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Live Target's Koppers Frog (1.75in)

We've been searching high and low for this particular frog which won "Best New Soft Bait" at ICAST 2010. Couldn't find any local tackle store that stocks them, so we went ahead with a costly online purchase straight from the US.

Once it reached our hands, we straight away put the bait through a field test - hunting for Tomans & Haruans. The latter seems to have a particular interest in this bait.

Construction is stunning as the manufacturer captured all the lifelike features of the frog in this bait. All is good and anatomically correct apart from the legs which are made from silicone or rubber skirts. As with any other hollow bodied frogs, the body is easily collapsible making hooksets easier. They even come with detailed instructions/tips on how to use the bait. These instructions come neatly folded and stashed inside the bait's box, which is cool.

Size: 1.75in
Weight: 1/4 oz
Type: Surface

We kept looking at the frog and admired how good it looks. The detailing would be useful if an angler fishes in clear or lightly stained water situations.

There are 12 colours to choose from and they all look sweet. Wish we bought this bait in all available colours (financial issues prevented this from happening).

The double hooks look durable enough to handle up to big sized fish (although this needs further testing from us). But accidentally hooking up with a monster fish would definitely wet our pants.

All in all, the flooding of hollow bodied frogs in our country from various manufacturers would easily make this lure redundant. But being the hardcore anglers that we are, we would not be dazzled by just any other hollow bodied frogs (even though they are very affordable) - we are looking for quality, value for money and detailing. Which is what brought this frog to us.

However, the body will get scratched from rubbing with the hook points after a while, and this would never hurt but it is worth noting.

Did I mention the detailing on this hollow bodied frog? Man oh man.

Lunkerhunt's Pocket Frog

The Pocket Frog is a smaller version of Lunkerhunt's Lunkerfrog. This particular bait is sized at 1.75" and weights in at 1/4oz. We bought one in the King Toad colour scheme.

At USD 7.49, the Pocket Frog is somewhat overpriced.

Comparing this with the River2Sea's Bully Wa 45, this frog is slightly smaller and is better suited for our local Channa Striata (Haruan). The legs extend on the retrieve, exactly like it's big brother. We have had several takes in the first few casts on our field test session. This is promising as this time we conducted the test in a heavily pressured area.

Side by side with the Live Target Koppers Frog

Hopping this frog onto or near vegetation really made the magic happen as the frog was thrown about because of fish strikes. Casting this lure is effortless (must be due to my Hedgehog Studio's ZR bearings) and smooth.

We caught one nice Haruan on the very first cast, without even reeling in! When the frog touched the water,  it was taken immediately. I waited a few seconds before striking and got the Haruan solidly hooked. After landing the fish, I wanted to remove the hooks but the frog was totally engulfed by this fish and the hooks were stuck solid on the fish's lower mouth.

It was a juvenile haruan which took my offering and even though its size is small, the fish totally swallowed the bait.

The rubber on this frog had some teeth marks from the Haruan and although it is easily collapsible, durability is a bit doubtful as our predatory fishes are all equipped with sharp teeth. But as with other soft plastic/rubber frog lures, they were made with the American Bass in mind.

The double hooks look well built and I would need to hook up with a lunker fish in order to really know its durability.

The double hooks were dislodged from the body by the fiesty Haruan

Remember the Lunker Frog? Well, it had so many takes but hookup was bad maybe because of the smaller sized fishes. It was named "Lunker Frog"  because is was made for big sized fishes.

Anyway, I can't wait to conduct more field tests with the Lunker Frog & Pocket Frog. Hopefully, I can also test out the new Deeper Fishfinder that's on its way. Fishing from the bank would limit my tests but I will definitely use the Deeper Fishfinder on a friend's boat once I get the  chance.

All in all, the Pocket Frog is a fun frog to have and enlightens you with it's flailing legs when the bites are slow.

The lure comes in 10 colour options. The Pocket Frog and Lunker Frog can be ordered online from popular e-tailers.

Lunker Frog Review

The ICAST 2013: Best Soft Lure

This looks like just another soft plastic frog lure with the exception of the legs. Instead of having silicone skirts for legs, this frog has realistic soft plastic legs. And the box claims that they will retract when paused and straighten when retrieved.

Frog in a box

The plastic of the frog feels soft and supple and like any other hollow bodied frog, will expose the hooks when the body is compressed.

LH is tattooed on the left ribcage and realism is good as this particular paint scheme (King Toad) matches the favourite frog for our local haruans and tomans.

