Strike King KVD Sexy Frog: the hollow frog that collapses on the hookset

A lily pad mat in August, not a breath of wind, and water you cannot fish with anything else. The hollow-body frog is the only tool that crosses it without fouling in the first metre, and the strike that follows is still the most violent thing lure fishing has to offer. The KVD Sexy Frog is Strike King's answer on that ground, designed and approved by Kevin Van Dam according to the manufacturer.

The soft body, and what it changes on the hookset

The real problem with a frog is not making it walk on the surface, it is driving the hook home. Both points of the double are laid flat against the back so they do not catch vegetation, which means they are also shielded from the fish. If the body stays rigid, the bass closes on a ball of plastic and the points touch nothing.

Strike King claims a soft, collapsible body on this model. That is exactly the parameter that counts: under jaw pressure the body flattens and the two points come clear. A body too thick or a plastic too stiff costs you half your bites, and that is why you do not judge a frog on looks but on how much pressure it takes to squash it between two fingers.

A sealed nose, and why it genuinely matters

The second point the manufacturer highlights is a fully sealed nose meant to limit water entry. That is not cosmetic. A frog that fills up gets heavy, loses buoyancy, stops walking properly and ends up fishing five centimetres under the surface — which is to say not at all. In practice you squeeze it dry every ten minutes, which breaks your rhythm and makes you miss the feeding windows.

A sealed front end does not kill the problem outright: water also gets in through the punctures teeth leave after every fish. But it pushes back the moment you have to intervene. Get into the habit of squeezing the frog nose-down after each catch; it takes two seconds and saves you from fishing a drowned lure without noticing.

This version no longer has rattles

The manufacturer states it at the top of the description: the current version no longer ships with rattles. If you have read older reviews praising the noise of this bait, they cover an earlier version. In practice you lose the sound signal under the mat and gain a slightly lighter, quieter bait on the landing — which, on pressured fish in shallow water, is not necessarily a loss.

What the product photo shows

The example photographed is solid black, with red eyes and a touch of red under the chin, near the nose eyelet. The double hook is factory-rigged and both points are tucked flat along the back; the line tie is a plain metal eyelet coming out of the nose. The rear is not made of moulded legs but of a skirt of soft grey and black strands. These are observations from a product photo, not specifications: the manufacturer states a Gamakatsu hook, but a hook brand obviously cannot be read off an image.

One more thing worth flagging: the description publishes no spec table. No length, no weight, no hook size. We will not invent them. If you need a precise match against another frog in your box, compare them in the shop rather than trusting an unsourced figure.

Working it: heavy cover and open water

Over the mat

Cast past the zone you want to fish and bring the frog onto the vegetation with short twitches of the rod tip, rod low. Over the open pockets between two patches, slow down and walk it on the spot: that is where the strike happens, because it is the only place the fish sees the silhouette from below. Leave it still for two or three seconds in each pocket before moving on.

Over open water

The manufacturer also claims open-water use, and that is often overlooked. Along a clean bank a frog walks side to side like a stickbait, with an advantage no hard bait has: no trebles hanging off it, so nothing fouls if the fish misses. You can cast straight back to the same spot. On a bass that blew its first attack, that is a huge edge.

The classic mistake: setting on the noise

Nine anglers out of ten set the hook the moment the water explodes. At that instant the fish often has not closed its mouth yet, and you bring the frog back on its own. The rule is simple: you set when you feel the weight, not when you see or hear anything. Close your eyes if you have to, wait for tension in the line, then set hard and upward.

After a missed strike, do not cast somewhere else. Leave the frog dead still exactly where it is for a good five seconds, then give it two micro-twitches on the spot. A bass that missed comes back within the minute in a great many cases, provided the bait never left the zone.

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The tackle that goes with it

A frog is not fished on fluorocarbon. You need braid, 30 to 50 hundredths, tied direct to the eyelet, and a powerful rod with a little give in the tip so you do not rip the bait away before the fish has it. The point of the hookset is not only to drive the points home: it is also to haul a fish out of a mattress of vegetation in a single pull. Too soft an outfit leaves you with a bass hung up three metres under the mat.

Colour by light

• Backlit, dark water, low light: solid black, exactly the finish in the photo. A bass under a mat sees a silhouette against the light, not a colour, and black reads best.
• Clear water and wary fish: a green-brown frog back, which stays credible when the fish has time to study it from below.
• Baitfish hatches or surface scum: a pale, mostly white belly, imitating a distressed fry rather than an amphibian.

Against other hollow frogs

The KVD Sexy Frog compares directly with a SPRO Bronzeye Frog, the historic reference for a stout body and a firm hookset, and with a Booyah Pad Crasher, cheaper and very widely used in Europe. Its own quirk is the skirt of soft strands at the rear instead of moulded legs: it clearly slows the bait's drop into open pockets and gives a shiver at rest that rigid legs do not produce. If you would rather rig a soft bait yourself on a Texas hook for the same job, the Zoom Horny Toad covers the other half of the ground. In Europe this kind of frog also takes pike over summer weed beds — on a fine-wire double hook with no steel leader, that is a choice you make with your eyes open, not a recommendation.

Fishing a frog in the wrong place is fishing for nothing: you need cover, warm water and fish holding high in the column. That is exactly what CarnaFish helps you decide, with a photo of the spot and a suggested zone, depth and presentation for the day. For the rest of the topwater programme, our beginner's guide to bass fishing lays the groundwork.

Key takeaways

• The soft collapsible body is what decides your hookup rate, well ahead of colour or shape.
• The sealed nose limits water entry and delays the point where the frog stops walking properly.
• The current version no longer has rattles: reviews that mention them cover an earlier run.
• No length and no weight are published for this model, and we do not invent them.

FAQ

What size is the KVD Sexy Frog?

The manufacturer description we consulted publishes neither length nor weight for this model, and we would rather not put forward an unverifiable figure. Compare it directly with a frog you already know if size matters to your choice.

Why do I miss so many frog bites?

Almost always because you set too early. The surface explosion usually comes before the fish has the bait in its mouth. Wait until you feel weight in the line, then set hard and upward. The soft body does the rest by letting the two points come clear.

Do I need braid to fish a frog?

Yes, and it is not negotiable. You want 30 to 50 hundredths of braid tied direct: the hookset has to travel through the body of the bait and drag the fish out of a weed mattress in the same movement. Fluorocarbon stretches too much and cuts on vegetation.

Does this frog have rattles?

No. The manufacturer says so itself: the current version no longer carries them. Older descriptions and tests that mention a rattling noise cover an earlier version of the bait.

Can this frog be fished outside lily pads?

Yes, and it is a claimed use. Over open water it walks side to side like a stickbait, with the advantage that nothing fouls when a fish misses its strike, which lets you cast straight back to the same spot.

Does it take anything other than bass?

In Europe a pike sitting under a summer weed bed will hit a frog without hesitation. You have to accept the consequences: a fine-wire double hook bends on a pike's jaw, and fishing without a steel leader costs you lures regularly. It is a trade-off to make knowingly.