Hi Guys,
Just wondering if any other fisho's have used or still use the old rubber frogs for freshwater Barra fishing with any success. I learnt to fish with my father and he always cleaned up on these when I was a kid up at lakefield. Due to limited supply of them I use lures, but keen to hunt down a few to give them a try again.
We had a few but gradually over the years they have been lost on snags etc, and just wondering if anyone has any that they don't use anymore and is willing to part with them or aware of anywhere they might still make them (if they do I might have to buy the business).
Cheers Guys
The blokes at Squidgees are about to release this one. There's a few others around as well. Berkley make one and a lot of frog plastics can be sourced from the states.
But the Suidgee frog's will be pretty easy to get a hold of soon.
The latest edition of the Fishing DVD has a segment with Jason Wilhelm breathing new life and putting his own touches on this old technique. If you haven't seen it, you should....Wild stuff indeed.
Hey mate after seein the latest fishing dvd brought from the newsagent i am very keen to give this technique a go. They were using a soft plastic frog called the "horny toad". They were a weedless plastic and these guys just cleaned up working them in shallow water over heavy weed beds at awonga. Yeah so keep an eye out for the plastics named horny toads. they look to work a treat.
Cheers Mate
rivertosea put one out as well called the bully wa 65 it is a bit light but i cant see why it wont work in the shallows looks good too
Hi Pazza as the Helpfull Ausfish guys have said on here there are lots of plastics out there mate so maybe do a search on a bass pro site ( and others) to check out all different brands, don't limit yourself to one brand. That would be like only buying one brand of beer when you could buy 10....(M&G crew)... A good starting point might be to buy the opposite brand to the one being used all the time..the one that barra always get to see.
History: Barra caught on frogs dates back to the late 1800's where old cane cutters & farmers used to make frog shapes out of there thongs & shoes etc ha funny stuff - good old Aussie ingenuity dating back 120 plus years ago. Gold...
Lots more stuff would have been done that's never been reported or heard of.
NT: Keen fisho's on cattle stations cut frogs out of old tyre tubes dating back Decades. The left overs were used to make shanghai's!!! so the kids got to have lots of fun making both!!! When these 2xweapons were made no crows or fish within 5kms were safe!!! Either way they were going to cop 5000 stones flung at them or 5000 casts thrown their way by keen anglers!!!!
Don't limit yourself to frogs.. Have a look at anything else in the plastic range that might do as good, if not a better job than them. Frogs might only be 1% of the equation yet get 100% of the attention at the moment etc.
Change: Barra lakes have changed since last year and the frogs might not be as effective, food for thought for those that remember what the lake was like last year compared to now!!!.
Future: Yep this summer lots of barra will get caught on frogs, because lots of frogs will be thrown around barra dams 24 hours a day, but what if you were throwing something better that you made/researched yourself- how cool would that be?.
Food For Thought: Yet some barra guides don't use frogs at all, or even well known soft plastic brands as they have found better options through trial and error/tinkering with different products all the time which is a constantly challenging & creative process that delivers better results. The top 2 tournament Barra Anglers for the last 2 years catch barra on the surface using other methods as well.
Fishless on Frogs: We are already starting to see and hear of people going fishless on frogs as they rely on them too much which reminds us of 2006 where a crazy frenzy was going on all over Barra Dams down here which turned out to be a white elephant. Again travelling anglers were the losers & went home in fishless droves which was a pity.
Help: Don't rely on just one technique too much, even with a frog on the end of a line we all still have to keep thinking...It's not the magic wand.
1. Buy less well known brands.
2. Odd looking plastics.
3. Plastics with different shapes-sizes-actions.
4. Put plastics side by side - think about their function - how they swim.
5. What is the result you want. Will this plastic give you this result e.g. are there better swim actions out there in the same shape- compare rival brands etc.
6. Swim them in a bath tub, pool, billabong side by side and see what the difference really is.
7. Swim them side by side with a hard body - other plastics - get down next to them and see what is going on from all angles.
8-100: Make up your own mind & have fun tinkering.
At the end of the day there are so many good soft plastics/lures out at the moment, especially overseas. Most don't ever get to grace a tackle shop shelf or are re marketed to us over here down the track. Have fun doing your own research Pazza and let us know how you go.
