One of the lures I’ve been having a lot of fun with lately is a soft plastic toad. These things have been around for a while but it seems like they aren’t as popular as some of the other lures out there which is great because it means that I’m probably showing the bass something they haven’t already seen hundreds of times. I use the same setup with these that I uses for my frogs which is a casting rod with 50lb braid, but in this case I usually like to tie on a small 12lb Yo-Zuri copolymer leader. That’s completely optional though and a lot of people just tie the braid straight onto the hook, and ultimately you should do whatever works best for you.
There are a few different brands that make a toad, but in my case I typically use a Zoom Horny toad. In terms of colors I go with a natural option like the one pictured above in most conditions or something darker (like their black light color) if the visibility is low. This is a topwater lure and you could throw it in open water, but I usually like it when there’s some grass on top of the water mixed in with some open patches of water and will typically use one in the same type of places that I would throw a popping frog. One difference with a toad is you can actually kill your retrieve when you hit an open patch of water and let it fall into it a bit before continuing to reel it back in and generate some bites that way. Alternatively you can just chuck this thing out there and retrieve it back to you steadily. Either method can work and this has been a surprisingly effective lure for me when the bass are interested in topwater, which is why it made this list.
Lure Summary – Toad
Suggested Rod Length: 7’2″ – 7’6″
Suggested Rod Power: Heavy
Suggested Rod Action: Fast
Suggested Reel Type: Casting Reel
Suggested Gear Ratio: 8.4:1
Lure Weight (est.): .6oz
Tackle Required
- 50lb Sufix 832 Braided Line
- 12lb Yo-Zuri Hybrid Copolymer Leader (optional)
Suggested Baits
- Zoom Horny Toad