deps Basirisky Hardbelly ~ Hollow Frog for Topwater Fishing

The deps Basirisky has been an excellent frog bait for several years. Personally, I feel it is the best hollow frog bait I've ever tried!

In 2010, deps has greatly improved it with a hard plastic belly plate and other new features that make the Basirisky better than ever!

Before we get to the improvements, let's discuss the leg flukes. Its legs are the neatest feature of the Basirisky. It's two curved legs look like flukes on a pirate ship anchor - and they cause the Basirisky to crawl across the surface in a manner remindful of a Heddon Krazy Krawler or an Arbogast Jitterbug. All the action is built into the Basirisky. Just reel slowly, and the Basirisky provides all the action.

What deps wanted was a soft hollow body frog bait that you could use not just for heavy cover but one that could "walk" (have side-to-side swimming action) in open pockets within the grass and that would walk in open water on a steady retrieve. Deps wanted the Basirisky to have built-in swimming action in open water and pockets, and the concept for the Basirisky leg flukes was modeled after the idea off the Heddon Crazy Crawler and through trial and error with various prototypes, eventually deps achieved the fluke style legs you see on the Basirisky today.

The curved leg flukes possess a built-in walking action. No rod action is required. Many other frog baits require skilled rod action to make them move in an enticing lifelike manner. On the other hand, the Basirisky will crawl across the surface in an active paddling motion just by reeling in line slowly.

Even at night, simply reeling the Basirisky slowly in weed-choked areas creates a gurgling trail that bass can follow. Other frogs can't easily do that, and are far less effective at night.

Internal Construction Diagram

There are two sizes:

Basirisky 70. 3" long (73 millimeters) and weighs 3/4 ounce (20 grams). Many anglers prefer this bigger size for fishing heavy cover and thick grass.
Basirisky 60. 2-1/2" long (63 millimeters) and weighs 1/2 ounce (13 grams). This smaller Basirisky is the size that many anglers favor for clear water, open weedless water, and calm water.

Hard belly is white pepper part. White disk is painted weight for castability and balance. Yellow body is soft plastic skin. Hollow inside.

A soft belly of a frog collapses on impact when it hits the water, and as the belly expands again to its normal shape, it often sucks in water, which makes it sluggish and slows the lure's action. With the Basirisky Hardbelly, that does not happen, since the hard belly doesn't collapse on impact when it hits the water. The belly stays rigid, the frog doesn't collapse on impact, so it resists taking in water when it splashes down.

Raised hump on back helps prevent grass or snags from catching on hook.

When it does get water inside, just squeeze it gently in between casts, and any water inside will be eliminated through the double vent holes.

The double vent holes also expel air on the hookset, helping the body collapse more quickly for exposure of the hook point.

When a fish bits the Basirisky Hardbelly, only the top collapses (as shown above) away from the hook point while the belly stays rigid and doesn't move. This is a major improvement because only the soft top collapses, exposing the hook point every time a fish strikes. The belly cannot collapse like on a soft-bellied frog.

The improved features that deps describes for its new Hard belly are:

More and Better Hook Ups. That is by far deps #1 reason for the hard belly. It has never been done before on a soft hollow body frog bait. What deps has found is that no matter what angle a bass hits the Basirisky, its hard belly will allow for only the top portion to collapse enabling the hook to penetrate the top of a fish's mouth.
Better Action and Performance. The hard belly plate also helps improve the action and performance. It helps the frog to land upright on its belly each time, and and the lure's response time from landing to the first reel crank is quicker and the side-to-side rolling caused by the leg flukes works true from the start. The smooth, slick surface of the belly plate really creates a flawless, precise rock and wobble as it swims in open water.
Resists Wear and Tear. The hard belly is more durable in regards to bass or toothy creatures (such as snakehead in Japan) biting down and poking holes in it.
Body Form. deps modified the body where the hook point rests on top. It is now more snagless and deps claims the area around the hook point won't tear as easily after numerous hooksets. The hook point now sits in a kind of cradled area, and the soft skin starts sloping away from the hook on the sides. Overall, the hook won't penetrate the top of the bait as easily or as often.
New Improved Colors. There are also brand new and improved colors of the Basirisky Hardbelly. The new Moss Green Toad and Froggy Green Pumpkin are sure to be popular. What I also like is the large, ample black pepper flakes that deps has added to many of the new colors. What I have done with frogs in the past, is use a permanent marker to add black dots and small squiggles to my frog's bellies, and I do feel frogs look better that way. Now, the black mottling is already built into frogs in the case of the black pepper deps now adds. The black markings contrast against the solid colors extremely well and fish do seem to pick up on this mottled marking effect.

Plus improved castability. deps does not mention anything about improved casting distance or accuracy. However, the hard belly plate does make the Basirisky skip extremely well, and the solid, denser nature of the hard belly simply seems heftier, more solid and I do feel it casts easier, a little further and more accurately because of the belly plate. However, the belly plate doesn't really make it weigh more.

deps Basirisky 60 (top view) and Basirisky 70 (bottom view).