Retired: Berkley BatWing Frog Review

BatWing:      Retired!

Intro:

I know of at least one angler that was sad to see these frogs go, but that angler is not me. The Berkley BatWing frog is an oddly designed frog that is super light weight with a flat belly and odd legs. It moves surprisingly well over pads, and fish seem to eat it.. that power bait scent is still a winner. But overall as soft plastic frogs go, the BatWing cant compete with all the options available to todays angler, and thus Berkley has retired the BatWing (but not the Gulp version)

Overall Rating: 6.2/10

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

Quality: 3.5/5

Berkley has been making quality baits for years, and when looking at the BatWing frog it is not so much the quality of the product as it is the quality of the presentation. The material used stands up well to the abuse a bait goes through when landing multiple fish, but I feel it is over simplified and does not present as well as it could

Castability: 3.0/5

This is a very, very light weigh bait and it takes to getting use to when casting. The aerodynamic deisgn works in it's favour but overall it can be a nightmare to cast in windy conditions or without setting your drag to loose.

Presentation: 2.5/5

There may be some that will argue with my review, but I found this Frog lacked presentation altogether. The legs give off a faint soft flutter but the body imparts little action and even less when paused. I did have some rolling issues for awhile, and it took some getting use to to find the perfect retrieve.

The BatWing frog is a much better pad frog then open water frog. The flat belly allows it to sit better on top of the pads, and allows you to drag it at various speeds. If you put the BatWing through a bumpy ride it will flip on you, and good luck getting it to turn back over.

Hook-Up Ratio: 3.5/5

The thin body is one of the best things about the BatWing frog, it allows you to use standard and EWG hooks and still have room to slam the hook home. I don't like how your hook point sits on the back of the frog, the material is not build to skin hook well and there is no other place to put the hook. This is a good thing for your hook-up ratio but makes for difficult retrieves when in heavy cover.

Availability: N/A

Good luck finding a BatWing nowadays, sure some shops may have a dusty collection from years past, but I can find a single retailer currently selling it, including Berkley. You will still find some of the "Gulp" BatWing frogs hanging around but I will warn you if you think this i was a poor review just wait to I review the Gulp version, slimy soft mess that it is

Options & Price: N/A

There are not any, this frog is not available. When it was there were a few colour options as available. I like the black and red as well as a green white. No sizes changes but all frogs came with that secret power bait scent.

Where to Find:

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

I cant find one on-line store carrying the non gulp version of the BatWing!

Equipment:

This is a light weight frog so you may want to put away those ultra beefy rods. I fish the BatWing with a Dobyns 735c and the 805CBRM. As with other light weight frogs the 805's extra length helps fling the frog over greater distances. You wont need much more then 40lb braid and could get away with some thinner if you have casting difficulties.