LunkerHunt Lunker Frog Contest Winner: Blake Walters

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate "Blake Walters" for winning the LunkerHunt "Lunker Frog contest"

A special thanks goes out to all those who entered, between the "Likes" (98) and the "Shares" (139) there was a total of 237 entries to choose from

This may have been the first frog pond giveaway, but it wont be the last.. stay tuned for more coming your way this summer

Lunker Hunt - Lunker Frog Review

Lunker Frog:   Colors: 2     Length: 2.5inch    Weight: 1/2oz   Pack Count: 1

Intro:

I have been excited about this frog for awhile now, I love the look of it, and I was interested to see how well the swim legs would perform in the water and over the pads.. I took my time in the testing and after my first few outings I was not really blown away by the frogs performance. But as I used it, I became more and more comfortable with the way it fishes, and how incredibly well it hooks-up..but unfortunately at the same time I came across a few issues that are hard to overlook.. you be the judge

Overall Rating: 7.0/10

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

Quality: 3.0/5

Oh, how I wanted to sit here and rave to you about the overall quality of this frog.. but alas too many things went wrong during testing...

I will start off with what went right, because there is a lot to like, including the highly realistic paint job that has a metallic like shimmer giving it more flash in the water then it's muted competition. The body of the Lunker frog is also super soft and highly compressible, yet durable.. (unfortunately the same cant be said for the legs). Believe me when I tell you that this frog has incredible hook-up capabilities and when a fish takes it, hold on because he ain't letting go

The legs are my main concern, yes they are very flexible and they move very well in the water, folding back up against the body of the frog on each and every pause.. but they can be torn off easily, the damage seen below was not done by a fish, but simply by being caught up in pads as I hopped and swam the frog over them.. I'm not abusive with my baits and was very surprised on how easily the Lunker Frog became an amputee.

The second main concern I have with the  Lunker Frog is how fast it takes on water (even before loosing a leg) this bad boy sinks quickly when fished over open water, and often would fully submerge on the pause during longer retrieves.. It you keep it moving fast or over structure you will not experience this issue, but if fishing it over open areas be ready to drain it after every cast

Castability: 4.0/5

The Lunker Frog casts very well, and lands almost always upright. Because this hollow body frog is really a swim frog, I like to long bomb it and actively cover water more then I would with a standard hollow body. The legs make it harder (but not impossible) to skip, but overall pitching it is much easier when you need to get into tight spaces or over hangs.

Presentation: 3.0/5

It took me some time to get use to the way this bait swims. The legs move and kick sporadically and it looks much nicer from afar then it does up close and personal.. don't get me wrong, it swims as advertised and pauses even better. When you pause the Lunker Frog the legs snap back up next to the body and it sits perfect, ready and waiting to be eaten.. this is when most of my strikes took place

Obviously the fact that the Lunker Frog takes on water, will effect this rating and it's overall presentation in the water. be sure to give it a squeeze after each cast if you want to stop it from turning into a diving frog

Hook-Up Ratio: 5.0/5

The body of the Lunker frog is one of its best assets.. it is soft, supple and collapses super easily. The hooks are sharp and placed properly so that they do not get in the way during your retrieve but quickly find a home once a fish hammers them. Fish after fish swallowed this bait hole and I continuously got great "top of mouth hook-ups" so much so that I'm pretty willing to over look some of the other flaws this bait has and continued to fish it, even with the missing leg

The legs surprisingly enough don't get int he way of your hook set and are so soft that if they did the  hook would easily penetrate them. Again I cant overstate how well this frog collapses under pressure

Availability: 3.0/5

Even after their ICAST win in 2012 for best soft plastic bait Lunker Hunt products are still not widely available. Luckily enough they can be picked up at TackleWarhouse wich is the largest on-line dealer to carry them. They can also be found at some Bass Pro Shops as well as WalMart in the US. In Canada your best bet is to check out Canadian Tire store

Options & Price: 3.0/5

So far there are not many choices as of yet. The Lunker Frog comes in one size and 2 colour options. Not great, but a good start. As for the price they can be found as low as $7.99 and as high as $8.99. this is a good price point, putting them under the $10 mark but pricing themselves slightly higher then the Booyah Pad Crasher (who currently set the standard for quality/price)

Where to Find:

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

Tackle Warehouse ($7.99) 

Carolina Fishing Tackle ($7.99)

Full Retailer List

Videos:

How it moves 

Equipment:

You could easily fish the Lunker Frog on a Dobyns 736c (my hollow body rod of choice) but since you will be "swimming" it more then you would with most hollow body frogs, I would recommend dropping down to the 735c, that little extra tip gives you more bait control.

