Castaic Boyd Duckett BD Frog Review

BD Frog:   Colors: 8     Length: 2.5"   Weight: 5/8oz   Pack Count: 1
BD Frog:   Colors: 8     Length: 3.0"   Weight: 5/8oz   Pack Count: 1

Intro:

I do my very best to be as unbiased as possible while reviewing each frog that I test, but when it comes to Castaic and Boyd Duckett, they are making it hard for me to be impartial.

It's one thing to flat out rip off your frogs design from another company (Tru Tungsten Mad Maxx) but its a whole other thing to go to great lengths to lie about the work and effort you put into designing the bait (see HERE). Make no mistake about it, Castaic purchased/stole/borrowed the mold used to make the Mad Maxx and Boyd Duckett put his name on it.. shame, shame.. Ok, lets review this thing

Overall Rating: 5.2/10

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

Quality & Durability: 2.0/5

There was a lot of short cuts made in the build of this frog, the first is the skin/body material. It is crazy thin, which is usually a good thing, but the issue they ran into is that the material is so thin you can easily bury the hooks into the frog just by handling it.

The Rear weight system that also acts as a cap for the internal ball-bearing weights is poorly secured and fell off  both BD frogs that I purchased, (as you can see in my images). This leaves a gaping hole in the ass-end of the frog allowing the internal weights to spill out and allowing water to flow in. It's harder to walk a sinking frog,

Castability: 3.0/5

This is a pretty light frog, even lighter still when the external and internal weights come loose. It's nice and aerodynamic, so it has that going for it, but if you plan on using this as your everyday frog, its faults in quality will spill over into your ability to cast for distance consistently 

Presentation: 3.0/5

This frog walks well, you can thank Tru Tungsten (RIP) for designing a nicely shaped frog that walks and sits well in the water. Out of the package you will be happy with the ease of use and the BD frogs ability to walk. ( I knew I could find something positive to say)

   

Hook-Up Ratio: 4.0/5

The one and only redeeming quality on this frog is its impressive hook-up ratio. The nearly paper like skin collapses if you breath on it, and the hooks are well placed and sharp. If a fish gets this frog in it's mouth it will be hooked.

The concern I have here, is with the hooks burrowing themselves in the body of the frog, essentially making it a Nerf bait.. once this happens good luck landing a fish, and if you do it will be because the frog became ripped up and is now useless. Check your hooks between casts and after blow-ups or any time you bounce it off structure.

Innovation & Design: 0.0/5

If I'm at all going to try to put a positive spin on this frog, it is that when I first heard of its release I thought.."thank you!, some one is bringing back the Mad Maxx frog" Of course this took a dark turn when Castaic and Boyd decided to not save the Mad Maxx but in turn claim they have this all new frog that they designed. (poorly at that)

If I was being fully honest here, I might have given the BD frog negative marks in Innovation and Design as they actually removed features that made the Mad Maxx what it was. They reduced the body material quality, used cheaper more breakable components as well as removed the venting system that helped drain the Mad Maxx frog if and when it took on water..You can actually see the place where the vent hole should be, Castaic just didnt take the time to punch after the frog came out of the mold.. good job Castaic, you brought a frog back from the dead and proceeded to kill it again.

Availability, Options & Price: 3.5/5

For a hollow body frog this bait is priced well, this is the one area its not trying to be something its not. Combine this with 8 color options and 2 sizes, Castaic has a nice offering on a frog that could have been very good.

Situations for Success:

This is a tough one, in order to be successful with this bait your going to need to do a little prep work prior to hitting the water. First add some super glue to the external weight to ensure it stays put all day long. When on the water take extra time to inspect your frog after each cast, bump and blow-up to ensure the hooks are not embedded in the body.

This is an all around frog, so plan on fishing it in medium to medium/heavy cover. Its a bit to light for the heavy stuff and will spend more time in the air being bumped off the pads then it will in the fished mouth.

The BD frog is a walking frog and when not sinking it does walk well, so work in over areas in which the fish can get a good look at its erratic walking motion.

Where to Find:

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

Tackle Warehouse ($6.99)

Castaic ($7.99)

Equipment:

Being a lighter weight frog I opted to fish the BD frog on my Dobyns Champion 735c, with a little more tip then the 736 series you will have greater control to place this bait exactly where you want it. As for reels I like the Daiwa Tatula HD for most frog fishing situations.

As with any hollow-body bait, this frog should be worked on 40lb-60lb braid line. 

Field Test Report Card:

Open Water (Sparse Pads): B+

Pads (Medium Cover): B+

Slop & Grass (Heavy Cover): C

Walk the Dog: B+

Popping Action: N/A

Sit/Pause: B

For those interested, check out this video in which Boyd Duckett embarrasses himself by cover all the amazing things he and Castaic did while designing this frog.. you know the frog that was designed years earlier by Tru Tungsten