Retrieve:
Once the lure is in the water if you are planning to fish the bait on top of the
water a higher speed reel makes it easy to get and keep the lure on plane. Once
retrieved the two rage tail pac-man style feet go into overdrive churning the
water and putting out a serious wake complete with bubbles and a relatively loud
accompanying splashing sound. Depending on the thickness of the surface
vegetation you will want to make subtle adjustments to your rod tip angle to
help keep the frog up and moving.
The Rage Toad leaves a serious
wake
Rigged weedless the Rage
Toad moves through even the nastiest structure very well, but I definitely
preferred fishing the frog with braided line versus mono. Not only did the
braided line make it easy to keep the frog on the surface but it also allowed
for instant hooksets the minute a fish would explode on the bait… and explode is
exactly what fish did on the Rage Toad.
Some of the patterns features
Coffee scent...
It didn’t matter if it was
heavy vegetation or open water fish are drawn to the commotion the Rage Toad
generates and when they strike it is usually very violent. These are the
topwater strikes I dream about, and I wish I could have caught one of these
blowups on camera, but every time we were ready to go the fish would get camera
shy… to the point we started getting superstitious and had to put the cameras
into the rod lockers… and sure enough the minute we did this we would get
bites. While I still really like the Zoom Horny Toads the Rage Toad definitely
puts out more vibration and noise and is an easy bait to build topwater
confidence on. The lure worked best on warm days when fish were feeding on the
surface and it is somewhat important to match the hatch, for example darker
colors worked better on Clear Lake and white bellied versions were money on the
Delta.
...and yes it actually does smell
like a shot of espresso
Some of the patterns are
actually infused with coffee bean granules and coffee bean oil, these baits
actually smell like coffee. Strike King believes that this is a natural
attractant to bass and causes them to hold on to the lure and helps mask human
and plastic scents. I’m not sure I buy this or that it really matters on this
particular bait. While it probably doesn’t hurt I find it unlikely bass are
chasing up the Rage Toad because they detect Starbucks in the wake, but hey it
probably makes the lure more pleasant to anglers and it certainly didn’t hurt
the strike ratio. In addition the granules do give the lure a slightly more
natural tone that differentiates them from traditional plastics so why not…
bring on the caffeine.
The rage Toad is surprisingly
durable and can last through 3-4 fish quite easily
Durability:
Some plastics are impregnated with so much salt/sand that they break after one
fish while others are extremely durable but never get bit because they look like
lifeless pieces of plastic in the water, the Rage Toad actually strikes a nice
balance and not only moves nicely but is able to survive 3 to 4 strikes before
the bait is beat up to the point your better off grabbing a fresh one from the
pack.
The Rage Toad performed well in testing and works over both vegetation and open
water
Price & Applications:
Retailing for 4.99 per pack of five the Rage Toad is on the more expensive side
when compared to other frogs like the Zoom Horny Toad which retails for only
$3.39 for a pack of five. There are eight popular color/patterns to choose from
which is a lot fewer than many other brands and while most of the popular
patterns like Black, Green Pumpkin, Chartreuse and Pearl (white) are covered it
would be nice to have some more combo colors like June bug/chartreuse and green
and yellow combinations. Hopefully Strike King will bring out more colors in the
future. When it comes to applications lures of this style are mostly fished with
a steady retrieve on the surface but many anglers also flip and pitch this style
of lure into heavy cover or use them as a jig or spinnerbait trailer, the Rage
Toad is no different and can be fished a variety of ways effectively.
Ratings:
|
Strike King Rage Toad Ratings (?/10) |
| Construction/Quality |
Great overall construction that is as good or better than the competing soft bodied frogs already on the market |
8.5 |
| Performance |
Excellent performance when fished topwater, this frog causes a lot of disturbance in the water and calls up fish which strike this bait with vehemence |
9 |
| Price |
A little more expensive than competing frogs on the market |
7 |
| Features |
The main feature on this bait are the well designed "Rage Tail" feet which resembles Pac Man. Would like to see more patterns and color mixes added to the range in the future |
8 |
| Design (Ergonomics) |
Easy to fish this is one lure that is easy to build confidence on. The lure works in both weedy areas as well as over open water. Best when the weather is warm and fish are feeding up on top |
8.5 |
| Application |
In addition to topwater the Rage Toad can also be used for underwater work as well as added as a jig or spinnerbait trailer |
8.5 |
|
Total Score |
8.25 |
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
(For a detailed explanation of the ratings go here) |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus Minus |
| J Easy and fun to fish |
L Not as many patterns available as other brands |
| J Creates a serious wake |
L More expensive than some competing soft bodied frogs |
| J Great durability survives multiple fish |
|
| J More detailed than other toads |
|
| J Works over open water as well as weeded structure |
|
Conclusion:
Have you had
your dose of
coffee
today? Rage
Toads might
just be what
you need to
wake up that
frog bite.
These baits
proved to be
just as
effective as
some of the
top selling
soft bodied
frogs on the
market and
in some ways
are actually
easier to
fish. It
doesn’t take
a whole lot
to get these
baits
churning the
water up and
fish
absolutely
respond.
Rage Toads
proved to be
effective
over both
vegetation
and open
water and
while I’m
not exactly
sure what to
make of the
coffee
infusion on
some of the
patterns I
also don’t
think it is
a negative
characteristic
either. The
Rage Toads
are capable
of enticing
bass up from
the depths
and easily
make my
short list
of preferred
topwater
toads… these
over-caffeinated
frogs
bring the
fury!
Looking
for the Strike King Rage Toad? Try
Tackle Warehouse
