Weedless Frog Flies

[Morrowboarder 0]

Any recommendations for tying a weedless frog? I've tested over 20 variations with no luck keeping the hook upright so it doesn't drag and catch on moss. It's always 50/50 for me. Maybe there's a trick to casting it?

[cheech 0]

Any recommendations for tying a weedless frog? I've tested over 20 variations with no luck keeping the hook upright so it doesn't drag and catch on moss. It's always 50/50 for me. Maybe there's a trick to casting it?

Whatever you do, you need to make sure that there is weight right where the butt of the frog is. If you look at all of the hollow bodied frogs out there you will see that they have a lead or tungsten weight at the back/bottom of the frog so it keels correctly.

[Philly 0]

Here's a couple I've tied up. Haven't had a chance to fish them yet. These would be small frogs.

 

 

 

 

Here's one of them floating in a small bowl of water.

 

 

These are tied on double hooks which usually have a short shank. There are double salmon hooks with a longer shank that might allow a larger body, but they're usually a heavy hook. One thought, and I'm going to give it a shot is to use an articulated shank to allow the larger body, attach the double hook to it, and make sure the shank of the double hook is far enough into the body to allow it to be rigid and not dangle. I'll take a couple of pictures if I get it figured out.

[shoebop 0]

Have you tried a heavy mono loop as a weed guard?

 

[mikechell 0]

Unfortunately, making a frog light enough to use with a fly rod, also makes it light enough to be affected by the weight of the hook. You might be able to get one that rides hook point up sometimes ... but I don't think you can "guarantee" it will.

I think Shoebop's suggestion is the best option. Put weedguards on the hook so those times when it lands hook down will still be weed resistant.

[Morrowboarder 0]

Philly, I like those patterns, thanks for sharing! I will experiment with the articulated shank as well.

 

Shoebop and Mikechell, I typically use the mono loop for my mouse patterns, which work great for certain weed beds, but moss is hard to get around. There's a lake in my area with heavy timber and moss. The bass are pigs in that lake and will get you snagged up within seconds of being on the hook. To counter this, I use a 10 weight to throw large frog imitations over the moss and drag the big bass in before they can snag me up. Not to mention the chance of hooking into a 30 inch bowfin, which I don't mind at all!

 

https://plus.google.com/109426928257884861114/posts/a2jSXGuYdQF

[heavynets 0]

Here are some to look at.

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=weedless+frog+fly&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=7X8tVdL-CMq5ggS-7YCICg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg

[whatfly 0]

Whatever you do, you need to make sure that there is weight right where the butt of the frog is. If you look at all of the hollow bodied frogs out there you will see that they have a lead or tungsten weight at the back/bottom of the frog so it keels correctly.

 

 

Cheech as the right idea. Take a look at the KDM Rat as an example: http://www.flytyingforum.com/pattern8100.html.

[Guest]

[Morrowboarder 0]

Thanks guys, I think I have an idea for a new design and will share when finished.

[ditz2 0]

Many years ago someone offered a frog type pattern tied on a keel hook. I don't think that keel hooks are any longer available which is too bad IMO. These were available in the early and mid 70's I think. I don't have a pic of them but I will try to describe the fly as best as I can and the hook did ride up.

 

The tail was either 4 or 6 narrow hackles tied in splayed and they were probably about 1/3 to 1/2 the hook length. The body was deer body hair tied in parallel to the hook shank with thread wrapped around the body hair in a loose pattern. The head was spun deer body hair spun and flared. It was trimmed close to the shank on the top and bottom but left long on each side but it was squared off on the sides so that what was left was a flat like square head. As I remember it was available in yellow, black, and a mix of yellow and green frog type color. They were available from several common and popular sources.

 

The hook design never gained a lot of popularity as missed strikes seemed to be a concern. I think that if one opened the hook point a slight amount the problem could have been minimized. I think also that the depth of the eye end of the off set was reduced a little the hook would have worked the same and hooking would have improved. I think they would be a good hook to tie bait fish patterns on. They were similar to many of the current worm hooks but the flat area right behind the eye was longer allowing more room for attaching materials.

[TheCream 0]

A few years ago, I was fishing a lot of weed mats and lily pads in the summer from my kayak. This was the most weedless pattern I could come up with. It worked pretty well, but I honestly haven't fished it much since. It's a tube variant of a foam pattern I call a Plopper. It isn't really a popper, isn't really a slider, it's more of a hybrid. Tied on a tube, I used a large Gama octopus hook on it, inverted, with a two strand mono weed guard tied to the hook. The octopus hook bend seemed to help the fly keel up correctly (adding a bit of weight to the rear would be perfect, though). Here it is on the vise, no hook:

 

 

And a victim, you can see the octopus hook with weed guard here a little:

 

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I've noticed on floating patterns that land upside down that after a strip or two they usually rite themselves. So, as for a trick to casting, there could be if you consider casting to open water on the far end of the weeds or opening in the weeds to allow you a short distance to strip the fly and rite it before it begins traveling across the weeds.

The old McNally Frog Popper was tied with bucktail legs at a forty five degree angle upward to help turn the fly on its descent from the cast to the water. While being a hook point down pattern, the same philosophy could apply with the hook point up fly.

[Morrowboarder 0]

Thecream, what an awesome looking fly. I never seen that design after many Google searches, thanks for sharing! Kirk, I agree on the cast on open water tactic, as I typically do that when spin casting scum frogs. In dead summer, the open water pockets are small, I'd have to be a dead eye caster to hit them. Short distance as you suggested would be key.

[GabPamgea 0]

Here's mine... Big frog for pike too (hook is 6/0) and eyes are made with the monofilament from weedless nylon.

No problem for casting with class 9 line...