ribbits and horny toads

[pipewrench]

how many of yall out there have tried the reaction lures ribbits or the zoom horny toads ? i fished a tourney last week and while i did not win the thing i have got to say that these two lures saved the day for me and my buddy. we fished em all up in the lilly pads with a fast retrieve to get the legs churning water then stopping em dead and letting em sink for a few seconds. all the strikes were hard and the ones on the top were the most explosive that i have ever had. give em a shot if you havent allready

[Mike Cork]

Papa here on the site and his boy took a check in our last tournament fishing the ribits. He talked highly enough about the to convince me to give them a shot. I can think of a lot of great areas to try them.

You said you were fishing pads, have you every used them in the grass

[pipewrench]

havent tried em in the grass yet , for that i usually throw a scum frog or a bass rat , those things are nearly 100% weedless.

[Mike Cork]

How was your hook up ratio per strikes with the ribit and horny toad? What size and kind of hook did you use?

I have tried the EWG hooks but I am still 50 / 50 with the horny toad and of course the lossing fifty is always the monster

[pipewrench]

my hook up ratio was pretty good , i'd say a good 75% i was using a #4 ewg shoulder lock gamakatsu or owner hook (which ever one i grabbed) i think that you get better hook ups out of the ribbit cause its a little thinner and softer.

[blake711]

I had the same issues with a Horney toad.. They are very thick and firm..  I tryed a 3/0 EWG Gammy and it just wouldn't sit right.. I also tryed a gammy offeset 3/0 then went to a 2/0 gammy EWG it worked better than a 3/0 but I will try the 4/0 ewg per your advice pipewrench..

[Jared LeBlue]

They now make a hook designed for the frog. I bought a pak the other day and I love them. I forget the name of the company but I'll look and let yall know. I know one thing they work well and your bait last longer. I guess that's two things. Anyway on the main subject line I have never used the ribbits but I have used and love the horny toads. I like working them on top but have had more success in the grass when I  work the just under the surface.

[OHbassaholic]

I'm looking forward to seeing more reports on these lures.  Seems like many of the manufacturers are making some kind of new froggy design but I'm not seeing them move off the pegs.  I'll have to get a bag of each and give them a try so I can tell my customers about them. 

[bassadict69]

My hook-up ratio on the Horny Toad stinks...Rarely will I actually hook into whatever exploded onto it.

I bought some Ribbits the other day but haven't had a chance to try them yet. Hopefully, I can hook them ole hawgs a little better with them.

[bassadict69]

Rattle...Are these the hooks you were talking about?

See them here

[Jared LeBlue]

That's the ones. They work great.

[OHbassaholic]

Are you guys texposing or skin hooking? 

I haven't tried this hook design yet.  Guess I'll have to break down and buy some.

[pipewrench]

i've been just barely skin hooking it. i'm looking forward to some of yall trying out the ribbits. i want a second opinion on whether the hook up ratio is really better then with the horny toads , i felt that it was.

[pipewrench]

well , the bass are still knocking the fire out of these frogs for me but somehow my hookup ratio has fallen big time. i have worked with rigging them about a 1/2 inch farther back down the body because i think that alot of times the fish are striking at the legs. last time out i switched to a senko and got less strikes but boated more fish.

[BIG PAPA]

The afore pictured hook is the hook setup I have used on the ribbit since it came out althouigh I bought the springs and hooks seperately. However even though it does increase the hook up rate with the Horney toad it is still a long way from being the greatest hook up rate. However I have found a method that works. I use a 5/0 porko hook. This hook was designed for the huge pork worm made by Uncle josh. It is a weedless hook with a wire weedguard and a straight shank , it has a huge gap. when I am just fishing I hook it down the body with the hook exposed and the weed guard under the barb, this works pretty well increasing the hook ups a lot. However when using them in tourneys I just nose hook the frog and clip the wire weedguard making two seperate wires, this increases the hookups to almost the same ratio as a tex rigged worm which we all know is pretty good. the only problem here is that occasionally you will sling the frog off and Horney toads sink like a rock., which is why I only do that when fishing tourney's.
papa

[bassadict69]

I finally got to try the Ribbits this past weekend at the shootout. I caught one or two small fish on top. Then I got the bright idea to fish the Ribbit in 10-15 ft of water on a Carolina Rig. Ended up weighing in a couple of overs each day using that set-up. The fish would hit it hard...nearly jerked the rod out of my hands once or twice.

