I bought a spro frog to drag across the muck in my pond and they were crushing it but I couldnt get a hook set!!! This is the type that has the tassels for legs and double hook coming up around the back. Is there anyone else that has experienced anything similar or maybe Im just a shmuck...?

Thanks guys

The two things that you should probably do right away when starting with frogs:

1. Use braid. There is little to no stretch in the line which allows you to impart a good amount of force on the hook points.

2. Bend the hooks up slightly. You don't want to go too much, since it'll hang up more often. Just enough to bring the hook points off the rubber.

Beyond that, make sure that you aren't jumping the gun on the hookset. Let the fish turn so there's a better chance of the hook grabbing hold of the mouth. You can also trim the rubber legs to help with short strikes. You can also add weight to one side of the frog, or cut one leg shorter to allow it to walk like a Zara Spook. If you're fishing it above submerged vegetation, and there isn't a chance of getting snagged you could add trailer hooks or something like this: www.basspro.com/Lake-Fork-Tackle-Frog-Ta...=shopping_googlebase

I know how you feel. Years ago when I fished freshwater a lot more I started using rubber frogs and had the same problem. The advice I was given was to count to 3, reel until you actually feel the fish, then set the hook like you want to lift his head out of the water. I don't know why, but they just don't always take the bait completely into their mouth on the strike. Sometime while counting to 3 you'll even see the bait float back up followed by another hit. Maybe the first strike is sometimes more af an attempt to smash the frog.

Actually lifting the head out of the water on the hookset has a side benefit when fishing around heavy cover - the fish will be facing you and pointed up before he starts to fight. This can prevent him from getting wrapped up in tons of grass and lilly pads sometimes. It can also have a funny side effect - we always called it a home run when the fish was a little smaller than anticipated and the hookset sent him over the boat.

Great advice!

I really like spro but they are a tougher plastic, if you are fishing mats you should consider a buzzing type frog (horny toad, ribbit, rage toad) since you don't have to worry about floating it. I believe using those would increase you hookup ratio, but you still have to count to three.

I also found that the semi-translucent spro frogs are a little softer and also improve your hookups.

I almost forgot one small detail - try to point the rod down at the fish the instant he strikes. This serves two purposes - gives you something to do while fighting the urge to set the hook and creates a little bit of slack in the line that seems to help the fish get the frog in his mouth better.

The more I think about this the more I want to go bass fishing again. I spent a lot of hot summer nights pulling rubber frogs off of hydrilla mats and weedy banks. Frogs were always my favorite night bait. Amazing how loud some of those topwater strikes can be on a quiet night - sounds like someone threw a brick in the water sometimes.

Spro frogs are the only ones I use. I love them. When it comes down to hooking up the fish you have to wait like 2 seconds for the fish to actually get the lure in its mouth then WACK them. I had to learn on my own on how I cant hook up to these fish with it. Ive fished the Spro's for about 4 years. Just when you get hit I usually say "let them eat" once then WACK and your on. Just gotta hold back on the hook set at the beginning which is really hard. Im also using Spiderwire 50lb Stealth. Pretty much no stretch

Hey guys thanks. Im gonna try all of your suggestions. Tell u what though,that damn from aint coming off till a stick a bass! Funny how these little challenges present themselves. thanks again guys.