What's The Best Topwater Frog For Bass? Here Are Our Top 5.
Bass are the most popular fish to catch, and topwater frogs are a great way to catch them. Here are our best topwater frogs for bass.
Can't get enough bass fishing?
Bass are one of the most popular fish to catch, and topwater frogs can be a great way to catch them. These lures can be worked in a variety of ways, making them a versatile tool in your arsenal.
With so many different topwater frog lures on the market, it can be tough to know which one to choose. In this article, we will take a look at some of the best topwater frogs for fishing for bass and provide you with our recommendations. Whether you are fishing in ponds, lakes, or rivers, these topwater frogs will help you catch more bass.
We've researched the best topwater frogs for bass, so you don't have to. Read on and you can pick the best one.
How We Choose
There are lots of options for choosing a topwater frog.
Our team has read through thousands of user reviews and star ratings to come up with a list that makes it easier for you to decide what frogs will be the best for you to use. Don’t bother spending lots of time reading over many many reviews, we’ve done it for you to find the best ones.
There are a few options here that will be great for you. Read below for details and you can check the price on the fishing frogs that you like.
So What Are The 5 Best Topwater Frogs For Bass?
1. BOOYAH Poppin' Pad Crasher Topwater Hollow Body Frog
Classic Best Selling Topwater Frog For Bass
BOOYAH Poppin' Pad Crasher Hollow Body Frog
Why We Love These:
The BOOYAH® Poppin' Pad Crasher is a best-selling staple for bass fishing. It's a tough, hollow body frog that's extremely snag-proof to use in heavy cover or surface vegetation. The unique action makes it an excellent choice while fishing thick slop, but with its cupped mouth design (perfectly suited as well), this frog also doubles up nicely as an open water popper/chugger that creates commotion to trigger topwater strikes.
What To Look For:
Perfect for creating more surface disturbance to get the fish to commit
Great for fishing the slop
With cupped mouth it doubles as a popper in open water
Great for working surface scum
Great for skipping deep under docks
Great for working cover-strewn shoreline
Super-soft collapsible plastic body
Double 3/0 hooks
Viewed by many as the best topwater frog
2. Lunkerhunt Lunker Frog
Why We Love These:
The Lunkerhunt frog is the most lifelike and realistic looking frog available on today's market. It has swimming legs that extend during retrieval, just like an actual live frog would do in water. It's a difference maker. The body of this frog also drops down slightly when at rest so it can mimic how bullfrogs behave while floating around without any effort whatsoever - which makes them excellent because they're so lifelike it's unreal.
What To Look For:
Lunker frog drops perfectly replicating the action of a frog
The Lunkerhunt Lunker Frog is the most life like frog currently available in the industry
Used primarily for bass, pike and musky in freshwater
High quality components
Super soft hollow body construction
Weedless design
2.25 inch, 1/2oz
3. Strike King KVD Sexy Frog
Why We Love These:
The Strike King sexy frog is one of the finest, feature-packed frogs yet from Kevin VanDam. Chief among its features is a sealed nose that minimizes water entry and free floating rattle to create noise needed for topwater fishing applications - it's been designed by the legendary Kevin VanDam who has been designing lures for Strike King for years. It's perfect as an open water or heavy cover bait on any type of retrieve.
Unique to these lures is a free-floating rattle inside, giving the KVD Sexy Frog a unique sound as part of its action.
Strike King has been around for more than 50 years, and they're not going anywhere anytime soon. They have an experienced team with strong operations. They've taken many top 10's and no one can beat them when it comes down to winning.
What To Look For:
Sealed nose
Free floating rattle
For open water and heavy cover applications
5.75" long
4. Livetarget Hollow Body Frog
Why We Love These:
The Livetarget Hollow Body Frog is designed to be the ultimate topwater bait for big fish. It has detailed coloration to make it lifelike when underwater. The soft body allows you to put more "oomph" behind each cast so casting into thick brush or heavy cover is surprisingly accurate.
