Savage Gear 3D Floating Skirt Frog Review

3D Floating Skirt :   Colors: 4     Length: 2.25"     Weight: 1/3oz   Pack Count: 1
3D Floating Skirt :   Colors: 4     Length: 2.75"     Weight: 1/2oz   Pack Count: 1

Intro:

Savage Gear has been unsuccessfully making frogs for a few years now.. yes you read that right. 

It's hard to fault them as they came out of the gate swinging introducing two frogs each with a completely different take on classic frog legs, the "imitation" and the "action leg" series were both noble efforts that didn't work.. so in 2017 Savage Gear is back, this time with a more traditional approach

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

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

Quality & Durability: 4.5/5

The quality and durability of their baits continue to be Savage Gears best selling feature. They have built a frog body that toes the line on being tough enough to handle a beating, while still collapsing for a quality hook-set. 

Personally on the confidence side of things I find the body tougher then I would like, Im willing to replace a few more frogs in order to land a few more fish. 

Castability: 4.0/5

Just like the other models in the Savage Gear line-up the Floating Skirt frog is easy to cast for both distance and accuracy. It can be skipped well and its large profile offers up a nice target the instant it lands.

Presentation: 4.0/5

The Floating skirt really upped the presentation game, I hated both the Imitation and Action leg frogs, both were poor swimmers that didn't move well over any sort of cover, hell they were even sloppy in open water.

The SG floating skirt frog swims well and can be walked fairly easily. Its larger body can come across clumsy or drunken but I don't think that's a bad thing as what fish doest enjoy easy pray. 

Hook-Up Ratio: 3.5/5

Again the Floating Frog gets some leverage over its older brothers in this category. The Imitation and Action leg frogs where large and clunky and always got in the way. This more traditional approach is much easy to fish and to hook-up.

I still have concerns with the larger body shape and the material used. The Floating Skirt Frog can use a bit of a diet and some skin softener.

Innovation & Design: 3.0/5

It's hard for me to score SG in this category as they did what I wanted them to do.. get rid of the legs and go with a more traditional skirt. Their earlier unsuccessful frogs would and should rate higher on the innovation factor but the overall design was flawed.  I'm happy that SG listened to their fans and released this frog, I just wish they had made a few more changes/updates.

Availability, Options & Price: 3.5/5

With a $7.99 price tag this frog wont hurt your wallet compared to many of the frogs floating around. With that said the color options are kinda lacking with only 4 Colors to choose from. The option to go up and down in size in nice, but its not a real big swing in either direction. 

Situations for Success:

The SG Floating Skirt frog is an all-around frog that can be used in heavy to sparse cover. Its body does tend to roll a bit when in heavy pads so I tend to use it more in slop or medium to medium heavy cover. On the retrieve I like a medium speed walk with a number of pauses mixed in. Its a large profile bait and looks like an easy meal so don't hesitate to let them see it.

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)

Reaction Strike ($9.99)

Equipment:

The Floating Skirt frog fishes well on the Dobyns 735c or 736c which provides enough tip to make accurate casts all while still having the backbone needed to haul fish out of the nastiest of cover. Paired with a Daiwa Tatula CT you will be able to cast this frog for miles or skip it up under cover.

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): B-

Walk the Dog: C+

Popping Action: N/A

Sit/Pause: B+

Terminator Popping Frog Review

Popping Frog:   Colors: 16     Length: 2.5"     Weight: 9/16oz   Pack Count: 1

Intro:

The year of the popping frog continues. I cant confirm that all the  big-wigs from the bait companies got together in the off season and agreed to make 2017 the year of the popper, but it sure as hell  feels like it.

So here we go, last years Highest rated frog and still the frog ponds reining camp the Terminator frog is back, this time with a big ol' popping mouth, here's what i think...

Overall Rating: 8.3/10

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

Quality & Durability: 4.5/5

The Terminator Popping frog is equipped with the familiar tough skin found on the OG version. It holds up very well, fish after fish and it supports even the most aggressive popping action.

I know you will see this one coming when I say that the Terminator Popping frog does take on water if and when you give it a workout. Yes this is common with most if not all popping frogs, but gosh darn it, I expect more. 

Finally one of the biggest perks to the this bait (also shared with the original version) is its the narrow ass-end making this bait easy to swallow and ensuring the fish stay pinned. 

Castability: 4.0/5

Both Terminator frogs cast well and land with some authority.  I love the distance I can achieve even on under-arm pitches. Like with the traditional Terminator frog you can skip this bait but its odd shape can and will catch an edge from time to time.

Presentation: 4.0/5

To walk or to pop, that's the questions here. And in my opinion this frog is better suited as a walking bait and should only really be popped before or after the pause for added effect.

But if you really want to pop a frog you could do worse, the Terminator Frog has a nice wide mouth that spits and pops with the best of them. Again I think my personal preference is bleeding in here as I prefer a quieter spit but for those who disagree, this is your frog.

Hook-Up Ratio: 4.5/5

The Terminator popping frog has all the same traits that made the walking frog a success. It has strong sharp hooks (VMC)  and a tapered rear end making sure the fish gets to the hooks quickly and easily. It's silicone legs are well placed and ensure nothing gets in the way of your hook set.

