Ribbit, Ribbit

December might seem like an odd time to talk about frog fishing, but I live in Florida and was lucky enough to be able to use one today. I love throwing hollow belly frogs like the Snag Proof Phat Frog and Bobby's Perfect frog, but I also like the soft plastic ones. The Zoom Horny Toad really started this whole trend a few years ago and now everybody makes their own version. My favorite one to use by far is the Stanley Ribbit Frog. I think the paddle feet have a great action and the bait seems to run true and not flip over as often.

Today I was using the new Ribbit Floater for the first time. Like the name implies, this thing floats. I think this bait has several advantages that can be helpful at times. The original Horny Toad and Ribbit need to be reeled immediately after they hit the water to get them on top of the water and buzzing. The floater is always on top, so it will start buzzing the surface when you want it to. How many times have you cast in a great looking spot of grass only to have it subsurface until a few feet later, out of the prime strike zone? You can also stop reeling it whenever you want and fish it almost like a Pop-R.

I think this bait is really cool and has some great applications. It also comes in several cool swirl colors, like the one I was using today, Moss Green. The only drawback I found was after a fish hits the bait and misses it. Instead of letting it sink for that follow-up strike, the bait is still on top. I guess this is why you need both versions. Just let the fish let you know what they want that day. One other thing I'd like to add is how great Stanley Lures was to me when I bought a defective pack of Ribbits earlier this year. A few of the baits were missing paddle feet. I let them know about this and they fixed the problem no questions asked. Talk about customer service!