River2Sea's Dahlberg Diver Frog Kicks Bass (continued)

Durability: The LDDF is a hollow bodied frog but the lure’s body is not compressible like traditional soft bodied frogs and is prone to more damage if the lure comes in contact with hard structures. If fished normally in and around vegetation the lure holds up well but I did manage to scratch and crack the surface of the lure by flinging it into dock pilings and metal wrecks when trying to get into tight areas. While I was able to damage the surface of the lure I never injured the bait to the point where it became unfishable. One major plus is that unlike many other hollow bodied frogs anglers don’t need to constantly squeeze out the lure as it does not take on water. Imagine the LDDF's surface is like a hard candy shell, inside the body is filled with a dense foam rather than being hollow and through the surface may crack the inside core of the lure ensures it remains fully functional. You could hit the LDDF with a hammer (which is exactly what we did in the Autopsy) and the bait would still survive. 

The LDDF is armed with a single 6/0 wide gap R2S hook

The one area that did take on damage was the LDDF’s soft legs which fish are able to rip off both from short strikes and during the fight. It is a good thing that the LDDF comes with an extra set of legs, and while they will last through many fish they will eventually tear. Changing the legs is easy with the provided tool which helps you pull the legs into place. The diving collar can also loosen but we never lost or damaged the collar on any of our test lures. Once the legs on the frog tear off the lure is still effective, and while the lure was still able to draw the occasional strike I found the damaged LDDF rather unappetizing to fish, I just felt a lot more confident that fish would be enticed with the proper leg kicking action. River2Sea does sell the legs separately and for $4.99 anglers can buy a kit with two frog legs, a replacement diving collar, and a threading tool.

The hook is located in the rear of the frog

Price & Applications: At $11.99 each the Diver Frog is more expensive than just about every frog on the market, but because it does feature such a unique design it is hard to compare the LDDF side by side with other hollow bellied frogs. The LDDF not only looks different it fishes completely different as well, and is actually an easier frog to fish than many others that require practice in order to properly walk.

The black pattern is perfect for Clear Lake

While most hollow bodied frogs perform much better in warm weather the LDDF seemed to offer slightly more balanced performance, and I was able to get some big fish to bite in cooler overcast weather. Since the frog can be fished slowly, fast, deep, on the surface, steady, or with pauses the LDDF offers anglers a wide range of ways to entice fish to strike. The current frog is mid-sized and while it will address most applications it would really be nice to have a smaller frog for finesse applications or those times when fish just want something smaller. Luckily for anglers R2S does have a smaller LDDF in the works and we expect it to become available sometime later this summer, just in time for when the frog bite really heats up.  

The LDDF is good for both weedy areas and shallow open water

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):

Pluses and Minuses: