Vicious Fishing: Pad Runner Hollow Body Frog Product Review

I’m a sucker for good looking baits. The finishes on these frogs are fantastic – I only have two complaints…

The Pad Runner by Vicious Fishing is the latest hollow body frog to be added to the arsenal.

Name something better than a big bodacious topwater strike. (Keep it G rated, man…)

Tough, right?

‘Round these parts, you very rarely hit the lake without a few topwater baits on hand. The muck that grows in Illinois makes things difficult – and you can either embrace it, or ignore it… but the truth of the matter is bass love it. It provides overhead cover and attracts food. If you’re a bank fisherman, you better be ready to get dirty and make friends with the sludge… and everything that lives in it…

Hollow Body Frogs are a great way to work this type of cover. The half ounce Pad Runner by Vicious Fishing measures 2.5″ from the back of the plastic body to the tip of the line tie. It’s 1″ wide at it’s thickest point. The hookpoints sit .75″ apart – slightly inset – meaning the “arms” on the lower part of the body offer additional protection.

Available colors include:

The Vicious Fishing website says the frog is built for big strikes:

“The Pad Runner is built for the violent attacks coming from below the weeds and pads!”

Sounds good – were they up to the task?

Pad Runner: Quality

I’m a sucker for good looking baits. The finishes on these frogs are fantastic – I only have two complaints: the plastic is a bit too glossy (especially when sitting right next those silicone legs) and the bottom of the frog looks quite boring.

Remember, when a hungry bass is looking up at your bait, they can’t see the slick frog pattern on the TOP of the frog – they can only see the belly. The belly on mine was white… and it’s the same on the brown and white frogs. Black is black.

So while there are 4 color options that we see, there are only 2 belly color options that the bass will see.

Not a deal breaker, just something to keep in mind.

I trimmed the legs, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the frog came equipped with super-sharp Mustad wide-gap double hooks. Excellent. The body plastic is thicker than my Livetarget Hollow Body Frog. No mistakes or blemishes on my bait, and the packaging is clean & compact. Unfortunately it says Made in China.

All in all, a solid build.

Pad Runner Quality Rating

Pad Runner: Durability

The plastic body is thicker than other frogs in my tackle bag. The hooks are top notch, and the legs are just fine.

The finish stayed put as you can see in the pictures – all of which were taken after a day of using the bait in the field.

All good.

Pad Runner Durability Rating

Pad Runner: Performance

I was able to launch the frog quite far. The bait weighs half an ounce, but it was a calm day when I was testing – high wind would reduce casting distance (as it always does) but not make the bait unworkable.

The frog also features a rear weight, which causes it to sit slightly nose-up at rest. This helps you walk-the-dog, however, I don’t like fishing hollow frogs in open cover situations where that type of retrieve would be most useful. Bass can get too much of a look at the bait. I’d rather see a frog like this weighted internally, and focus on fishing mucky, heavy cover alone – instead of trying to do several things.

Pick one thing and do it well.

The thick plastic – while durable – comes at a tradeoff. Will this bait last longer than a frog made from more supple plastic? Yes. Do you have to set the hook harder as a result? Yes. The arms on the frog also extend out past the Mustad wide gap hook points. This keeps the frog a bit more muck-free and protected, but it gives you a bit more to move out of the way when you go to penetrate a big bassy mouth.

Plan to set the hook hard.

I tested mine as the floating portion of a Pop ‘n Drop (which you can see in the image above) by sliding a split ring over the frog hook, attaching fluorocarbon and a weedless wacky hook dropper.

It was a complete failure. I do not recommend this tactic – however, when I removed the trailing elements, the frog fished well.

Pad Runner Performance Rating

Pad Runner: Unique Features

Nothing about this frog breaks the mold. It’s a solid hollow body frog.

Good hooks. Good performance. Good finishes. Fine all around, which is worth a few points in this category.

Pad Runner Unique Features Rating

Pad Runner: Cost

What the Pad Runner lacks in unique features, it more than makes up for with price. Currently listed at just $7.99 on the Vicious Fishing website, and as low as a flat $7.00 on the Monsterbass site.

It makes sense to add one to your tackle bag when the cost is less than certain bags of plastics. You’ll get a lot of use out of that $7.

Pad Runner Cost Rating

Pad Runner: Final Thoughts

The Vicious Pad Runner does exactly what you’d expect a hollow body frog to do. It looks great, the hooks are sharp and durable, and the plastic components hold up. While there is nothing revolutionary about this lure, the extremely reasonable price tag makes it a no-brainer if you are looking to add another workhorse hollow body to your arsenal.

Make room in your tackle bag.

Pad Runner: Final Rating

How our rating system works:

Our 5-star rating system gives you a quick overview of the product. Please read the in-depth details as well – products with lower ratings can have value in certain situations!

Quality: Rates features like salt, scent, material(s), paint, finish, consistency, look & feel and/or flashing.
Durability: Rates the product backbone: components, hooks, finish and overall build.
Performance: Rates how the product looks & works in & out of the water.
Unique Features: Rates anything different that makes this item stand out.
Cost: Rates the overall value vs. the MSRP, not just the price.

Vicious Fishing Company Info

Product Listing: https://shop.getvicious.com/frogs-c176.aspx

For more information on Vicious Fishing products, visit:

https://shop.getvicious.com/

Vicious Fishing
4598 Roslin Rd
Newburgh, IN 47630

p. 812.965.8588
e. Info@GetVicious.com

* Make sure to check out the nice About Us page on the Vicious website! https://shop.getvicious.com/articles/about.htm

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