Testing was done with a Daiwa Lexa 300 series reel, a super smooth cast, that may have actually helped give this frog its high score in the casting section

Spike-It Bog Frog Review

Bog Frog:      Colours: 8   Size: 4.5"     Pack Count:  5     

                            Leg Style: Swim            Scent: Garlic

Intro:

I know, I know, you are all waiting for review on this seasons hottest new baits, but Im sorry my season does not open a for a few weeks, so until then I will be feeding you reviews of frogs from last season or older. This review is or Spike-It Outdoors "Bog Frog" a bait that takes Spike-Its unique color process and applies it to a pretty lack luster frog

Overall Rating: 5.6/10

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

Quality & Durability: 2.5/5

Unfortunately a frog that has some good things going for it ultimately fails due to poor design. The head on this bait and thin and small, making it a pain to rig, and easy to tear up. This is a one fish bait (if that)

I do like the legs, the thinner portion coming off the back of the frog makes them durable and the longer slender tips give it good action.  

Castability: 3.0/5

The Bog Frog is made of a fairly dense plastic but casts lighter then it should (or then you would expect it to) It's flat bottom makes it skippable, but overall I don't like the way it lands,  or falls on the pause.. this all comes down to the body design

Presentation: 3.0/5

 overall this frog swims fairly well, but thats it., any "dead" or "pause" on the presentation offers the angler no action at all (reminding me of the Ultimate Bucketmouth Ugly Lunker frog).

Even the swim is on the Bog frog is fairly subtle giving off a slight disturbance in the water but not really a churn or a buzz

Hook-Up Ratio: 3.0/5

I had a hard time finding the "right" or "perfect" hook for this frog. Length can be an issue as it has a shorter body and many hooks come out between the legs meaning the only thing holding the hook in place is your skin hook on the point.. bury it too deep and you will drastically effect your hook-up ratio, bury it to loose and it will pop-out and you will spend most of your time ripping it free from pads and weeds, and not a fishes mouth

Availability: 2.0/5

When I purchased this frogs many a season ago it was more widely available. Today I can only find two on-line retailers carrying it, and one of them is Spike-It themselves.

locally this frog is no-where to be found

Options & Price: 3.0/5

The options vary for the Bog Frog, best case scenario you will be able to find all 8 colour options, more likely then not, you will find 4-6 colour options. All of which will be heavily scented with Garlic

Spike-It will tell you that although they only have 8 colour options, their "spike-adelic" method of injection (almost like a tie-dye) makes each frog unique, and makes the exact colour option immeasurable 

Where to Find:

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

Spike-It Outdoors ($3.89)

Barlows Tackle ($3.49)

I ordered  mine direct from Spike-It as I have never done business with Barlows and prefer to go right to the source 

Equipment:

As with any frog bait the key to fishing the Bog Frog well is balance.  You need a rod with the light enough tip to cast for distance and accuracy but you need the strength to pull fish out of cover fast. I tested this frog on a few rods and liked it with an odd choice.. the Dobyns  805CB RM, yes a crank bait rod. I like the extra length, and it almost turns this 5 power rod into a 4. For the reels, check out a Daiwa Lexa 100 series, you want need the added bulk of the 300 series, as the 100 is quite tuff

With a swim frog you can get away with 20-30lb line. I threw this on Daiwa Samurai a line that is quickly becoming my all around braid (expect on my beefier Frog rods)

Lunker Frog - Contest! - Closed

One of the hottest frogs on the market for 2013 is the Lunker Frog from Lunker Hunt, a company that really made their mark last year after their Bento baits took the Best in Show award for Soft plastic baits at ICAST 2012. Proving they are not a 1-trick pony LunkerHunt announced the launch of the LunkerFrog in a nationwide (US) release with Walmart and then branching out to their loyal retailers in Canada and the US.. if you were not on top of your game there is a good chance your local shop sold out of these babies long before you even knew they were there, if thats the case, how would you like to get one for "free"?

