PLOPPIN’
GOES
FROGGIN’
A NEW CLASS OF TOPWATER BAITS MESHES
TWO OF BASS ANGLERS’ FAVORITES
“W
inding” versions of floating
frogs offer an interesting take
on topwater fishing. They’re
hybrid baits, with hollow, floating frog bodies
mated to tails or legs that add action when
fished on a straight retrieve.
The bait type has been around for a while,
but most of the first-generation baits never
really caught on with bass pros because they
didn’t have great action, or they didn’t run
true at various speeds.
Tackle company Teckel solved those prob-
lems by swapping out small “leg” appendages
for a single boot-shaped tail on its Sprinker
frog, which has gained tremendous populari-
ty over the last couple years. More recently,
BOOYAH launched the very similar Toad
Runner frog, which has the same type of tail
with a few other design variances.
JULY 2018 I FLWFISHING.COM
By Curtis Niedermier
PHOTOS BY D.W. REED II
On each bait, the tail rotates on the
retrieve to create a choppy, prop bait-style
action that’s a slightly more subtle variation
of the River2Sea Whopper Plopper’s action.
The action is different from most of the pre-
vious generation of winding baits, which typ-
ically created a softer pitter-patter sound,
and its uniqueness earns these lures their
own bait category. We call them “ploppin’
frogs.”
Former Cup champ John Cox, a devotee
of the Sprinker, and Costa FLW Series stick
Christopher Jones, who’s part of the BOOY-
AH pro-staff, have probably spent more
time fishing ploppin’ frogs than most pros in
the FLW ranks. Their strategies help paint a
picture of where, when and how to incorpo-
rate more “plop” into your frog-fishing
game.
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