Deeper - Fishfinder

The Deeper fishfinder made by Friday Lab finally arrived and we are really excited to unleash it's potential in our waters. We mostly do freshwater fishing and this tool will certainly help locate where to cast for fish. Not only that, it can tell you the water temperature and depth too.

In our opinion, this tool is a valuable tool for those who do a lot of fishing either as freshwater guides or simply hobby fishermen. To be able to tell where the fishes are and at what depth would be crucial to a successful outing (although it might not guarantee that the fish will take your bait). Alas, the saying by a bright young man - you can go to a party where there are a lot of girls, but that does not guarantee a successful hookup with any of them.

WHATS IN THE BOX

1. USB Cable
2. Attaching Loops (3 x)
3. Car Charger
4. Desktop Charger
5. Deeper sonar unit
6. Quck Start Guide
7. Soft carrying case

The items are neatly packed into a box.

The sonar unit itself can be opened to access the USB port used for charging the unit.

Be sure to charge your sonar unit for at least 8 hours before first use. This will ensure battery longevity.

There will be a sticker stating which attachment points to use when fishing from a boat, bridge or shore. Its important to use ONLY 1 attachment loop at a time.

The sonar unit weight only 100gm and you don't have to cast it far. Ensure that the sonar unit is not submerged in the water as you can loose your Bluetooth signal whenever this happens.

We will be going out on a field test soon to try out the Deeper fishfinder and it will be interesting to know how it performs. Stay tuned for more posts on the Deeper.

New Test Area - Revisited

Remember the new test area I discovered yesterday? Well, I went again this morning to hopefully hook up with a fish this time. And I wasn't disappointed.

Arrived at around 10:35am and rigged up the ever producing Keitech Swing Impact in flash minnow colour.

Began casting and fine tuning the action of the bait. No follows.

Changed spot to the overhanging tree where I got hit yesterday and started fan casting the area.

On one of the cast, the bait got hit when it hit the water. Gave it a slight jerk and hooked up with the fish. It as a fine Haruan.
The soft and supple plastic on the Keitech bait really made a world of difference (also easily ripped if you catch it on bushes and give it a tug).

All is good and then I decided to put on the Pocket Frog. Again, got takes but couldn't get the hookset right.

Went home at around 12:45pm

Jump Frogs VS Soft Frogs

A lot of people have asked us why we don't showcase the ever popular Jump Frog. And the answer is just that...the Jump Frog is popular and needs no introduction as it is easy to use, just cast it and burn it back. And usually, if a fish strikes the lure, it will be hooked automatically. Thanks to the upturned double hooks.
The soft frog (better known as the hollow bodied frog) however needs more varying retrieves and the hookset needs to be spot on which increases the challenge and ultimately the stress of fishing.
The Jump Frog is usually carved out of wood and floats. There are double hooks extending out from behind the body of the lure and these are pointed upwards. It could be made weedless with the addition of small tubes covering the points of the hooks. And like I mentioned earlier, the lure is usually retrieved with haste.
Origin - Thailand. Where it is used to catch Tomans (Giant Snakeheads).

The Jump Frog in action.

They are used with great success in Malaysia.

For us, we are more inclined to go down the unbeaten path where soft frogs are fast becoming forgotten compared to jump frogs.

The thing about soft frogs is that you need to get the retrieve right and remember that these lures are made for Bass. Hooksets are also a skill that needs to be learned through experience as waiting a few seconds and waiting until you feel the fish's weight before setting the hook, does not guarrantee you a successful hookup.

And most of the time, the fish does get away and you seldom would get a second chance in the same area after losing that fish. And such missed hookups will haunt you in your dreams.

So, whatever your fancy. Happy fishing.

New Test Area

Drove around 11:30am (very late) to find a new test area. Used Google Maps to locate likely spots and just drove there using the navigation.
Arrived and started casting the Pocket Frog around...no takers. Maybe my presentation is bad. Looked around and saw 2 anglers fishing on the opposite bank using live frogs. Within 5 minutes, they caught fish.
I moved spot to find another adjacent pool, casted and casted while moving...only small takes not enough for a hookup. The lake was too big and it was midday. So since the bites are slow, went back to the original pond and this time went west from where I started fishing. Saw some surface activities and it looked promising and since it was 2pm+ I casted into shades and under trees. This is when magic happened.
Began casting the Pocket Frog under a tree near the bank and saw a v-shaped wake speeding towards my lure and in seconds, a hit. Waited 3 seconds and pulled my line slowly to feel if the fish still had my lure...and...yes, the fish was there! I prepared to set the hook and struck. I felt the fish was still on and a sizeable one too...and then while reeling the fish in...the lure came flying back to me. What?
I was devastated.
Cast under the tree again and again but no follows. So I packed up and went straight home. Took a shower. Wrote this entry.

Our Online Shop

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.