Fast or Slow Northern Waters with the Frog and Toad ?
Ryan Tully shares his experience using the new Berkley PowerBait Buzz N Speed Toad and Beat N Paddle Frog.
Introducing two new Berkley PowerBait soft plastic lures, the Buzz N Speed Toad and the Beat N Paddle Frog. They are both available in four great colours – Black, Chartreuse White, Green Pumpkin & Watermelon Red Fleck Pearl Belly. The Beat N Paddle is 3.9” in length and the Buzz N Speed slightly longer at 4” in length, both the perfect bite-size for the predators of Australia’s northern waters.
To say I was excited to have these in my possession was an understatement. Most North QLD lure anglers know the value these style of lures have, and how the introduction of artificial topwater frogs has changed the way we fish.
Barramundi have always been known for eating frogs off the surface, they will make a bow wave behind the lure like a submarine then explode when you least expect it as they open their mouth to eat your offering.
The Buzz N Speed Toad and Beat N Paddle Frog, both have a fairly flat profile on the bottom of the lure, which allows it to skip through and over structure without snagging.
I’ve found Both the Buzz N Speed Toad and the Beat N Paddle Frog to be best when rigged on a weedless hook and have found the best hooks to use are the Owner Beast hooks in the weighted and unweighted variety. The Beast hooks use a screw in system at the head of the lure, then using the hook point to pin through the belly slot of the plastic
Myself and good mate, Will Holt have been testing both the Buzz N Speed Toad and the Beat N Paddle Frog extensively here in the North and have found each lure has its place.
With the Buzz N Speed Toad we can achieve faster retrieve speeds with a less erratic action, producing a nice humming buzz across the surface. Whereas, the Beat N Paddle Frog performed best when we wanted a slow presentation with plenty of action coming from the legs of the lure. We found when the fishing had slowed down at times, this slower approach worked well as we could keep the lure in the strike zone for longer.
I’ve been using heavier weighted, weedless hooks with the Buzz N Speed Toad and have found that not only can you skip them through logs and around structure, you can also let them sink down and twitch them at a depth when fish are sitting deeper and won’t surface to eat.
I believe in the lagoons, fish are seeing them as frogs, but when used with a weighted weedless hook in the saltwater they are seeing them as a crab with the claw-like legs trailing behind.
The Beat N Paddle Frog produces a tonne of water movement, having virtually two paddle tails on the one lure. This shape works great being slow rolled out of lillies and around timber.
Both the Frog and the Toad are a great option when you have spooky fish that don’t like heavy lures hitting the water or when the area you’re fishing is targeted regularly by other anglers, such as popular stocked impoundments.
Whether your from the south, chasing cod and bass, or your up north chasing barra and jacks, you will find these lures can be cast in to places where others can’t, allowing you to catch more fish.
By Ryan Tully – Berkley Pro Team
Ryan is a well-respected angler who resides in the northern region of QLD, spending all his free time fishing and exploring waterways in search of barramundi, mangrove Jack and many more. Ryan is addicted to topwater fishing, and believes a frog & toad is one of the most productive ways to get a bite.
