Stanley Ribbit Top Toad Review

Top Toad:   Colors: 6    Length: 4"    Weight: 3/4oz   Pack Count: 2

Intro:

The Top Toad hollow body frog by Stanley baits lives up to it's name. This frog is a very unique take on a traditional hollow body frog and soft plastic buzz frog combined. It comes equipped with a Stanley Ribbit 5/0 double take hook that is housed outside not inside of it's body and is easily replaceable. It's large body allows it to sit solidly on slop and or pads really announcing it's  presence... don't let this frog slip under your radar  

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

The Stanley Ribbit Top Toad had me fooled, I took one look at it and wrote it off as a cheap attempt to get into the hollow body market.. Boy was I wrong

not only was this frog well thought out, but it fishes extremely well. The Top Toad is a hollow body swim frog, that sides over pads and scum with ease, and then churns up some serious water when fished around or over cover. I had a blast fishing it between pads and had the majority of my success in areas with less cover.

Unlike most hollow body frogs the hook on the Top Toad is outside of the body and is quickly replaceable when on the water. This can make it a bit less durable then the average hollow body, but all in all it holds up very well (for multiple fish).

Two things you should watch for when fishing a Top Toad are: (1)  because the hook is a screw-on external hook, it can slide out of place after a missed fish or if it gets caught up on pads or timber, so take a second to check them after each cast and put them back in place if required (this will ensure a higher hook-up ratio)

(2) The Top Toad sits lower in the water then most hollow body frogs and at times can give you visibility issues, I would recommend choosing brighter colour options like the white to improve overall visibility on longer casts.

Castability: 4.0/5

weighing in at 3/4oz the Top Toad has to be considered a "heavy weight" and because of this it can be cast for great distance in almost all conditions. I kinda went back and forth on whether or not this frog should get a 4.5 or 4 rating, in the end I opted for the 4.0/5 because of the fact that it's heavier frame lands louder and harder then I would like. There are multiple schools of thought on this, and yes at times a hard landing is a good thing, but all in all I think a little less slap would improve this baits overall fishability 

Presentation: 4.5/5

Im kinda old school, I like my hollow body frogs to have dangly silicone legs, and my swim frogs to buzz and churn up the water.. but the Top Toad sold me on its "Best of Both Worlds" presentation and I had a blast fishing it both in open water and over pads/slop. I honestly have no complaints on how this bait fishes (surprised? I know I am)

Hook-Up Ratio: 4.5/5

This is when I need to eat some serious crow, when I first took the Top Toad out of it's package I gave a little chuckle and thought to myself.. "this thing will not catch fish" but it quickly proved me wrong.

This is a frog that defies the odds, it has a large body, thick legs and a thicker wall of plastic along the ass end of the bait.. these three things combined should make for an awful hook-up ratio.. but they don't, some how the planets aligned and not only do fish eat this bait, but the hooks constantly find a home giving the Top Toad a higher then average hook-up ratio.. if it was not for the above issues it would have received a 5/5 in this category

Availability: 3.0/5

For such a high quality, high demand product line, both the Stanley Ribbit and Stanley Top Toad are notoriously hard to come across, both on the web and even more so locally. It's only saving grace is that two of the on-line retailers it is available from ship nation wide

Options & Price: 4.0/5

Currently the Top Toad is only available in one size and 6 colors. You do have two additional choices to make if buying this frog from TackleWarehous, first off you can purchase it in a 2-pack, that includes one rigged frog and one extra body, or you can buy a 3-packs of bodies only (no hooks). Pricing for both of these options is great, coming in on average at $5.96 for 1 fully rigged frog..

Where to Find:

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

Stanley  ($6.99)

Tackle Warehouse ($4.49- $5.49) 

Cabela's ($5.99)

Equipment:

The Stanley Top Toad is one of the heavier hollow body frogs currently available, and thus you are going to want to gear up with a Dobyns 736C or even the DX795. As for a reel, I used the  Daiwa Lexa 300 for added line capacity and all thepower you need