Custom double hooks translate into higher hook-up ratios than traditional single ones could ever achieve; this means go ahead and go where others won't.
What To Look For:
Weightlessly glides left and right across the surface
All the attributes to attract big fish
Anatomical accuracy, detailed color
Use the hollow body in heavy cover
A classic frog bait
5. Spro Bronzeye Pop Bait
Why We Love These:
The Dean Rojas Signature Series Bronzeye Popper Frog was designed to attract bass out of the thickest cover with its loud popping sound. The nose of this frog is basically flat, with a slight curve, to help the popping action on this lure. It's why this popping frog is a bit different and why it makes our list.
The Bronzeye Popper comes with specially designed 3/0 Gamagatsu hooks that fit the bait perfectly for solid hook ups. It comes in 16 proven fish catching colors.
What To Look For:
Unique front edge
Pulls bass out of the thickest cover with its loud popping sound
Specially designed 3/0 Gamakatsu Hooks
Comes in 16 proven fish catching colors
Types Of Topwater Frog Lures
Most topwater frog lures can typically be categorized into three primary categories: walking frogs, paddle foot frogs and popping frogs.
Walking Frogs
Walking frogs are the best type topwater frogs for many reasons.
Walking frogs typically have a narrow nose and a light, hollow body that allows them to slide over the surface of the water and are equipped with two plastic skirts that mimic a frog’s feet. While sliding, the legs and tail of the lure create a fluttering effect, which appeals to bass. This means they can be fished in almost any type of cover, especially brush, weeds, lily pads, near wood, and other areas where traditional lures would get stuck.
Plus, they don’t make a lot of noise, so if you’re looking for a topwater frog that can be used in many different situations, a walking frog is your best bet.
Popping Frogs
In recent years, popping frogs have become a popular option for bass anglers. As their name suggests, popping frogs are designed to create a loud commotion on the surface of the water, which can attract bass that are hiding in the weeds or near structures. They're like a combination of a popper and a frog, like the hula popper or jitterbug, which can be a big difference in frog fishing.
One of the best things about popping frogs is that they are relatively easy to use. A pause on the retrieval every few seconds to allow the frog to suspend periodically is the best way to fish them for big bass.
While popping frogs can be effective at any time of year, they are particularly useful during the summer months when bass are feeding heavily and can be more easily enticed to strike at a topwater lure.
Paddle Foot Frogs
And speaking of newer additions to frog fishing, you'll want to check out the paddle foot frogs. These lures are similar to paddle tail swimbaits in that they feature paddle-like feet that simulate a frog’s legs.
The paddle foot frog’s front half is designed to swim on the surface of the water while their feet are then pulled down on the water to create a fluttering, swimming motion. This creates a commotion on the surface of the water which makes them attractive to bass. They are great lures for fishing shallow cover, brush, weeds, and the edge of thick cover.
They're like a paddletail swimbait and a frog lure had babies, and now you have a paddle foot frog.
Frog Colors
We sometimes wonder if a frog's color actually makes a difference. Think about it, a bass is looking up at the frog, so who cares about the color of the frog's back? The fish doesn't see it. The main thing a fish is seeing is the water agitation and the movement of the frog.
Most frog's bellies are lighter color. So, do fish actually care about the rest of them?
There is no hard and fast rule. You can try different colors and patterns to see what works best for you.
However, these colors will give you a good baseline.
Natural Frog Colors (Green, Brown, And Yellow)
Green frogs can work great in clear water, and darker frogs work best when the bass are active during the day and during certain times of the year. Yellow (belly) lures are effective during cloudy days.
Brown and yellow work well depending on where you are. Green is by far the most commonly used color. It all boils down what kind of sunlight that day brings - so have some variety with your lures if possible - especially during cloudy or rainy conditions when visibility may be low.
Use natural frog colors when there’s less vegetation as the frog will look more natural and be less likely to spook the bass.
Black Frogs
The black color on the water surface will stand out as a nice silhouette shadow and catch the attention of the bass lurking below. It's a staple color you need to have handy.