Good luck on all your future fishing trips..We might see you on a barra dam down our way one day? If so make sure you let us know mate.
Cheers Lyndon & Kel
ps. Ausfisho's let us know when you are heading to a Barra Dam..Let's catchup for a yarn around a campfire or over hot or cold drink.
We will attach some photo's of basic mods...There are lots of smart guys on here that go about their work quietly. Some of these guys have stuff way more advanced than our pics, but we will post them to at least give people a starting point. Hope they help someone out.
Some helpful photo's.
Helpful items to get started.
Stanley Knife
Scissors
Sewing needle and thin braid
Super glue
Heavy duty pliers or tin snips to cut the weight down on some plastics.
Vice - but you can get away without one
A workbench for man or woman time.
Posters on the wall (your choice)!!!
Fridge within arms reach of work bench. What should it be stocked with???
Tv to watch sport - super glue it to the sports channel.
Optional Extra's: A pond full of Barra in the back yard!!! right next to the BBQ!!
Hope we didn't miss anything..Feel free to add a few Ausfisho refinements to this list
Cheers Lyndon & Kel
Pazz01
Mate frogs have there place in the barra fishery, but not the be all and end all and don't wait for shimanos copy as they are only copies of all ready proven lures. Think about where you are going to use them as there are better options available for different situtations but are great in some areas. If you want to use them use them if we didn't try new things we would still be all be using handlines and bait. Mate I have had great success on them at Monduran but I thrught about where to use them. As said before don't get caught up in brand names as a lot of lesser know plastics catch more fish. Big name Big advertising budget=a lot of product sold = more fish caught on product., EXPERIMENT and you will be surprised.
Cheers Foxie
lyndon, interesting pics of the HB/softy hy-breds, why is my castin arm suddenly twitching????????????
cheers
brian
For anyone obssessed with frogs. Yes they are great. They do work, and Jas's DVD is one of the best pieces fishing footage I have ever watched. It was simply awesome. For the average fisho like myself, we have to expect not to expect the same, unless we learn where, when and HOW to use them effectively. I will predict a lot of dissapointed 'frog' fisherman this year, purely because of 'lastest craze' mentality.
Lyndon and Foxie have made some extremely valid points regarding situations where frogs, toads or any surface reaction bite are at there peak effectiveness... know when and where that is first....then worry about what frogs to get. I haven't said this for a while but thats just MHO.!!!
"fish the situation...not the promotion"
Steve
Brian, you better see a doctor about that twitch...seems to get worse the further south you are. Nagg lives in Sydney...his twitch is begining to register on the richter scale!!
steve, lol
soon mate, soooooon
Originally Posted by Steve B
For anyone obssessed with frogs. Yes they are great. They do work, and Jas's DVD is one of the best pieces fishing footage I have ever watched. It was simply awesome. For the average fisho like myself, we have to expect not to expect the same, unless we learn where, when and HOW to use them effectively. I will predict a lot of dissapointed 'frog' fisherman this year, purely because of 'lastest craze' mentality.
Lyndon and Foxie have made some extremely valid points regarding situations where frogs, toads or any surface reaction bite are at there peak effectiveness... know when and where that is first....then worry about what frogs to get. I haven't said this for a while but thats just MHO.!!!
"fish the situation...not the promotion"
Steve
Brian, you better see a doctor about that twitch...seems to get worse the further south you are. Nagg lives in Sydney...his twitch is begining to register on the richter scale!!What
It's been that long i need a refresher.......Now Monduran is just north of GinGin if Im not mistaken....someone correct me if I wrong please....IBM sufferer....WhittoPS The call of the puddle is ever strong
How true. Love it Steve!!!
I hear you really love it in a Kayak,LeeannHow true. Love it Steve!!!
Paulo
Has anyone tryed 110mm squidgy with the weedless hook ? and doing the same with high rods and winding along the surface at a speed you would doute a barra would hit.
I caught 14 barra two summers back out of local lakes with this technique only between 60 -80cm but bigger barra will eatworks well at night aswell
This is my first using this set up and my old bream/flathead stick (exceller 2500)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
