Basiriski Hard Belly 60: Colors: 6 Length: 2.5" Weight: 1/2oz Pack Count: 1
Basiriski Hard Belly 70: Colors: 6 Lenght: 3.0" Weight: 3/4oz Pack Count: 1
Intro:
When I did a short review of this frog last season on the BJFA blog, I explained that this was a frog I had ignored for awhile. It came down to how different it is from the standard hollow body frogs that Im use to, as well as the price tag. I got over both of those fears, and have since really fallen in love with the Basiriski.. is it my everyday go to frog.. No.. but it does excel in many situations and is a lot of fun to throw
Overall Rating: 7.2/10
Each frog is rated on the following criteria: Quality, Castability, Presentation, Hook-up Ratio Available Options, Product Availability & Price
Quality: 4.5/5
lets face it, in many cases you get what you pay for, so when you are dropping $18 or more on a frog, you are expecting top quality.. and Deps delivers. The body of this bait has the perfect balance between durability and softness, if compresses easily but is very tuff. The Basiriski is equipped with a premium Owner hook and the belly has a solid plate that stands up to the abuse you will put it through while casting.
In my original review the only real concern I had was with the 3 piece hook system. This is still a concern, but I have yet to experience any problems or issues with the internal portion of the hard belly frog
Castability: 4.0/5
This frog is a casting machine, weighing in at 1/2oz and 3/4oz respectively you can launch this frog a mile, and not worry about the landing. The hard belly helps with two areas during the cast, one it keeps the frog up-right to ensure it lands true, and secondly it acts as a great aid if you want to skip the Basiriski under any cover.
Presentation: 4.5/5
I came really close to giving the Deps hard belly a 5/5 when it comes to presentation, and that is based solely on the fact that it does exactly what is has been advertised to do, and more. I love the fact that this hollow belly reacts differently on various types of retrieve, it can be slow crawled, burned, and even "pulled" back to the boat. It is nearly impossible to fish this frog wrong.
Personally I like to use a slow crawl combined with short pulls. This allows the frog to have a soft churn or wake in the water, and then short bursts that cause a great commotion.
Personally I like to use a slow crawl combined with short pulls. This allows the frog to have a soft churn or wake in the water, and then short bursts that cause a great commotion.
Hook-Up Ratio: 3.0/5
This is another area in which i had a hard time rating the frog. There are pro's and con's involved in the current design, so I'm going to share them with you, and you can decide if I'm being too critical.
lets do this leading with the good news, and that is that the body of this frog is very soft, and collapses easily. The hard plate on the belly of the frog is used to help propel or drive the hook home when a fish bites. The team at Deps believe a hard or firm bottom improves hook sets over standards hollow body frogs that are soft on both sides.. I see the science, but cant comment on if it helps, i just know it doesn't hurt.
now for the bad news.. the Basiriski hard belly frog has some pretty large appendages or legs on the tail end, as you have seen from my past reviews, I do believe the more you have on the back end of a frog the more chances there are for something to go wrong. You will miss fish, how many fish, thats the intangible. Second to the wide leg stance is the single hook. This is very rare in hollow body frogs and one less hook point obviously has to lower the score for a baits possible hook-up ratio
Availability: 3.0/5
Locally this frog was nearly impossible to find, I came across it by accident but was happy I did. On-line many of the big guys carry the Deps line, but if you are a hands on guy and like to check out a $20 frog before making a purchase, you are going to have a hard time finding one.
Options & Price: 2.5/5
With two sizes and 6 colors your choices are not to bad, but the price tag alone drove this rating down. As stated in my original review I bought my first Basirisky with a gift certificate i won at a tournament.. if I did not have that "found money" I dont know if I would have dropped the $20. Again I will state, "I'm glad I did" and I have bought more since, but this price will scare away many first time buyers
Where to Find:
In case you are having a hard time finding these locally, here are some reliable options for you.
Optimum Bait Company ($18.99)
Because there are two sizes there are also two price points. As always I will be listing the entry level price, in this case that means the prices listed are the for size 60 frog. On average you can expect to pay an extra $1 for the 70 series
Equipment:
In my original review of this frog I stated that I would be using my Dobyns DX795 while fishing a Deps hard belly frog, since that time I have changed my mind a bit. Yes this frogs is big and heavy, but due to the various presentation options, it can still be classed in the "finesse" frog category. So by downsizing to a Dobyns 736c you will retain the power and backbone you need and you will get a bit more tip to work the frog
Standard hollow body rules apply here, you will want to use 40lb + line, and a reel that can pull big fish from cover
Standard hollow body rules apply here, you will want to use 40lb + line, and a reel that can pull big fish from cover
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