Winter Project Series: Toploading Your Lake X Toad
Watching our Northern weather take another turn for heavy snow doesn't help us enjoy the outdoors, but it does give us time to get creative. If you, too, are feeling the winter blues, it's a perfect time to get out in your garage and prep your tackle for the upcoming musky season. This winter project provides an upgrade to a tackle box favorite, the Lake X Toad.
If you don't have a Toad, it comes highly recommended by seasoned anglers and guides alike. The Lake X Toad is a great bait without any interference, but if you want to get some extra mileage out of it this season, take a minute to give it a little enhancement that won't cost you anything but 3 inches of wire. We call this enhancement, a top loaded Toad.
You might be asking yourself, "what function does this serve?" Well, that's a simple answer, it gives you a weedless/snag-less presentation so that you can use your toad regardless of bottom structure. If you aren't fortunate to have a nice sandy bottom on which to bounce your toad, you might be fighting a constant battle to keep it moving. The best part of the toad, is it's lifelike thump off of structure, so this presentation preserves your action, while allowing you to cover the gamut of structural bottoms without hang ups.
To begin, you need to remove the split rings and hooks from your toad and sit them aside to reuse. You'll need approx 3-4" of wire, either multi-strand or straight. Twist one end of your wire to the line tie of the Toad. On the opposite end, place one treble hook with split ring in the Toad's back near the tail split with eye facing the Toad's head, use this placement to measure the length of wire and make a twist connecting the split ring to the wire, maintaining the distance marked.
Add the second treble with a split ring to the line tie, and also sink one hook into the back of the rubber. This will help you maintain your hook-up ratio. The line tie serves the same function after the mod, and you will still connect your leader to it. Now you have a top loaded Toad.
This bait is perfect for bouncing through brush, rocks, muck, and grasses. You can use it in both deep and shallow presentations in any situation that calls for rubber. This is an innovative way to make sure you are utilizing all of the tools in your tackle box to give you the greatest advantage when fishing. So, take the time to give this set-up a try and hit us with any feedback you have this season.
