! This is a lot more information than was asked for - but, I am sure there are lots of guys who want to know more about frogs and I felt like spilling the beans tonight!

Catch a Giant!

[Marty]

Good info Tom!

Here is what I do to my frogs – it may help!

http://westernbass.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ht=#260897

Marty

[TomL]

Hey Marty - that is great info as well.
I read that when you posted it a while back and thought it was a great post!

It's topics and threads like these that make forums like this one great for new and experienced anglers alike.

[tiki_man]

i'm also having the same problem except i'm fishing from a boat and able to keep my rod tip down and able to walk spooks and other topwater lures very well. i'm throwing it on 50lb. braid and jerking on slack line but all i get is a forward bobbing motion.

i tied the braid onto the frog directly...i have since put on a split ring but won't have a chance to test that out until next week. the product description said it was ready to fish right out of the package so i assumed a split ring wasn't necessary.

also, when i first took it out of the package, one set of legs was about half an inch longer than the other...i thought it was a manufacturing error so i used scissors and trimmed them both even. is that the culprit? is one leg supposed to be longer than the other?

[Slippy]

i hardly ever walk the frog i prefer the hopping or skipping motion of the natual frog makes.ihave never seen a real frog swim side to side.

I have been on a tear right now with the frogs BTW.

[BIG DADDY BLUE RANGER]

I have been on a tear right now with the frogs BTW.

Hey Slipperz... just curious if yer runnin a Skeeter w a yammy 4 stroker....... only cuz I bumped into someone sat morn where we were all froggin and the boater mentioned "Shindig"...... it didn't register until later that it was prolly a LL type.... that B U by any chance ????

[Trackerbass]

Tikiman, you're probably pulling too hard. If you can walk a spook you can walk a frog. It's exactly the same only smaller softer movements. You don't need a split ring but some say it helps a lot. Like riding a bike, it's hard until you do it once. Then you've got it forever. Keep trying, It's totally worth the effort. You'll be hooked soon.

[scott h]

All good advice! But imho the BLEEDING frog walks much better, that being said I still trim the legs. The only downfall to this bait is it seems to attract tules much better than the pro model or bpf style frog. The tube thing, That is a tough one maybe try a longer rod so you could keep the tip a little higher while being in setting position? tight lines scott h.

[optichamp]

Damn I can walk a frog pretty well but I don't have a clue how to walk one better from a tube.....that sounds downright tough

kb

Tubes would seem tough alright, but you can find the personal pontoon boats that have standing platforms, which allow you to get higher up and hold the rod at a more downward angle. Water Skeeter and North Fork Outdoors both sell them.

[tiki_man]

trackerbass, your advice was spot on...they key is to do it with smaller, softer movements. i guess i was incorrectly expecting spook-like exaggerated side-to-side swishing action and that's why i was working it the same way. the frog's walk-the-dog motions is more subtle and requires a more subtle motion to achieve it. thanks.

[TritonBrent]

I have been on a tear right now with the frogs BTW.

Hey Slipperz... just curious if yer runnin a Skeeter w a yammy 4 stroker....... only cuz I bumped into someone sat morn where we were all froggin and the boater mentioned "Shindig"...... it didn't register until later that it was prolly a LL type.... that B U by any chance ????

That was Slippy for sure