It's super easy, all you have to do it head on over to the FrogPond Facebook page (HERE) and hit "like" or "share" on the contest post.. it's that easy, and while your there don't hesitate to like both the FrogPond and LunkerHunt Facebook pages (it's not a requirement, but,  hey we appreciate it)

If your a non-Facebooker, you can simply comment on this post to be entered into the draw.

This contest is on until Sunday June 23rd -  the winners name will be announced on Monday June 24th, and will coincide with the release of review of the Lunker Frog

This is the first in a line of frog giveaways set for this summer.. stay tuned

Flip in The Bird Top Water Bait Review

Flip In the Bird:   Colors: 9     Length: 2 3/4"    Weight: 5/8oz   Pack Count: 1

Intro:

So here we are frog review number 50!, and I did not want to waste this one on some dime store frog that know body has heard of, but instead I wanted to pick apart a frog (excuse me: bird) that has been getting some pretty high praise since it's introduction last year.. I'm here to squash the rumours 

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

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

Quality: 4.0/5

This being my 50th frog review (or First Bird review depending on how you look at it) I'm feeling' kinda generous, and I'm going to give the FTB a 4 out 5 when it comes to the baits quality. That doesn't mean it is without it's flaws, as you will quickly see below this bait has multiple issues, the first being that is is not weighted properly and often lands upside down. To fix this the team at "Flippin the Bird" baits wants you to trim it when you first get it out of the package.. ummm, I'm all for trimming baits to a personal preference, but why should I have to trim a bait to get it to work properly? something is wrong there!

Ok, so by now you are probably wondering how or why the Bird got it's 4 out of 5, well thats simple, it is a  very durable bait, well built with what looks and feels like quality components. Im also giving some bonus marks for the baits originality, all to often baits are copies or imitation, the FTB is 100% original and for that it deserves a round of applause 

Castability: 3.0/5

If there is one complaint I have seen over and over again, it is that the FTB has a tendency to land on it's back hooks down, and this would be accurate. It has a design flaw in the way that it is weighted, and yes it will and does often land upside down.  This is a big pain in the ass, and although an experience angler should be able to pop it over, there is no reason we should have to!

Presentation: 3.5/5

I was up in the air (no pun intended) on how to rate the FTB when it comes to presentation, as I do have some issues with how it fishes (or doesn't fish). The Bird is more of a stationary bait that performs well when paused and twitched. You can do smaller walks or pulls, but for the most part your goal with this bait is accurate casts and working it for longer periods of time in open pockets.. if you work it this way, you will be successful

On a side note, if you like to burn baits back to the boat or steady walk  your frogs, then this is not the frog for you.. it can do these things, but it performs better at a slower pace.. think dead or dying bird not fleeing frog

Hook-Up Ratio: 2.5/5

I don't care how many reviews you read or how many fish you have seen landed with this bait on videos or in person, there is no way it was getting a rating any higher then a 2.5 for hook-up ratio and ill tell ya why.. 1.. the body material is way to hard, I'm not sure why they opted to build this frog.. oops I mean "bird" out of tire rubber, but it  was a bad choice, yes it is still collapsible, but they have leaned too heavily on durability and  not fishability... 2... The hooks are to snug to the rubber and don't offer as much gap as I would like to see when a fish bites down on the bait. And finally...3... with all this added silicone on the two wings and the tail there is just too much "stuff" that can and will get in the way of you driving the hook home

Availability: 3.5/5

The Birds on-line presence is small,  other then the 100's of reviews (most of which I disagree with) you wont come across many major retailers carrying this bait. That being said they do have an impressive list of smaller baits & tackle shops that have bought in both in Canada and the US, and you should not have a hard time getting your hands on one

Options & Price: 3.0/5

coming in at nearly $12 the FTB is slightly over priced. If they are looking to get the Bird tied on to more anglers lines then they need to drop it down closer to that magical $10 mark.

The bird is only available in 1 size, but has some pretty cool colour options.

Where to Find:

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

Flip In The Bird ($11.99)

Tackle Warehouse ($11.99) 

Mystery Tackle Box ($10.19)

Big Bass USA ($12.00)

Videos:

Flippin the Bird (Promotional) 

Flip In The Bird - How To

Flip In the Bird - Trimming

Equipment:

The Bird is a larger bait and thus I recommend throwing it on a Dobyns 736c, you will be happy for that extra bit of back bone because one thing that this frog/bird has going for it..it's a big fish bait