Innovation & Design: 3.5/5

When it comes to innovation and design you just need to ask yourself, is simply adding a popping mouth to your already popular frog enough? obviously Rapala/Terminator thought so, but for my money (and score) I would have liked to see a few more changes.

Hell they used the same mold for the Storm SX Bull frog as well.  Is there any other Rapala brands that will be releasing a frog using the same mold? 

Availability, Options & Price: 4.5/5

You gotta hand it to them, the Terminator team ain't shy when it comes to offering up color options for their frogs. With 16 Colors to choose from you could spend a great deal of time in the frog isle contemplating life. I would have preferred if they chopped down the color choices and replaced them with a few size options instead.

Price is still a sticky point, this frog hovers around the $10 USD mark making it an borderline expensive non-import option. 

Situations for Success:

Even with the added mouth this bait is more successful as a walking frog and works best being popped just after prior to or after the pause. try mixing things up until you can find the speed and combination of walk/pop the fish are looking for.

Where to Find:

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

Tackle Warehouse ($9.59)

Bass Pro Shop ($10.29)

Cabela's ($9.99)

Equipment:

Mixing things up this season I have been working many of my hollow body popping frogs on a Dobyns DX746C, this rod is lighter in the hand but still has all the power you know and love from a 6 power Dobyns rod. The tip is very responsive and works great for popping baits. The Daiwa Tatula CT is my reel of choice offering up great casting and pitching ability.

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: B+

Sit/Pause: A

Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Spit Shad Review

Spit Shad:   Colors: 8    Length: 2 1/3"     Weight: 1/2oz   Pack Count: 1

Intro:

The Spit Shad did what most sophomore release baits cant do, and that's improve on an already good thing. With that said Spro did makes some changes that negatively effect this frogs (or shads) performance. 

Overall Rating: 8.7/10

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

Quality & Durability: 4.0/5

Spro has been doing the frog thing longer then most and it shows in the quality of product they release.  The Spit Shad body has a similar shape as the original shad but the body material seems to have been reinforces or beefed up to help improve its ability to pop. This makes it a bit more durable then its older brother but as you will see below it does effect its hook-up ratio.

The Spit shad comes in an impressive assortment of colors and finishes, and is equipped with 4/0 Gamakatsu hooks.. any questions? 

Castability: 4.5/5

The Spit Shad has the same aerodynamic body as the classic bronzeye shad but the cupped popping mouth will add a bit of drag. Overall the Spit Shad casts well and the body shape ensures a soft landing even on longer casts.  

Presentation: 4.5/5

I'm a big fan of the original Bronzeye Shad and to this day it is the only Spro frog that is in my main frog box but with that said The Spit Shad may be joining it shortly.

I'm not a huge popping frog guy, i like to walk and shake frogs but do understand the need for a popper from time to time. The smaller cupped mouth of the Spit Shad makes this the perfect popper for me, the bait walks easily producing soft spits or spurts that can be increased by increasing the motion of your rod tip. I really appreciate the fact that I can decide when to and when not to pop even when working the bait at faster retrieves.

The small mouth also improves the frogs ability to climb over pads and thicker slop without getting a mouth full.

Hook-Up Ratio: 4.0/5

The Spit Shads profile makes it an easy snack for any bass that comes calling. It has a narrow body and both legs protrude from the end making sure absolutely nothing gets in your way. As mentioned above the back of the Spit Shad does appear to be built up or reinforced and this makes it harder to collapse the bait and means less hook point is exposed. This is the only fault I have found with the bait so far.

Innovation & Design: 4.5/5

 The trend towards hollow body bait fish is picking up steam and more and more manufactures are joining the party. So far Spro has created my favourite design in this new category, even if it is the least bait fish looking profile of the bunch.

As for design features the Spit Shad has a great body for walking and its mouth does live up to its name offer more of a spitting action then a popping action. The mouths shovel like design moves water while still allowing the bait to walk offering anglers the best of both worlds

Availability, Options & Price: 4.5/5

Spro baits are extremely easy to fins and you should have no issues buying one locally or from the various on-line retailers that stock them. When they first launched Spro set the high water mark for pricing, ranging between $9-$10, while this use to be an ouch factor, its now common and Spro's pricing is very competitive in the US market (though many Canadian companies have crazy markups on them).

Situations for Success:

The Spit shad does it's best work in open water and medium to sparse cover situations. It has an incredibly sexy walk that needs to be seen, and when you work it right the Spit Shad, gurgles, spits and and drools water all over the place. Take your time with this bait and be sure to throw in some random pauses and erratic chugs. There is no real wrong way to work this bait.

Where to Find:

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

Tackle Warehouse ($9.99)

Spro  ($10.47)

Bass Pro Shop ($10.49)

Tackle Direct ($11.99)

Equipment:

The Spit Shad fishes well on the Dobyns 735c or 736c which provides enough tip to make accurate casts all while still having the backbone needed to haul fish out of the nastiest of cover. This season I have been using the Daiwa Tatula SV though designed for light baits this reel offers great control for frog fishing due to its heavy duty dray and larger swept handle.

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

Field Test Report Card:

Open Water (Sparse Pads): A+

Pads (Medium Cover): B+

Slop & Grass (Heavy Cover): C+

Walk the Dog: A

Popping Action: B+

Sit/Pause: B+