Almost that time of year!!! My preference is the SPRO Popping Frog. Just what I have confidence in I guess. What are some of your choices in frogs ? Interested to see if I am missing out on a better frog . I know they have a time and place, but I am guilty of trying to force a frog bite at times. Anybody else ?
Thanks and Tight Lines
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i can offer nothing cause me and you are on the same page, might look up mark perry on here, he's deep in the frogs

The koppers live target hollow body frog is my favorite. The big one. Caught so many big fish on those

All the ones mentioned so far work great as well as the Booyah Poppin Pad Crasher which caught quite a few nice ones last summer.

Second that, I'm cheap so I dig the price on them too.

Been wanting to put this down to do an article soon and a couple of guys here asked me to post it when I had something typed up. I answered a question on another forum so I cut and pasted my reply. Its just rough draft notes stuff and take it with a grain of salt as we all have different likes and dislikes. This is not the gospel nor am I a frog expert or guru. I always loved the frog bite so I purposely started learning all I could and fishing them every chance I got. I still have much to learn. enjoying trying new frogs and try to do so with an open mind. They are not ranked in any order and this is not meant to bash or slight any certain brand. Its meant as a guy that likes to frog fish sharing his personal opinion on different ones.
Its long and probably kinda redundant so stop reading now if you want to.

All my hollow body frogs are thrown on either a Megabass Orochi XX Tour Vesatile and a Daiwa Tatula 100HS(7.3 ratio) reel with 55lb Daiwa Samurai braid in light to medium cover or open water. In heavy cover I go with a Megabass Orochi XX Perfect Pitch with same reel model and 70lb Daiwa Samurai. The Daiwa Tatula 7' 1" MH and the Frog rod are great as well in each type cover noted.

Megabass Pony Gabot- designed for mat fishing but with a few easy adjustments they are great in sparser stuff. The action is great when you take the time to learn them. You can get it to do a 180 easily. Walks well and good hooks. Its a smaller profile but for some reason draws big bites. its a good cross between a poppin' frog and regular frog based on the catamaran mouth design. Fairly durable but the softness of the plastic gets a great hookup ratio but that also makes it a tad less sturdy than some others. Casts extremely well for a smaller frog. Also can attach a blade if you want. My biggest fish of 2014 came on a Pony Gabot in August on Fork. It was over 10lbs and came near some pads. I am working on MB to release a larger version of the Gabot or a larger frog in general. They are receptive if the market shows the demand is there. This frog was designed for the Japanese market so that is why its smaller etc


Optimum Furbit- I replace the rabbit fur legs with conventiona round rubber strand legs. Its the frog I think that has an incredible hookup ratio. The hooks are amazing and the frog takes a beating. Easy to use and overall one of my top choices. they are hard to get for a reason and really are no more expensive than a Spro. The poppin' version is great as well just wish it had twin legs instead of the single. Easy to cast and lands well and ready to go. I also remove the blades on mine. One of the most weedless in any cover I have seen.

Spro Bronzeye- hard to beat as an over the counter type easily available frog. Lots of colors and they have a good hookup ratio. Most are soft and don't take on a ton of water. Great hooks also and plenty durable. Easy to walk and the poppin' version is just as good as the original. Great castability. Almost always lands right side up. Can't find any negatives except occasionally you get one that is hard and does not collapse well. I always open mine in store to test before I buy. Very weedless in most situations.

Teckel Whacker- good finesse frog, only drawback is some are harder than need be, some people think the design causes less hookups but to me its fine. It has a good to above average hookup ratio. Probably one of the easiest frogs to work out of the package. Hooks are average and could be a bit better but are still good enough I trust them. Has some unique actions when working it. i like the frog a lot. Its actually designed by same guy that designed the RI Swamp Donkey. Sometimes castability lacks and it rolls when cast and catches your line. Comes through most cover well. Actually excels around pads as you can swim it under them when needed.


Evergreen Big Bite- another personal favorite. They can be pricey but you can get them a LOT cheaper if you shop around. Current supply is dwindling up and getting harder to find though. Not sure when they will make more. It excels in every category mentioned so far and just is a blast to fish. If they were to retail for a tad less I doubt they would keep up with the demand.Its an unique design but made extremely well. Super easy to fish. VERY weedless, great hooks etc.


Evergreen Kicker Frog- I have the newer single hook version with the round rubber strand legs. I was initially concerned about that single hook but its the real deal. Crazy good hookup ratio. Its the same quality in all regards as the big Bite above just in a smaller version. Hard to get though.


Jackall Iobee- easily one of the best straight out the pack. Great hooks and so easy to walk etc. Only negative is its so soft you hang up a ton in heavy cover. Hookup ratio is among the best as is castability and the action. Only negative is the hang ups. The durability is average as well. Still a great choice.

Evolve Nervous Walker- sank like a rock and very little action. Not impressed with hooks, durability or action. did not impress me enough to put one in the box.


River2Sea Bully Wa- another great all around choice at a good price. Walks easily, durable, good hooks and above average hookup ratio. Casts great and lands right side up. Takes on little water and seems to come through most cover good. Great price point too. Another one I keep in the box. No complaints at all from me. Not a fan of the poppin' version or the one with the lip though.


