I think just about every day is different in howthey eat a frog. Some days they you need to hit em as soon asthey hit. Other days you gotta wait a second. Lots of variables cause that I think.

I personally am not a fan of bending out hooks on a frog but that's just me. There are brands outtgere where you do not need to do that.bestthing is experiment with different brands to settle in on what you like.

Also to me unless I am in crazy heavy cover I don't need a broomstick of a rod that is long and cumbersome. I use a7' 2" H with fast action that has a little give in it, decent high speed reel and 40-50lb braid unless again I am in heavy, heavy cover. I always have 2 frog rods ready to go. Sometimes 3 rods.

thanks for the advice

Here's my setup...
Revo S (Old school one) This reel is a beast
Diawa Team Rod MH (Really not a fan of the H rods unless I'm fishing pads or dense grass)
50lb braid
Spro frogs (as these are my confident bait)

I don't care who you are, you will miss bites on a frog. What I've done to increase my hook ups:
Ensure my hooks are sharp and not bent in...this happens when you fish the thick stuff
Certain brands the body is softer than others and this really is where you get better bites
Certain brands don't take on water or roll up around the base of the hooks
And that counting thing...YES it works
Pause until you feel the fish turn or there's weight

Wisdom.

Use a heavy/moderate rod. Count 1234. As fast as you can when the fish rolls on it, then swing. After a few catches, you will get a feel for the hook set and how/when it’s time.

Froggin' is my forte. Fellow anglers reported I had veins of ice, as I learned to not set the hook on seeing the explosion- which is hard to do. That worked fairly well, or so I thought. It actually only worked so-so. Then after 10 years of serious frogging, with the wait technique, I heard from Mr Dobbyn's and Bobby Barrack, among others, that in two seconds of waiting those bass could be down in the roots of something, and you're out of luck. As they said, fish don't have hands. They set immediately, and for the past 10 years, I do too now. Miss less fish now, as in that two seconds they might decide it's not real, and spit it just as you go to set it!!! Quite a few times my best three frog fish went 18 pounds, and once up at Clearlake I got 18 or so up to 6# without ever moving the boat, fishing 'cheese' in like 3 hours, was epic. I've written up an article on AtoZ of how to fish frogs, hope this helps: https://www.seewald.com/how_to_fish_frogs.htm

Bend your hooks out and up and 50lb+ braid with sweep hookset…I usually try to look away from the frog for other action and delay hookset on the sound of the flush

Why would companies make a lure that costs 10-15 dollars and it’s design is so flawed you need to bend the hooks? That doesn’t sound right

Its a trade off. Frogs(and the hooks) are designed to be weedless. The hooks are way less weedless when you bend them(slightly) out but hookup ratio goes up. Pick your poison.

Some brands are designed so that you do not have to bend your hooks out. That is one reason I tell people to try a few different brands until you find a couple that fit their needs.

Exactly!

So far my best hook up ratios have been with:
Spro
Megabass
Strike King (believe it or not)

Why do you say believe It or not about the strike king? Do they have a bad rep?
Someone else in this thread only uses strike king is why I ask.

Because in some circles...anything that is pushed by pros and sold out of BPS is the DEVIL!

The strike king sexy frog won me $300 in our working man’s tourney Tuesday night. If there was a better one, I’d be using it. The sexy frog is only like $7-$8, depending on if it’s Walmart or academy. I don’t alter the hooks at all. SOMETIMES I will use a frog trailer hook. I MIGHT trim the legs a little if they seem to be short striking the bait as well. But, 90% of the time, I open the package, tie my Palomar, then catch fish until it can’t float anymore.

If you only counted one second, then you probably didn't wait long enough. I had a guide show me way back when...when they hit...count to three, then set the hook. Very difficult to do because once the hit happens you are probably ready to change your underwear...but wait. AS others said you will feel the fish at that point, and you will get better hookups.

Watch the pro's some day...most of them modify lures that they get all the time. It is not really a flaw...its just that the companies need to make money off of the baits they sell, so they may use not the best components....that is where we have the opportunity to upgrade or modify to make them work for us the way we want them to.