[OHbassaholic]

These things are really starting to catch my interest...

I had a customer tell me last week that he runs 2 hooks on this style lure.  He ties them both on as if they are one hook and Tex-sposes them right at the leg/body joint.  Interesting...

[bass1cpr]

Mustad makes a live bait hook with the wire weed guard like the porko hook that Papa described. That's the hook I use in the frog I make. the wire weed guard is longer and easier to get behind the barb and the hook ups are  better for me.

Another trick you can try is making the hook slot a little deeper with your knife or a razor blade. Putting a few cuts across the body in the mid section of the belly will let the body collapse better on the hook set also. Just a couple of more tricks you can try.

[bass1cpr]

     Pipewrech said Reaction innovations made the ribbit in an earlier post that was wrong Stanley Lures makes the ribbit. I finally found them. Now I'll give them a try.

[Rich Thiel]

Out west the Horny Toad is a hot item on the California Delta... The way we hook them up is with a 4/0 Superline Gamakutsu.  By reel'in in fast to get the tail going, the hook ratio will very depending on conditions and the mood of the bass.

Today will playing with it, I tried a 7/0 hook offset.  It works, it just comes in at the tail end of the HT.  One other thing we do out here is throw it on 30-50lb Power Pro Braid.   No stretch, and the hookup ratio will increase.

In reference to the Frogs on the Market,  Swamp Donkey and Snagproof's "Bobby Barracks Perfect Frog.   I'd take the BBPF over the SD ever time.  Problem with the SD is that the rubber is too stiff.   The soften it up, either put it in the Micro Oven or set it on your dash of your vehicle for 24-48hrs. 

I tried ever which way in modifying it and the catch ratio with the SD is LOW LOW LOW.  Their Quality Control isn't worth a HOOT.  The same problem I hear with Dean Rojas's Frog.

[Fishaholic]

Great info Rich and everyone...thanks

[BIG PAPA]

Thanks Rich you probably saved me some money on Dean's frog
papa

[pipewrench]

reaction lures did make the ribbit frog origonally , stanley actually bought the bait from reaction. it is the exact lure just a different package

[Ouachita]

Add to that setup one drop of gel super glue near the hook eye just before pushing the hook through.

My favorite use for the horny toad is putting them on dry ground right at the water's edge. Bass hear it hit and will turn to investigate. I ease it out into the water than make a dash for some visible cover. It's rare the toad has to be hauled to or over cover. They fight over that toad, others usually trying to rob it from the first taker.

Before hooking the toad I make a thin through-the-body slot by simply stabbing the centerline from back to belly slot already there to make an easy slideway for the hook bend. That belly slot is deep enough for easy exposure of lots of hook, being a good quarter inch deep. Skin-hooking the point keeps the hook in place, and any strike easily releases the hook to expose above the back. The angle of the hook helps pin a bass lip between hook and toad, helping to eliminate wiggle room for a bass to sling it out. That's a much better setup than using a hook that points parallel to the axis of the toad.

Not done yet. On the backside there are two raised ribs. I insert a pointed glass rattle in one aiming toward the tail and seal the entry hole with gel super glue. I really like that glue. It doesn't run all over everything like regular super glue, and sets up very quickly.

Jim

[avid]

The horney toad is killer bait down here in SE Florida.  Our conditions are very weedy.  The bass will hit it when nothing else works.  I like to use a 5/0 owner offset widegap.  My hookup ratio is excellent.  I also use 50lb braid and a heavy action rod.  With this combination I rarely miss a strike.  The toad attracts big fish too.  It has made my summer which otherwise would have been pretty slow.