Bright Color Frogs
White also works well in a variety of conditions. They can sometimes be mistaken for baitfish too, like a shiner or a shad. They're another go-to choice that must be part of your arsenal.
Things To Consider
The following information will give you some general guidelines for frog fishing.
Size
First is size. It's pretty simple, a bigger frog will catch bigger fish.
Action
The frog's action is also something to consider.
A walking type frog action may be best for open areas, and for a shallower area with lots of vegetation, a surface popping frog would be better choice.
Weight
How light or heavy should your frog lures be? Lighter frogs will stay on top, obviously, and they work great in shallow water. But if you plan to use them near deeper water, a heavier lure may be better. Most hollow frogs will also tend to move with any current so take that into consideration too.
Depth
Remember your goal is to keep the frog at or near the surface of the water. This is why they work great near and around cover.
While weeds and lily pads are other lure’s enemies, frogs work great in these environments using the bass’s natural cover against them.
Frogs work well around cover - the basic design is intended to keep them on top of the water and keep from getting hung up.
Line Weight
To be successful at fishing for bass, you need to use the right equipment. Braided lines are strong enough and will not stretch when they encounter weeds in shallow water which makes them perfect for this type of activity - plus their resistance keeps your frog on track.
You can go with a heavier braided line with a test of 40-50 pounds to give you strength in pulling a fish out of vegetation.
The Right Rod And Reel Setup
You’ll want to have a rod that is specifically made for frog fishing. These will typically be a graphite rod, generally a medium heavy 7 foot rod with fast action will be best to pull a bass out of the muck. They can use the vegetation as a shield, and you need a combination rod and reel to keep them from diving deeper.
For the reel, It all depends on how comfortable with baitcasting reels you are. A baitcaster with a high gear ratio will help pull a fish out of cover. Some people don't like using baitcasters, which is fine, just remember if you're in slop a higher gear ratio is your friend.
Best Topwater Frog FAQs
It's no secret that fishing with topwater frogs can be a real challenge. These lures can be extremely effective in the right situations, but they can also be fickle.
We're here to help you up your bass fishing game. Here are some FAQs to help answer some of the top questions about frog fishing.
What's the best color for a topwater frog?
White or chartreuse frogs are great any time bass are feeding heavily on shad along the surface. One of the prime times to throw these bright-colored frogs is early in the morning during the shad spawn.
What's the best frog to use for bass fishing?
BOOYAH Poppin' Pad Crasher Topwater Hollow Body Frog
Lunkerhunt Lunker Frog
Strike King KVD Sexy Frog
Livetarget Hollow Body Frog
Spro Bronzeye Pop Bait
Are topwater frogs good for bass?
Fishing a topwater frog can be one of the most frustrating, yet rewarding techniques in fishing. There is nothing quite like the explosion on the surface of the water as a bass eats. Early morning, evening, or even right in the middle of the day are all great times to fish a frog.
When should you throw a frog?
You can use frog baits whenever the water temperature is above 60-65 degrees (from late spring to early fall in most locations). During this time, you can fish frogs effectively throughout the whole day, especially near heavy cover, like lily pads and other vegetation
What gear ratio is best for frog fishing?
The best gear ratio for frog fishing is 7.5:1 to 8.0:1. It's important to get a reel with a high speed retrieve rate, since you need to pick up your slack as fast as possible when a bass grabs your lure, so you can set the hook. A high speed reel will help you to do this fast enough to set the hook effectively.
The 5 Best Topwater Frogs - The Last Cast
Topwater frogs are a great way to up your bass fishing game. Any serious angler needs to keep the soft plastic frog in their arsenal. These hollow body frogs can be extremely effective in the right situations and they are a blast to fish. There's nothing like a topwater explosion from a big largemouth on a frog.
Frogs come in all shapes and sizes, so make sure you select the best topwater frog for your needs.
Click the buttons to find a topwater frog lure that's best for you.
Tight lines,
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