There are few issues on this earth as thrilling as a giant bass blowing up on a frog. Any angler who has ever caught a bucketmouth on a frog is aware of the fun of their bait getting crushed by an exploding bass. That’s why frogs are one in all my favourite baits to throw, particularly in the course of the summer season. When that point lastly rolls round, I attain for my trusty frog containers and don’t allow them to out of sight. During the last 25 years, I’ve had the chance to check an limitless variety of frog baits, from hollow-bodies to mushy plastic toads. Under is an inventory of my favorites, together with a few new choices for 2026.
Greatest Hole-Physique Frogs
Greatest Delicate Plastic Toads
How We Picked the Greatest Frogs
I referenced my twenty years of frog fishing expertise with the intention to decide the most effective frogs and toads. A few of these baits, just like the Dean Rojas Poppin Frog and Strike King Attractive Frog, are accountable for dozens of my largest topwater catches. There are different newer baits which have additionally confirmed their price on the water lately, just like the Toad Thumper Swamper Walkin’ Frog. Lastly, we categorized these baits into two most important teams: frogs and toads. The frogs are all hollow-body baits, and the toads are all mushy plastic baits designed to be reeled repeatedly.
Greatest Hole-Physique Frogs
Hole-body frogs are designed to drift and be labored alongside the floor in a side-to-side or popping method. These baits sometimes have skirted legs and a two-pronged, pre-rigged hook. That is what we’re searching for when evaluating hollow-body frogs:
Hook power and development
Motion
Stroll-ability
Skip-ability
Shade decisions
Sturdiness
Capacity to maintain water out
greatest general
SPRO Dean Rojas Bronzeye Frog 65
What makes the SPRO Dean Rojas Bronzeye Frog 65 so nice? It has every little thing you need in a hollow-body frog. It holds as much as heavy abuse however will even collapse when a bass smacks down on it for a stellar hook-up ratio. The hook itself is a two-prong gaff, well-suited for hauling large ones out of the thickest cowl. There’s a ridiculous collection of 52 colours to select from. And the bait is without doubt one of the best to stroll. At 2 ½ inches and 5/8 ounce, this may be solid far whereas nonetheless being a very good dimension to catch large bass and little ones alike.
Greatest popping frog
SPRO Dean Rojas Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog 60
There’s little question that the SPRO Dean Rojas Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog 60 is the best of all time when popping frogs. I’ve caught extra large bass on this frog than every other hollow-body frog I’ve ever thrown. The cup of the mouth catches simply sufficient water to create a pleasant gurgle and spitting motion. This bait may be popped straight again to the boat or walked left and proper, almost in place, on the subject of a chunk of canopy. The hooks are stout and sharp, and the flat stomach makes this frog extraordinarily straightforward to skip. If I needed to take a guess, I’d say nearly half of the large bass (over 4 kilos) that I’ve caught on a frog have come on the Dean Rojas BronZeye Poppin’ frog in Midnight Walker (black).
greatest skipping frog
Strike King KVD Attractive Frog
The Strike King KVD Attractive Frog is the simplest to skip of all of the frogs I’ve fished with. That is solely because of the flat stomach. Rolling this bait over on its again, you’ll discover the absence of the deeper V hull that you simply see on different frogs. The Attractive Frog has a extra gradual curve to the stomach. The deeper V-hull on the SPRO Bronzeye Frog makes it slightly simpler to stroll, however more durable to skip. I can skip the Attractive Frog two or 3 times as far, and far more constantly. Relying on how a V-hull frog hits the water, it could dig in or ricochet straight up within the air, solely skipping just a few toes. However I can skip the Strike King Attractive Frog 10-plus toes again into and underneath cowl, solid after solid after solid.
greatest newcomer
Toad Thumper Swamper Walkin’ Frog
I acquired just a few of those frogs (and the popping variations) despatched to me final summer season, and I had speedy success with them—particularly the Toad Thumper Swamper Walkin’ Frog. It walks simply, skips fairly properly, and has a terrific hook. It additionally has a silicone-like seal across the hook gap to stop any water from coming into the physique. It is available in 10 completely different colours and retails for $10.
Nishine Lure Works BQ Frog
The Nishine BQ Frog walks simply, skips moderately properly, and has a stable hook. I just like the upturned eye, which helps hold the nostril up. Nishine additionally molded a plug onto their hook, however as an alternative of utilizing silicone, they used lead. The lead plug is hourglass-shaped, with the broader portion exterior the frog and the narrower inside. This makes for a whole seal. While you squeeze the bait flat, the air goes out, nevertheless it takes just a few seconds for air to seep again in. This could sluggish the method, however you gained’t need to do it very a lot since water nearly by no means will get inside.
Snag Proof Pad Holder
The Snag Proof Pad Rambler was launched at ICAST 2025. This frog seems slightly completely different, with a extra slender profile and a single tail popping out of the again, versus the 2 legs we see on most hollow-body frogs. It resembles a mouse greater than a frog, particularly within the Gorge shade. The tail is made primarily of rubber strands with tensile combined in, which provides slightly aptitude and flash to the bait. It is available in 12 colours and sells for $14.
Gambler Strolling Frog
The Gambler Strolling Frog was my favourite new bait final 12 months, and I nonetheless adore it in 2026. Whereas this bait has lots going for it, like its means to skip, a soft-body design, and a stable hook, two options stand out. First, the iridescent strands of tensile within the legs. When the legs get moist, they completely mimic the colour on a bream’s physique. However what actually units this frog aside is the dab of silicone used to plug the hook gap under the stomach. This can be a easy however genius strategy to repair an age-old downside. Because the first hole physique frog hit the water, fishermen have been squeezing water out of it. Not anymore. Within the 20 or so hours that I’ve spent fishing with this frog, I may need needed to squeeze water out of it a half dozen occasions.
