Intro:
Hard body frogs are becoming few and far between nowadays. Mostly all you can find are various top-water baits painted to look like a frog, vs. actually being a frog bait. The AR Frog by AR Lures is the exception, this high quality hand made and hand painted frog look-a-like is the perfect bite sized snack for a hunger bass
Overall Rating: 6.2/10
Each frog is rated on the following criteria: Quality, Castability, Presentation, Hook-up Ratio Available Options, Product Availability & Price
Quality: 4.5/5
If its quality your after you really can't go wrong with the hand carved, hand painted AR Frog. This thing is a fishable piece of art that looks amazing on your shelf, but just as good on the water. The high gloss paint jobs/finishes are durable and lifelike and being that this bait is solid wood, there is little to no abuse this bait can't hold up to (unless things get toothy)
I'm not sure who makes the hooks used on the AR Frog but they appear to be the weak link in the baits overall structure. I've had no on water issues, but the look and feel of the hooks come off a bit "cheaper" then the rest of the material used on this
I'm not sure who makes the hooks used on the AR Frog but they appear to be the weak link in the baits overall structure. I've had no on water issues, but the look and feel of the hooks come off a bit "cheaper" then the rest of the material used on this
Castability: 2.5/5
Small wooden baits often suffer in this category and the AR Frog is no exception. It's small round frame is hard to throw in the best of weather conditions and damn near impossible to throw in heavy rain or wind. You may even want to look at throwing this frog on sponging gear giving you some additional control and whip to your cast.
Presentation: 4.0/5
I really like the way the AR Frog moves in the water, it moves like a water-bug.. fast, frantic and erratic. The small blade on the ass end gives the bait additional flash and flutter both on the pause as well as the retrieve, helping draw attention your way. Obviously this is frog excels in open water situations, and shouldn't be fish in anything more then sparse cover. The loose free hanging hooks will load up on vegetation if your not careful meaning you will spend more time cleaning the hooks then landing fish.
Hook-Up Ratio: 3.5/5
The Hooks of the AR Frog hang down below the frog when paused and cradle up against the belly when fishing. They are loose and there is little to nothing to get in their way.. this is all good. The downfall to this style bait is not the hook-up, but more keeping the fish hooked. There really is little to no play in the AR Frogs hooks, and an aggressive fish will be able to knock the hooks loose and our during the fight.
Availability: 1.0
I've never given a bait that I reviewed a 0 in this category, but it came pretty close this time. The AR Lures site lists a bunch of distributors, but in all honest I couldn't verify any of them.. TackleWarehouse and LandBigFish are both listed but neither have AR baits available for sale on their websites. You can't buy direct and all other north American distributors listed don't have websites
Options & Price: 3.0
If we avoid the elephant in the room (price) and only focus on options, I would rate this frog fairly high. Sure it is only available in one size (small) but its 12 colour options are each a thing of beauty, and for the art alone, this frog deserves a good rating.. OK. lets talk price. The AR Frog is pricey, not swim-bait pricey but pricey non the less. You can expect to spend $20 on a single frog, not even including any shipping charge you may incur.
Where to Find:
In case you are having a hard time finding these, here are some reliable options for you.
Equipment:
When using the AR frog I would opt to throw it on either a 735c for power or a 734c for action. The choice comes down to how and where you will be fishing. If your battling cover go with the 735C if you are fishing mostly open water the 734c will provide great action and still get the job done.
As for reels I used a Daiwa Lexa in the smaller 100 series size spooled up with Toray Finesse braid, again I focus on presentation over power when using this frog.
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