Creme Fish Frog Review

FishFrog:      Colours: 9   Size: 4"    Weight: N/A      Pack Count:  5     

                        Leg Style: Buzz      Scent: None

Intro:

The Creme FishFrog is my first introduction into the Creme line of baits. I really liked the look of the bait when I saw it on-line and just had to have one. I have fished the FishFrog multiple times now and although I dont have any real complaints with this bait, I do find that it does not offer the user anything new or unique that is not already offered by some higher quality (or more readily available) products.

Overall Rating: 6.0/10

Each frog is rated on the following criteria: Quality, Castability, Presentation, Hook-up Ratio Available Options, Product Availability & Price

Quality: 4.0/5

As I kind of touched on above I have no real concerns with the quality or performance of this bait, and actually I think one area I can praise this bait would be in it's quality and durability. The body is built tough it holds hooks well and takes all the abuse a fish can throw its way. Haven't lost a leg yet!

Castability: 3.5/5

A nice arrow dynamic fish shaped design helps cast this bait for long distances., Couple that with a fairly hefty bait (for a soft plastic frog) the Creme FishFrog is a dream to cast. If you like to skip frogs, this beaut will do that to

Presentation: 3.5/5

Overall the FishFrog moves very well in the water. The fish shaped design allows you to easily pull the frog back to the surface after your cast and keep it up during the retrieve. The legs are solid and kick very well without having to keep up a high rate of retrieve. This frog has an odd bulbous belly that helps keep the hook point out of harms way so your retrieve should be uninterrupted (other then from fish hopefully)

Hook-Up Ratio: 3.0/5

No real complaints with the hook-up ration on the FishFrog, the body is made of a fairly pliable plastic that contorts easily. The only concern you may have is how dense the body is. It holds the hook very firmly and if you barrie it took deep you are going to be in some trouble. 

Availability: 1.0/5

Ok, so the availability of this frog kinda sucks. I cant even find it on the Creme site, and was only able to find it on two other websites.. one of which (TackleWarehouse) is obviously discontinuing them as they only have 1 color option in stock.

Options & Price: 3.0/5

Creme offers the FishFrog in 9 color options, and at an average price of $3.79 a pack or $0.75 a frog. This is a decent assortment and price for a smaller vendor.

Where to Find:

In case you are having a hard time finding these locally, here are some reliable options for you.

Tackle Warehouse ($3.89)*

Land Big Fish ($3.69)

* Tackle Warehouse only has one color left, so I beleieve they are discontinuing this product.

Equipment:

I threw the FishFrog on both my Dobyns 735c as well as my 805CBRM. I think I preferred the 735c as this frog still handles well with beefier rods and does not require the same amount of tip as other more finesse style frogs

LunkerHunt Pocket Frog Review

Pocket Frog:      Colours: 5   Size: 4"    Weight: N/A      Pack Count: 1     

                        

Intro:

Many of you may have only recently heard the name "LunkerHunt" (winning a best in show award at ICAST will do that for ya) but in Ontario they have been around for a few years now and they are slowily building a very impressive line of baits.. including the Pocket Frog, a bait that can be found as part of their EDU-kits series.

Overall Rating: 6.7/10

Each frog is rated on the following criteria: Quality, Castability, Presentation, Hook-up Ratio Available Options, Product Availability & Price

Quality: 4.0/5

for a new guy on the market, and one that is smaller then most of its competition, you will quickly see that LunkerHunt (if they are not already) will become known for the quality of bait they produce. The Pocket frog is one of those baits. A durable body, great colours and what appears to be a quality hook round out a frog that has the overall package (only smaller)

Castability: 3.0/5

It is very hard to score the Pocket frog or any Froglet for that matter on its casting. These tiny baits are super light and can be harder to throw on bait-casting rigs. Once you get the hang of it you should have no problem placing this little guy where ever you want

Presentation: 3.5/5

again, it could just be me, but I have a hard time working smaller frogs the same way I would work a larger model. I dont find they walk as easy and for the most part I would prefer to drag, or hop them along. I like the look and profile of the Pocket frog in the water and fish really eat it up

Hook-Up Ratio: 4.0/5

If there is one thing that froglets have going for them over their bigger brothers, it is the hook-up ratio. You could pretty much catch fish on this bait even if it did not have a hook. The Pocket frog does have a hook (thankfully) but on close inspection you will noticed it is a barbless hook. Some guys will balk at this, but the team at LunkerHunt assured me that when field tested the barbless hook performed extremely well, fish inhale this bait, and hold on.

