I love this bait, which seems to be closely inspired by the Alabama Umbrella. The Frog Brigade is designed to attach up to four hollow-body top water frogs to a main frog. This bait is different from the Alabama in that it allows the top water fanatics something to play with.
However, first glances play way to reality. Do four frogs usually hang out together in nature? The Alabama rig works so well because a small school of fish (swimbaits) swimming together makes sense, in fact it is expected. A group of frogs together, in close proximity seems a little odd and downright rare.
Another observation of this rig is that the lines which attach from the main frog to the four hollow-bodies are a little loose. This causes the rig to be tangled more than half the time. The spacing also does not feel natural. Perhaps a stiffer element could have been used instead of a traditional monofilament line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-lGH57xoys
The frogs you can attach yourself, so you can pick your favorite snag-proof frogs. Maybe you have a Matzuo Kroaker sitting around that could be rigged up. However the swivels, on the main unit, do get stuck a fair amount in the weeds, making weedless frogs hardly useful. Theoretically, you could swap them out for another kind of lure meant for top water fishing. The other solution is to avoid the weeded areas, however the defeats the purpose of using a frog, designated for fishing brush and weeded patches.
What about the price? At $20 a rig it does seem a little pricey. Alabama rigs can be much less costly than that.
Finally, we have to remember how difficult one bass is to reel in with a hollow-body frog. Imagine up to four! Not only would this be near impossible but, would likely take an entire team of fisherman to help reel in. Nevertheless, the manufacturer claims pulling in three fish have been accomplished plenty of times during trials and testing.
If it were me, I would stick with an Alabama Umbrella rig. Although the legality per state is still hard to understand, on both lures, you are likely to have a much more enjoyable and successful fishing experience.
