|
Goin'
for a Walk with the Jackall Iobee Frog
(cont'd)
  One
minor irritation is that the Iobee's long rubber legs often fouled the hooks.
This came as no shock to me since they are quite long and limber. Another detail
worth mentioning was that I found moss and loose weeds collected on the hook
points regularly, possibly due in part to the bait's low stance in the water.
This can be an annoyance when fishing around heavy floating debris or on top of
certain mats. Despite this negative point, the Iobee does come through standing
weeds, grass, and branches very well. It can be thrown into these areas with
confidence, and when a fish strikes the hookup ratios are tremendous.
Notice the keel-shaped belly...
Durability:
The
soft body material didn't show any huge weaknesses despite being pulled through
limbs and bouncing off rocks. I was lucky enough to never have any baits get
totally trashed, but some abrasions and little tears did develop—basically
nothing too worse than with other frogs I've used.
As shown, the hooks do like to catch loose weeds.
Price &
Applications:
At $12.99 there's no doubt this frog is pricey. It still comes in below other
more exotic offerings like the Deps Slither K and Megabass Pony Gabot, however
MANY frogs like the River2Sea Bully Wa and Spro Bonzeye—to name only a scant
few—are proven effective and are available at lower prices.
The Iobee has a low stance in the water.
Feel free to toss this frog anywhere you please, but I really favor it for
sparser cover and open water to take advantage of its awesome action. It's a
blast to cast on lighter tackle (for froggin', anyway) and really enjoy the
fight of a spirited bass.
The hook eye is soldered shut for added security against knot slippage.
Speaking of tackle, I used a few types of medium-heavy to heavy-powered rods
with the Iobee and was able to fish the bait and set the hooks with no
difficulty. Most recently, I've been chucking it on a Powell TiMax 734HCF with
30-pound braid.
The soft body compresses easily and allows for a great hookup ratio.
Ratings:
(We've
re-calibrated our
ratings standard for
2008 and have
included a key at
the bottom of the
following matrix as
a guide):
|
Jackall
Iobee
Frog
Ratings
(?/10)
|
|
Construction/Quality |
It's a
quality
frog
with
good,
simple
colors
and an
excellent
hook. |
9 |
|
Performance |
This
frog
walks
easier
than any
others
I've
tried.
The
hookup
ratio is
also
fantastic
due to
the soft
plastic.
The bait
does
collect
some
loose
debris
and the
long
tail
strands
foul
often. |
8 |
|
Price |
Definitely
one of
the more
expensive
hollow
frogs
out
there. |
5.5 |
|
Features |
You can
tell
they put
a lot of
effort
into
designing
a bait
that
doesn't
need any
tweaking.
|
9 |
|
Design
(Ergonomics) |
The bait
is sized
right
and
casts
superbly.
It would
be cool
to see a
smaller
size
available
for pond
fishing,
and
maybe
even a
couple
more
colors,
too. |
8 |
|
Application |
The
Iobee is
fairly
limited
in
versatility
since
frogs
work
best
when the
fish are
shallow
and in a
topwater
mood.
|
6 |
|
Total
Score
|
7.58 |
Ratings
Key:
1 =
terrible
: 2 =
poor : 3
=
lacking
: 4 =
sub par
: 5 =
mediocre
: 6 =
fair : 7
= good :
8 =
great :
9 =
excellent
: 10 =
unbelievable!
For More
Details
of the
updated
rating
system
visit
our
explanation
here |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus
Minus
|
|
+ Walks
and
casts
great |
- Price |
|
+
Quality
construction |
- Legs
get
fouled |
|
+
Excellent
hookup
ratio |
- Hooks
collect
loose
debris |
|
+ Closed
hook eye |
|
An Iobee fish comes to hand at sunset while fishing with Cal and Zander on the
California Delta.
Conclusion:
While it's up for debate as to whether the Iobee is the BEST frog on the market,
I can confidently state that it's the best I've used thus far. It consistently
entices fish to bite, and is so easy to use in the right areas that it's very
difficult not to pick up. Jackall did a fine job of designing a frog that's
ready to fish right out of the package, and despite the high cost I firmly
believe it will give you the edge that you're looking for!
Looking for the Jackall Iobee Frog? Try
Tackle Warehouse
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