Kennesaw, GA (June 21, 2021) - Why does Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Caleb Sumrall have a SPRO® frog – or several different SPRO frogs – on the deck of his bass boat at nearly every tournament?
“It’s because they’re the OGs,” he said. “There’s a lot of competition out there, but SPRO is still the best.”
It should come as no surprise to fishing fans and avid anglers that the OG frog was designed by the OG frog master, Dean Rojas, and they’re still the most popular amphibian on the bass fishing market today. “When I first drew it up, the most important thing was the hook-up ratio,” the veteran Arizona pro said. “I wanted to dispel the myth that you miss a lot of bites on a frog while still making it come to life and walk naturally. Everything from our 4/0 Gamakatsu Superline hook to the great quality rubber to the solid ring tie continues to make it the best frog you can buy today.”
Of course, since Dean’s early days on tour, when frogging was generally considered limited to a narrow range of situations and conditions, their use has spread and extended throughout the seasons.
“A lot more people are throwing it now,” the Bass Pro Tour winner said. “It’s not as easy as it used to be. That’s why it’s even more important to use the Bronzeye or Poppin’ Frog. I like the Poppin’ frog more in open water, where the cupped mouth won’t grab anything. I prefer the original Bronzeye for skipping and around laydowns and brush, where you can swim it through and not grab anything.”
Sumrall says that although he’s still growing as an angler, the frog makes him feel at home, whether it’s a tough venue like the Sabine River or a lunker fest at Guntersville or Lake Fork. Sumrall prefers the popping frog when there’s a little bit of ripple on the water because it creates a disturbance, but no matter which SPRO frog he chooses, he intends to make it walk the dog. “I wait until the rings go away, and then I’ll try to make it move back and forth in place in tight, little-bitty spaces. Cadence also matters a lot. Some people work their frogs way too fast. When fish are heavily pressured you need to slow it down.”
While the standard sizes of the Bronzeye and Poppin’ Frogs have dominated serious anglers’ arsenals for well over a decade, SPRO reacted to customer demand by introducing the Poppin’ Frog 70, a larger model with an even bigger hook, but all of the same quality components. That complements the massive King Daddy, which Rojas said has “a cult following – you have to know to know.”
Anglers looking to develop a useful color palette can start with simple basics – black and white like Midnight Walker and Albino, respectively. Rojas said that some of his other favorites are Killer Gill, Amazon and Outback, and “anything with black or yellow.” Sumrall supplements the basics with Killer Gill, Red Ear and a variety of other natural patterns.