Availability: 2.5

Sorry guys, but currently there is no where you can buy this frog on line. LunkerHunt lists all the available retailers on it's site, and although respectable it only includes the likes of Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart, Sail and a few more. Two notable webbased companies are listed wich include Amazon.com and Sportsmans Warehouse, I could not find this frog on either of these sites

Options & Price: 3.0

Currently there are not a tone of options for this frog. From what I can see we are looking a 2-3 colour choices and a price point around $7.49. I do believe it is worth the cash, but as an introductory product I was hoping to see it come in at $5 or $6

Where to Find:

In case you are having a hard time finding these locally, here are some reliable options for you.

Home Hardware ($7.49)

Equipment:

These babies are small and could use a lite touch. I like to throw them on a Dobyns 744C or even on spinning gear such as a 703sf. The lighter rods will held ensure distance and accuracy when casting and and still build tough enough to muscle fish from cover. When downsizing your rod, I would also look at lighter line choices. On Spinning gear you can get away with 10-20lb braid and on a bait caster you can use as low as 20lb but may still want to run 30lb.. it is a frog!

Pictured with other Froglets.. VOK (top) and Live Target (bottom)

Spro Bronzeye Baby Popper Review

Spro Baby Popper 60mm:      Colours: 16   Size: 2 3/8"    Weight: 1/2oz      Pack Count:  1     

Spro Baby Popper 50mm:      Colours: 16   Size: 2 3/8"    Weight: 1/4oz      Pack Count:  1 

Intro:

If you have been reading this blog for any period of time you will know that Im not a huge fan of Spro frogs, it is a preference thing, not a personal thing, so when I saw the Spro Baby Popper introduced at ICAST back in 2011 it really peaked my interest and I just had to have one, and I have to say, although it is not without its faults, Im a fan.

Overall Rating: 7.3/10

Each frog is rated on the following criteria: Quality, Castability, Presentation, Hook-up Ratio Available Options, Product Availability & Price

Quality: 4.0/5

No matter your personal preference in frogs that is one thing that can't be argued here, and that is that Spro makes a mean frog, and not only in looks! this are quality frogs built tuff.

With a high grade plastic body these frogs take abuse well and hold up fish after fish. The Baby Poppers are equiped with a 1/0 Gammakatsu frog hook, a hook I personally consider to be one of the best currently available

Castability: 3.0/5

I came across some casting issues with this tiny frog. The 1/4oz more so then the 1/2oz but either way it took some break adjustment and a rod change (or two) before I found a comfortable set up for throwing  the Baby Popper.  It's small size and weight make it hard to throw on a standard hollow body rod, so you may need to downsize a bit if you want to get distance and accuracy.

Presentation: 3.5/5

When it comes to presentation this frog really excels in open water or sparse cover situations, it walks, pops, and gurgles with the best of them. I did have some issues when fishing heavier cover and I believe that comes down to weight more then design. It sits very lightly on cover and won't pound the roof as much as larger/heavier frogs. I felt like I was accomplishing very little when fishing think slop and would tend to stick to sparse pads, timber and other other water situations

Hook-Up Ratio: 4.0/5

This snack sized bait (also know as a froglet) will give you a great hook-up ratio, like a 2-bite brownie hawg bass will inhale it and all you have to do is set the hook. I also find the body material more supple then traditional Spro frogs, with was also a concern for me in their previous models

Availability: 3.5/5

It's Spro, if you can find there product in your local shops you really need to move. They are one of the best selling brands on the market and can be easily found. That being said the baby popper is not also so easily found and many of the retailers I deal with don't carry it, or if they do, carry only one colour 

Options & Price: 4.0/5

This is Spro we are a talking about, so you know there will be a tone of options and you know kinda where the price will land. This frog comes in 2 sizes and 16 color options, wich is why it is rated so high. On average these frogs come in at just under $9 a piece which is not bad, like mentioned before I really dont want to pay more then $10 for a frog (but I will!)

