The Designer Bass FROG™ Hook
The Designer Bass FROG™ Hooks are basically a Kahle Hook style live bait hook. They are very similar to the Gamakatsu or Matzuo Shiner Hook. They are right in the middle of those two brands as far as "tempering" is concerned. I think they are a perfect compromise between the two for FROG Fishing, but they also make an excellent hook for my Designer Bass Shiners™, also for use when fishing Wacky Worms weedless, and of course for fishing live bait, especially big shiners. The hooks in this replacement pack have the silicone weedguards that are very easy to put on the hook if you are using the tool for attaching the weedguard that is demonstrated in the video below. These hooks have extremely sharp points and tiny barbs that make hook setting much easier.
If you are planning to use the Designer Bass FROG Hooks, you really should watch this video. It will show you how to use the tool that will really make putting the weedguards on the hooks effortless. Also, it will introduce you to the three types of weedguards I now supply to my FROG Lure customers. Even the Clones now come with the latex heavyweight weedguards as well as the silicone style weedguards that are packed inside the Clone Package. There is now also a weedguard attachment tool included with every order of Clone Series FROGs. You will also find a black keeper ring or "stopper" in the little bag that holds the extra weedguards and the attachment tool.
The video above will also show you how to tighten the tension in the bands to increase tension between the wire clip and the barb and thereby increase protection from hanging up on some types of cover such as logs and stickups, especially on a hard splashdown. The latex weedguard above is the heavyweight type which gives greater protection through increased coverage of the hook point. If you want to use less weedguards, you should close the gap on the wire clip holding the weedguard with a pair of needlenose pliers
The close-up photo of the hook above exhibits how the weedguard should be positioned on the hook in order to protect the hook point.
The photo above exhibits how the weedguard locks on the barb and stretches on either side of the hook point to protect it. It is usually okay to have the tip of the point peeking out a little, but there is a wide degree of variance of performance in different types of cover. In addition to increasing the tension of the bands, you can also change the angle of protection by bending the weedguard wire holding clip up or down, covering or uncovering the hook point as needed. The heavyweight latex weedguard above gives you more ability to cover more of the point, but sometimes requires the user to "lock in" the weedguard onto the barb with a little more effort at "breaking it in" when using a new one. The weedguard on Capt Ken's Designer Bass FROG Hooks is purposefully much smaller to allow for better hook setting, especially for anglers new to FROG fishing or for difficult situations, such as; when a bass hits the FROG and comes charging right at you. Once broken in though, a new heavyweight weedguard will often perform perfectly for days on end without coming off, and will give fanatastic weedless performance in almost any type of cover. However, some folks might prefer using the lightweight latex weedguards or even the Clone Series "silicone" colored weedguards which are much easier to put on if you use the weedguard attachment tool presented in the video demonstration above. Both of those types of weedguards lock in behind the barb very easily, once stretched with the tool, and they stay on very well.
The hook above is a commercially available hook marketed by one of the larger hook manufacturers. It does have a heavier guage metal shaft and a larger barb. Some guys choose to use this hook as an alternative hook for the Designer Bass FROGs™. There are several problems with that choice. First the heavier guage and the larger barb make it more difficult to set the hook. The second problem is the weedguard is too close to the point, making it too easy to pop off the hook constantly.
The hook above is another heavy guage hook of the same style with a larger barb, but this one has a custom made weedguard with stainless steel wire that is positioned so it will not pop off the hook when the FROG hits down a little too hard on the landing on vegetation or logs etc. This setup is a better alternative choice for weedless fishing with the FROGs if you are using heavier tackle and do not think that "hook setting" will be a major problem for you.
In the photo above, you can see the hook that comes with all Original Series and Replicants Series FROGs. You will also note that there is a little black "stopper" that prevents the FROG from coming off the hook. This stopper now comes with all Designer Bass FROG Series™ of FROGs, including the Clone Series which now also includes more weedguards, all three types of weedguards, and also an Elastic Weedguard Attachment Tool. Now anyone should be able to attach all three types of weedguards very easily without a problem.
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