Berkley Swamp Lord Frog
The Berkley Swamp Lord is only a contact heavier and longer than the SPRO Bronzeye 65. Whereas the distinction would appear minuscule on paper, the Swamp Lord has a noticeably bigger profile and presence within the water. This bait has a improbable double-frog hook, a terrific shade choice, and retains water out of the physique. With a flatter stomach, the Swamp Lord skips very well, too. There’s additionally a popping model of this frog that’s price trying out—the Berkley Swamp Lord Popping Frog. I like each kinds of this bait.
Booyah Pad Crasher
The Booyah Pad Crasher is one other well-liked hollow-body frog, and a terrific deal for the value. Launched in 2012, this bait has change into a favourite amongst anglers and pond hoppers. With seven colours, there’s one thing for any state of affairs. It’s a no-frills frog that walks properly, will get bit, and has a very good hook.
G-Ratt Popping Frog
The design of the G-Ratt Popping Frog 60 is just like the SPRO Rojas 60. With a confirmed profile, 4 shade decisions, and a stable double-frog hook, the G-Ratt 60 is a superb selection for these searching for a poppin’ bait. It is available in three colours and retails for $13.
Greatest Delicate Plastic Toads
Delicate plastic toads are designed to be reeled repeatedly. A toad doesn’t sometimes come pre-rigged with a hook, however as an alternative is paired with both a screw-lock frog hook or an EWG (Additional Large Hole) hook. Right here’s what we search for in a terrific mushy plastic toad:
Sturdiness
Shade choice
Motion
Scent
Sound
greatest all-around
Zoom Sexy Toad
The Zoom Sexy Toad is the most effective all-around toad available on the market. The fast-flapping, spitting motion created by its flat, V-cut toes makes it good for buzzing throughout the water. I discover this motion works notably properly from the time bass come off of beds and begin guarding fry by way of the summer season. That is additionally probably the greatest, if not the most effective, toads for placing on the again of a buzzbait. The form and bulk of the physique make it very best for slipping onto the buzzbait hook and skipping underneath cowl. I’ve fished the Sexy Toad the longest out of any of the baits I examined—my most distant reminiscence with it concerned a 4-pound fish catch I filmed on a VHS digicam within the early 2000s. That is an old-school favourite of many anglers that has but to be unseated by every other toad.
greatest sluggish toad
Frog Manufacturing unit Ribbit Frog
The Frog Manufacturing unit Ribbit Frog (previously often known as the Stanley Ribbit) is the most effective bait on the market for conditions the place you need a slow-moving, low-gurgling toad. These baits are efficient around the spawn when the water is simply warming up sufficient for a topwater, and the bass want one thing slightly slower and fewer aggressive. The vertical orientation of the toes permits the bait to be fished slowly. The Ribbit’s toes generate a gurgling sound and a sluggish motion. Imagine it or not, I really caught a 6.49-pound largemouth on this bait in a membership event on West Level Lake in 49-degree water.
greatest loud toad
Strike King Rage Tail Toad
If you would like a chaos-creating, loud-slapping, big-bite-inducing toad, the Strike King Rage Tail Toad is your decide. That is the loudest toad I’ve ever fished, which is because of the massive legs. Though these legs lie flat on the water, they incorporate the Rage Tail design ingredient that many Strike King mushy plastics are identified for. There are two small flanges on every leg, one on the underside and one on the highest. These flanges catch water and ship the legs kicking and flapping, creating all types of noise. When bass are in a foul and malicious temper, this toad can generate ornery and aggressive strikes. It’s particularly efficient when fishing by way of sparse to comparatively dense cowl, like lily pad fields. You’ll need the pads to be far sufficient aside that you would be able to hold your bait within the water and shifting more often than not so it might probably generate noise and motion. That noise is sufficient to pull fish from lengthy distances, and it does this much better than every other frog can.
NetBait BaitFuel BF Toad
Throughout my first outing testing this lure for a product evaluate, I caught a bass between 5 and 6 kilos on Lake Seminole and immediately fell in love with it. The form of the toes is just like that of these on the Zoom Sexy Toad, so there’s naturally an analogous spitting motion. However the legs are barely bigger, and the fabric is barely harder. So the bait doesn’t transfer as quick or have as crisp a sound. This equates to the BF Toad touchdown between the Zoom Sexy Toad and the Stanley Ribbit.
Add to that the bigger profile of the BF Toad, and also you principally have a mixture of the Rage Toad, Zoom Sexy Toad, and Stanley Ribbit, with a bigger profile bait that may be fished by way of dense cowl with out shifting too quick, too sluggish, or making an excessive amount of noise. It’s the Goldilocks of toads, if you’ll, and the most effective newcomer I’ve seen within the final 5 years.
Go Catch Big Bass on Frogs
In case you couldn’t inform, I really like a frog chunk. Whether or not we’re speaking hollow-body frogs or toads, my ears perk up and my blood pumps each time I hear the time period. Simply the considered a giant one slurping down a frog is sufficient to get me excited on the coldest winter day. Excellent news? Winter is a distant reminiscence now, and the bass are within the good temper to knock the mud off our frogs nationwide. The above listing consists of the most effective of the most effective I’ve discovered over twenty years of frog fishing. So decide one up and go catch a lunker.
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