Monday, September 28, 2015

Teckel USA Honker Frog Review

Teckel Honker:    Colors: 16     Weight: 1/2oz    Size: 2 3/4"   Pack Count: 1
      
Intro:

Last season I had an opportunity to review the Teckel Whacker Frog, and gave it a sold 7.3, I purposely left the Honker for this season in order to ensure my biases from the original frog did not carry over to the honker. And in all honesty I expected to give this frog a review of between 6.8 and 7.3.. but as you can see, I was wrong. 


Overall Rating:  7.8/10
Each frog is rated on the following criteria: Quality, Castability, Presentation, Hook-up Ratio Available Options, Product Availability & Price


Quality & Durability: 4.5/5

Both Teckel frogs have soft yet durable bodies, and strong sharp hooks. The legs on the Honker are what make this frog an exception. They flash and cause commotion on the water really letting fish know that something is going on. (aka ringing the dinner bell) 

Castability: 4.5/5

This frog casts like a dream, the body of the frog has some nice heft (1/2 oz) and its aerodynamic shape lets it cut though the wind for long bombs no matter the weather conditions/

The legs can hurt the frogs ability to be skipped, they catch water if you don't nail the perfect angle
but overall this doesn't hurts the frogs rating.



Presentation: 4.5/5

I was honestly blown away by the way these legs flutter and flash all while the frogs body walks perfectly. This bait scream "eat me" and is a blast to fish.

Obviously light to medium cover allows you to really work this bait, the thicker the cover and the more slop involved the less this frog shines. With that said its did not get all caught up in the slop as I kinda expected it would. You can expect some cleaning from time to time, but the benefits outweigh the issues.


Hook-Up Ratio: 3.0/5

Solid hook-up ratio for a bait that has large metal blades coming off its ass end. The legs can get in the way at times and the flutter and flash can results in short strikes as fish try to take this bait out at the knees.




Availability & Price: 3.0/5

This frog is only easy to find if your shopping at tackle warehouse, if not, good luck getting your hands on one. As for the price, $10.99 is at the high end of what I like to pay for non imports, but well worth it for this versions of Teckels frog. 

Options: 4.0/5

16, count em', 16 color options. But only one size.. lets spend more time on size offering and cut those colours in half and you still get a great score here.


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

Tackle Warehouse ($10.99)



Equipment:

I ran this frog on a Dobyns 736c, paired up with a Daiwa Tatula HD reel on 40lb braid. It you are working sparser cover feel free to drop down to a 735c and use that extra tip to really make this bait dance. 




Field Test Report Card:

Open Water (Sparse Pads): B+
Pads (Medium Cover): A
Slop & Grass (Heavy Cover): B-

Walk the Dog: B+
Popping Action: N/A


Sit/Pause: B






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