Kopper's Live Target- all in all a good frog. Can't really put my finger on it but I just do not throw it much. The few I have seem harder than most but still get good hookups. hard to complain about their detail level etc. good frog just not a personal favorite and one I think has better options on the market at that price. Hooks are good and casts fine, Pretty weedless too.


Lunkerhunt- not impressed in the least. Cheap hooks, not well made and like I say probably the best diving frog I have seen though its not made for that. Out of the 4 I have tried all sank like a rock right as they hit the water. Seem too gimmicky to me. I did just replace the legs with round rubber and have yet to try it. I am curious to see the action and just how watertight it is now. I just think this one has so much potential but they skimped on a lot of it to me.


H20 Express-They are decent for the money. Only complaint is they sink too fast and the hooks are not good. Otherwise its good in most regards but its not fair to judge it against other higher priced frogs. they are fine if you seal it and sharpen the hooks. I would have no issues throwing them at all after that. Great value and very durable.


Strike King KVD- decent frogs but too hard to me and not the best hook. Can be a tad harder to walk though. Much like the Koppers it just simply is not one of my favorites so I do not keep any in the boat. Cats well. is weedless and hookups are average on it.


Boze Sumo- good frog with great hooks. Decent hookup ratio and is plenty weedless. The castability could be better. Not a bad frog by any means but I prefer others more at this price point over the Boze. Hookups are average.


Booyah Pad Crasher- just not all that impressed but like the H20 its not fair to compare it against some higher priced ones. those that use it tend to love it but to me it lacked good hooks, has reduced action and is not as durable as i would want. Castability is average but is really weedless. Just not for me.


Snagproof Bobby's Perfect and Ish frogs- I might be the only person in the country that is not a fan. to me they lack action and do not walk near as well as others. I also feel like I got less bites on them and got ride of all the ones I had. I will say those that use them rave about them so this is probably more personal preference than anything. I would say they are above average in weedlessness, hooks, and castability though. Very durable and built well. I just personally do not care for them.


Norie's, Vagabond, OSP- all JDM brands that to me where not that great. I was not all that impressed with them though not all were bad. The Vagabond and the Nories can be modified a bit to be good but to me they lacked durability and seemed to lack action as well.

Awesome Mark. I think this will help all of us. I do appreciate you taking the time to share this information. As I said before, I find myself trying to force the bite at times. I need to purchase a few of your choices and see how it goes.
I will be sure to keep you posted.
Tight Lines and God Bless
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Tons of good videos on Google and Youtube. I am far from an expert on frogs or anything else fishing related. I just am addicted to frogs and enjoy throwing them. I wrote that post last year and had it filed away. Always experiment on your own though as you may love a brand I was not impressed by. Its all so subjective and its best to use what you like.
Have fun and hope you catch a bunch.

I have good luck with the Booyah Pad Crasher. Haven't tried the popper version.

I am a fan of the Spro frogs. I like the regular version for thicker grass, and the popper for everything else. I'm far from good with it but you can get the popper to walk just as well as the regular so I really like how versatile it is.

Hey Mark....what colors do you prefer on Fork?

Great post Mark. Very helpful.

Jackall iobee and river2sea bully wa

Great stuff as always Mark.

I've always been a huge fan of frog fishing, and it will always be my favorite style of fishing. I've used several different ones, not nearly as many as Mark and haven't broken them down a fraction of the way he has.

My all time favorite frog is the Spro Popping Frog. It is magical around the right type of grass, the right type of cover. They don't work well in the lily pads, when I'm in the Lily pads, I use either the original Spro Frog or the Live Target (its a little bigger) or the KVD Frog. my top 3 colors in no particular order: Leopard, Killer Gil, Rain-forest Black

I have had some success with the KVD frog and I have a few friends that throw them almost exclusively. I have noticed like Mark said that I have probably missed more fish on these frogs than any other frog, although there is one exception that I will mention later. Best colors have been Pearl White and Leopard

MagaBass Pony Gabot Frog - I have not had much luck with these frogs, now that is partly because I have so much confidence in the Spro Popping Frogs that I haven't dedicated enough time to these frogs. They are very soft, and they have unique colors. I don't like the fact they are a little more expensive and I have had them tear pretty bad. Be careful throwing them under over hanging trees, etc.. Now the great thing is these frogs are 100% compatible with mend it, and you can literally tear one in half and mend it back together as good as new. Mark swears by them, so I plan to spend more time with one of these tied on this year.

Ish's / Bobby's Perfect Frogs - I agree with Mark, they are descent frogs but they just haven't been very productive to me and I have spent some time throwing them, but I only have 2 colors, 1. White 2. Black

The hybrid to all this to me has been the Bobby's perfect Buzz frog - I have had some big time blow ups on this. And in heavily pressured waters. But I have missed 3 out of 4 fish that have hit it, so it makes me mad. But what I have learned to do is to keep a senko tied on a rod with me, and when they blow up and I miss them, I can almost always get them on the senko. I have incorporated that into all of my frog fishing and it has helped me catch more fish.

There is no doubt that frog fishing is amazing, the set up I use alot is a Heavy Micro Magic Ducket rod, Curado or Chronarch 7:1, with 55 Power Pro Braid. When I'm in the thick cover, I use a mega bass perfect Pitch with a white chronarch 7:1, still using 55 Power Pro Braid, but I have been thinking about switching to 70# Samari braid because I have heard so many great things about it.

Thanks Slade for the reviews