Mann's Hard Nose Swim Toad Review

hard Nose Swim Toad:    Colours: 8   Size: 5"     Pack Count:  5     

                                    Leg Style: Swim            Scent: Salted

Intro:

The Manns Hard Nose Swim Toad is one of the soft body frogs that I can attribute to my  love of soft body from fishing. It is an extremely easy to use bait that has built tuff so we as anglers are not constantly adjusting and or replacing frogs while on the water. I always carry a pack of these with me when tournament fishing as they help me keep my line wet longer then any other from in my arsenal   

Overall Rating: 8.2/10

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

Quality: 4.5/5

This frog came very close to getting a perfect score in this category due to the "hard nose" alone. Mann's must have this patented as I'm not sure why no other companies and have tried it out or at least attempted a version of it. No other frog holds you hook as long or as well as the Manns Hard Nose Swim frog.. now if only the legs held us as well 

Castability: 4.0/5

The weight of this bait is the only think that prevented it from getting a perfect score in the cast-ability category. It is light weight, and you will need to play with your reel a bit to find that sweet spot that allows for long distance casts without the heartache of picking birds-nests every few casts  (we have all been there). All in all the design of the hard nose swim toad makes it cast very well, it is aerodynamic and skips very well (the hard nose is a huge help in keeping the bait in place on the hook even on harder skips)

Presentation: 4.5/5

If you are looking for a loud obnoxious swimming motion and sound, then this is not the frog for you. It has a very subtle or gentle churning that gives off a softer ripple then many swim frogs. It moves well in and over cover, and has a nice sink when paused. There is nothing bad I can say about the Swim Toads presentation so much so that it is making me rethink the fact that I only gave it a 4.5/5?

Hook-Up Ratio: 4.5/5

With a flexible body that would rival that of a 20 year old yoga instructor the Hard hose swim toad will provide you with an a very high hook-up ratio (if you let it). The body and legs do their best to get out of the way on a hook-set and let you slam it home.

I do wish this frog came with some sort of hard guard or slot on it's back, as the only issues I find is that the super soft body can be torn up by the hook point and it will often leave you exposed on the retrieve. Sure this is good for the hook-up ratio but it also means more fowl ups on grass and pads if the frog rolls on you.

Availability: 3.5/5

For a bait that is as popular as the Mann's hard nose swim toad, I'm continuously surprised on how few on-line retailers carry it. I know locally I can walk into over 80% of the tackle shops and buy it right off the shelf, yet on-line I have to do some searching or I can be forced to do business with shops I don't usually order from.. Tackle Warehouse is the only place I regularly purchase from that carries this bait currently.

Options & Price: 3.5/5

At its very best this bait has 8 color options, all of which are pretty decent (most retailers I found only stock 5-6 of those colors). I tend to stick to the Black, White or even the Green Pumpkin versions as I'm quickly becoming a "green pumpkin" believer.

As for the price there is pretty drastic range right now, two of the retailers have it on for $4.19 which works out to $0.83 a frog.. not bad.. but it can be found as low as $2.89 from places like Tackle Warehouse and I will admit at that price these are worth every penny ($0.58 a frog)

Where to Find:

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

Mann's Bait ($4.19)

Tackle Warehouse ($2.89)

Cabela's ($4.19)

Equipment:

As with the majority of my swim frogs I find that they are best paired with a Dobyns 735c if you are fishing them at long distances or around any sort of cover. If you are fishing open water area you could get away fishing the Hard nose swim toad on the 734c, it has a bit less umph and a softer tip to work it's magic. As for lines I like to go a bit lighter with swim frogs and usually throw in the 20lb range an no higher then 40lb. This season I will be giving my swim frogs a work out on the new Daiwa Lexa reel, there has been a load of hype around it and I cant wait to get it on the water