Refining the Presentation
Fishing either ploppin’ frog is about as simple as casting
and winding. The only presentation adjustment that Jones
makes other than altering his retrieve speed is to keep an
eye on his rod tip and line angle.
“I’ll sometimes start out with the rod a little bit high just
to keep the line coming through the grass without catch-
ing. Then I lower the rod tip as it’s coming closer to the
boat,” he says.
The other refinement he considers is reshaping the tail
of the Toad Runner, made possible because BOOYAH incor-
porates a pliable inner wire in the tail. Small adjustments in
the curve of the tail result in subtle changes in sound, vibra-
tion and the resulting bubble trail. Experimentation is the
best way to really dial it in.
Gearing Up
Color – Cox occasionally gets his hands on some cus-
tom Sprinker colors. For those of us who aren’t as well con-
nected, he suggests dark colors for stained water and a
bluegill imitation for just about everything else. The black
body with blue tail is one of his favorite combos, as is the
standard bluegill pattern, though Cox sometimes swaps
the included chartreuse tail for the more subdued smoke
tail (Teckel sells replacement tails in seven colors).
Jones fishes dark colors on cloudy days and in stained
water, and lighter shades in sunny, clear conditions.
Rods – Most ordinary frog rods work just fine, but you
probably don’t need an extra-heavy mat froggin’ rod.
“I use the MHX FP885,” says Cox. “It’s the same one I used
to win the Cup. It’s an awesome rod; super lightweight. It
feels like you have it on a shorter rod, but it’s 7-4 and has the
power of a flipping stick. It’s short enough to make accurate
casts, but long enough that you can launch it a mile.”
Jones uses a very similar rod – 7 feet, 4 inches long with
a medium-heavy rating and enough “give” in the tip that he
has a little insurance against pulling the hooks away too
fast when a fish bites.
Line – No surprises here: Both pros use 50- to 65-
pound-test braid, which is standard for frog fishing.
Bigger, Better Bites
As if you need any other reason to try out a new frog,
consider that Cox and Jones describe the ploppin’ style as
one of the most exciting topwaters they’ve fished. Big fish
eat it, and they eat it with emphatic strikes.
“It’s definitely a game-changer,” says Jones. “The explo-
sion on it is crazy. When they hit it, they’re mad at it.”
“The Teckel catches giants,” adds Cox. “It just catches
big’uns. You won’t get the numbers that you get throwing
a soft-plastic frog [buzz toad], but when you do get bit
they’re good ones.”
Follow-Up Toads
82
One of Cox’s best tips for getting bit with a buzz toad or a
standard floating frog after a fish swipes and misses or pushes
a wake behind it but doesn’t eat is to kill the bait on the spot.
For some reason, the same approach doesn’t work with
the Sprinker, at least in Cox’s experience.
“I’ve killed it hundreds of times on hundreds of fish, and
I’ve yet to get one to eat it by pausing it,” he says. “I don’t
understand why. They just don’t.”
His best solution is to carry a follow-up bait to offer when
a fish doesn’t commit the first time.
A soft-plastic buzz toad like the Berkley PowerBait Rib
Toad is just right.
“The problem with the hollow bellies sometimes is they
don’t sink. They’re always on the surface,” Cox says.
“Sometimes the fish will come up underneath it, and they’ll
boil under it. They’ll push it, but they won’t commit to eating
it. That’s where the Rib Toad comes in. You can slow it down
and let it sink. It’s a good follow-up bait for a frog or swim jig
fished up at the surface.
“When I’m using it as a follow-up I will put weight on it,” he
adds. “That Rib Toad works really well underwater. If I get one
that swats at the Sprinker and misses it, I throw that Rib Toad
and wind it right under the surface.”
FLWFISHING.COM I JULY 2018