When Spro first hit the market they were responsible for the now standard price range of $10-$13 a frog, I think I still hold a grudge against them for that, even though currently many other frogs well out price the current Spro line-up.

Where to Find:

In case you are having a hard time finding these locally, here are some reliable options for you.

Spro ($10.40)

Tackle Warehouse ($8.79)

Land Big Fish  ($7.99 - $8.49)

Videos: 

2011 ICast with John Crews

Wired 2 Fish w/ Dean Rojas 

Equipment:

Rod selection is tuff with this frog as it took me some time to get use to throwing the 1/4oz model on my standard go to Hollow belly rod. I originally tied it on to my 736c but then changed over to the 735 and probably could drop down to a 734. 

Poppers in my opinion are more of an open water (or sparse cover) presentation, so you can get away with using lighter line then when fishing heavy cover. that being said I would not drop below the 30-40lb mark. Lighter line will help the casting distance of this tiny frog  

Trigger X Aggression Frog Review

             

Aggression Frog:      Colours: 8   Size: 4"    Weight: N/A      Pack Count:  6     

                        Leg Style: Buzz      Scent: UltraBite Aggression Pheromones

Intro:

Trigger X is a company that I watch fairly closely, they introduce a lot of very interesting baits onto the market and although many of them are successful there seem to be just as many failures.. the Aggression frog fits into the failure category for me.. In baseball a "X" means a strike, this frog should should have XXX next to it's name, it has truly struck out

Overall Rating: 6.1/10

Each frog is rated on the following criteria: Quality, Castability, Presentation, Hook-up Ratio Available Options, Product Availability & Price

Quality: 3.5/5

I have no complaints with the quality of bait I receive when trying a new Trigger X product, they all appear to be well made and equally stinky. They hold up well on multiple fish and don't dry out like other liquid cased products (you know who you are.. Gulp)

The rubber/plastic used to make the Aggression frog is a good mix of firm and stretchy, you won't lose limbs easily (but then again you have to convince a fish to bite before you have to worry about the baits durability)

Castability: 3.5/5

Designed well, and very arrow dynamic this frog casts like a bullet, and skips better then most. This is probably the area in which the Aggression Frog excels the most if it fished half as well as it casts, this would be a top tier bait

Presentation: 2.0/5

As you can see from the score, this is not a frog known for how well it moves in the water.. I would go as far to say it is one of the worst soft plastic frogs I have used (presentation wise). I find you really need to get this frog moving to have the legs actually kick, for the first few feel it looks and feels more like Im dragging the frog then swimming it.

Even when it looked like I had the hook perfectly centred this bait still twisted turned, it has hard to keep it running smooth, straight or accurately. I could not find the happy medium for speed, to fast and it spun, too slow and it would not kick.

Hook-Up Ratio: 3.0/5

With a slender body profile and fairly collapsible legs this frogs gives you a chance to get a hook into the fish. I believe a belly slot and or a place to rest the hook on the back of the frog would increase performance as well as hook up ratio

Availability: 3.0

Locally I have a real hard time getting my hands on the aggression frog, Trigger X products are available, but not in abundance. On-line they are available from many of the big guns and at a fairly decent price

Options & Price: 3.5

One thing that Trigger X does right is providing the customer with selection at a good price. The Aggression frog falls into that category, they are price on average at $4.89 a pack or $0.81 a frog (6 pack). With 8 colours available you should be able to find one to your liking. I purchased both the black and the white version, both of which will not be seeing any more time on the water.

Where to Find:

In case you are having a hard time finding these locally, here are some reliable options for you.

Tackle Warehouse ($4.89)

Land Big Fish ($4.89)

Kruger Farms ($4.79)

Jax Cat Tackle ($4.29)

*Please note I have never purchased from Kruger or Jax this is not an endorsement.

Equipment:

This is a weird one and I had a hard time getting comfortable with either of my two frog rods. I settled on the 805cbrm but still don't think it is the perfect rod for this frog, I find it a bit lite, and the 735c is a bit to heavy.. again Im not super concerned as it is a bait that I don't think will find its way back into my daily arsenal