Test Location #1

Gear Used

Rod: Abu Garcia Vendetta 5'6" Medium Heavy

Line: Berkley Fireline 40lb Braid

Reel: Abu Garcia baitcaster

We tested the Lunker Frog at a disused pond and found that the lure casts pretty well because of its weight (1/2 oz). It lands on its belly almost every time. Its does take in some water and sits bottom slightly down. The hooks are pretty sharp and the body collapses easily under pressure. But our expectations of the lure's legs to extend almost fully on the retrieve were quickly diminished as it only extends slightly.

This lure does attract fish as we got hits and misses during our 3 hours of testing. One fish (our guess is Channa Striata or Haruan) that was of significant size shook the hook as it was nearing the bank. 

We had the Dengkil anglers use the most common soft plastic frog found in most local stores against our Lunker Frog and found that size does matter. The Dengkil team had caught a sizeable Haruan (Channa Striata) on their plastic frog which is sized similar to the River2Sea's Baby Bully 45. Whilst our Lunker Frog, which is bigger, managed to get numerous hits and hookups, but failed to land a fish. (This is due to the fish being able to shake off the hooks when nearing the grassy banks)

Durability is quite impressive as the colours and plastic are intact even after numerous missed casts, hookups and casting the lure (accidentally) onto rocky banks.

The legs were still intact after the hits and misses but it would be a whole lot better to use the smaller Pocket Frog or River2sea's Baby Bully 45 for our local species.

With this lure, its all about the legs as they flail around when retrieved and are durable to stretch. BUT, the main concern is where the legs join the body. This is its weakest point and if a fish were to pull one or both of the lure's legs hard enough, they will certainly detach from the body. A way around this is to glue the joints where the legs meet the body.

There are no spares for the legs even when contacting the manufacturer, they told us that they do not sell the legs separately and given the cost to purchase one of this lure exceeds the RM40 mark, we believe that this lure is not cost effective for local anglers.

Comparing this lure to the River2Sea's Baby Bully, the build quality is better on the Lunker Frog as the outer skin did not flake off like in the case of the Baby Bully.

You can find numerous manufacturers producing the soft plastic frogs nowadays, and they range from below RM10 to RM20. From small to large frogs, you can source them from local tackle stores nationwide. This is the most economical alternative we can find to the Lunker Frog. Legs or no legs, plastic frogs are fun to fish and this is the most important point in fishing - Fun.

The Lunker Frog comes in 10 colour options to choose from and can be bought online at Tackle Warehouse (they don't ship to Malaysia) and Bass Pro Shops.

Alternative frogs that can be sourced locally includes TCE Tackle's frog, SAS, Starlit and etc.

Quality / Finishing: 8/10

Durability: 7/10 (Because of the legs detaching after a while)

Price: 3/10

We will run further field tests with this Lunker Frog but at a different location to unleash the full potential of this lure. So there is no conclusion yet in this review. Please await part 2.

NOTE: Special thanks to the Big Ted & the Dengkil team for bringing us to the test location. We conduct field tests at wild ponds, rivers, reservoirs to find out the best gears and lures for the job. Thank you for your support and hope to be fishing with you again.

Most Overlooked Spinner: Bluefox Vibrax

Most Overlooked Spinner: Bluefox Vibrax

With the monsoon season here, I thought of Sebarau boils and when I think of Sebarau, I think of these - Bluefox Spinners.

Spinners have their place in every anglers tacklebox. They are one of the most basic form of lures for casters and there are a place and time when only they work while other lures don't.
Their appearance are less appealing to us and we often skip buying these hidden gems.

5gm & 10gm Bluefox Vibrax Spinners

Any type of spinner work with Sebaraus (Hampala Barb) but the Bluefox Vibrax simply work wonders. The bell/bullet shaped head is to emit vibrations that attract fishes and the blade provides flash to get the Sebarau's attention. It's made out of machined brass and is silver or copper plated.

Bell shaped body of the Bluefox Vibrax

The treble hook is sharp out of the box and quite strong but Hampala Barbs have the tendency to bend them during the heat of the fight. This lure comes with tempered VMC treble hook.

The colours will fade a bit after a while of regular usage but it does not affect the lure's effectiveness.

The 5gm size is a small pond and stream lure as it is excels in these places.

The blades spin freely and provides maximum flash while the lure is being retrieved. They are either silver or copper plated and depending on the colour options you choose, come with painted or printed patterns.

Durability is excellent, except for the colors fading after a while and the treble hook needs to be changed to something stronger (as with other lures) because we all know our predatory fishes are notorious for their unhooking ability.

In terms of looks, its simple. And this does not catch a lot of anglers but it certainly does catch fish.

So if you're out and about searching for fishing stuff, don't neglect these when you find some. Get one and try it out for yourself. Good things come in small packages AND they're inexpensive too.

Tight lines. Have fun fishing, that's all that matters.