frogs

[ctom]

I fish bass only occasionally but here in town I have a spot that is full of them and I like to sling frogs to them. One of my favorite color patterns is red/black. I finally got my hands on the 3" croaker mold so I can whip up my own bass poison and when I opened the mail last night and found the mold there I just had to play.



The black is obvious. The red is actually a re-melt in tomato with red glitter and red hi lites.

Me thinks I need to take a stroll around my pet pond.

[Bass in the hood]

Very nice now I want that mold.

[ctom]

Here are a couple others using left-overs.



The one on the right has a green back with a yellowish chartreuse underside while the one on the left is black with a green chartreuse underside.

I had ideas of slipping over to the pond to flip these today but Ma got back home and changed my plans.

[Muskygary]

Nice looking baits, Tom, you might have to think about adding them to your crappie store! Don't walleye feed up on frogs in the fall?

[Botanophilia]

My bro in law got a walleye on a frog last spring.  We were both pretty surprised.

[Muskygary]

I rember In-Fisherman saying that in the late fall there is a migration of the frogs back to the lake bottom for the winter. The walleye feed up big on them at this time.

[Denny Welch]

Those eyes really set these frogs apart.

[matt]

I didn't see this post please go to color book part

[ctom]

I made a thin plate to use to split the colors and so far it works real well. My daughter was over for dinner tonight and I handed her a couple of the green'chartreuse ones and she thought they looked and felt real. I have to work on some black spots now.

The mold takes some getting used to. This is the largest bait I make and it was a real eye opener as far as having to wait to remove the bait from the mold.

I've heard people talking about catching eyes on frogs but I haven't had the pleasure yet. I have taken early winter eyes using a Culprit creature bait that resembles a centipede that's about 6 inches long fish simply as a dead stick....dropped down on a jig to within a foot of bottom and the rod set down so the bait just flutters along as the boat drifts or is slowly trolled. Now ya'll have me thinking.

I have to go and try some spots now. Ma's going to hate this mold I can tell.

[WALLEYE WACKER]

ctom great looking baits. I don't have a frog but plan on getting some soon.  mike

[ctom]

Here we go....



This is the same green back as previous frogs but the belly section is a white pearl with just a small chunk of yellow chartreuse added in to pull the color to a cream-colored pearl. The spots are obvious. They were put in the mold using a skewer stick, pointed end, that has been dulled to create a slightly larger surface to pick up slightly more of the black.

Adding the spots is a quick process, meaning that you have to work super fast. The plastic will cool in a snap on the stick since there isn't enough volumn to keep things up to working temp. After I had the spots in the top half of the mold I slipped in the plate and shot the green and trimmed out the top portion, then shot the cream.

[t-billy]

 Great lookin baits Tom. Especially that last one.---Tim.

[Denny Welch]

Some of you guys have so much more on the ball than me that I feel humbled in your presence.  That frog of Toms is a case in point.   I also like my frogs with markings on them, but I simply paint them on using a dowel, or brush or whatever.  It never, ever would have crossed my mind to make them out of hot plastic and installing them in the mold before pouring the frog itself.  If our frogs were placed side by side, Tom's frog would look like a frog.  Mine would look like a frog that was used as a drop cloth.  Big difference.  I envy you guys that can think outside the box.  I have trouble doing that.

[Botanophilia]

I fish my frogs almost exclusively top-water.  Bass don't see the top of the frog.  Most of the ones I make are solid color, anything besides green or brown is for my enjoyment or just to play around with new colors etc.  Unless you're fishing them below the water surface, pretty frogs are for catching fishermen, not fish. Having said that- Tom, these look GREAT!

[Jerry V]

Nice work Mr. Tom, I think you're starting to get the hang of it now. 

Color Ninja, Frog Meister Tom

That's what...

Jerry