Watching an enormous bass blow up on a topwater frog bait is among the most thrilling moments in all of fishing. In a single on the spot, you get to witness the ability, aggression, and velocity of our most outstanding and keen freshwater predator. The ferocious strike at all times looks as if a miracle, and but it’s completely inevitable on the perfect bass water across the nation. That’s why frog fishing for bass is among the hottest techniques of summer time.
However to persistently catch bass on frog baits, you’ve acquired to grasp frog bait types, deal with choice, and the way bass assault their prey. We’ll cowl all of that on this full information to frog fishing for bass, plus some suggestions and techniques from the professionals.
Find out how to Hook and Land Bass on a Frog Bait
Generally getting bass to hit a frog bait is the simple half. This tactic is infamous for missed strikes. It might look like it’s essential to match the fish’s velocity and energy together with your hookset, which is partially true, however persistence is the actual key to extra profitable swings. You’ve acquired to grasp bass as predators and know precisely how they eat their prey. —Alex Robinson
1. The Ambush
Bass are ambush predators and predatory generalists (learn: what do bass eat). He’s not looking for frogs completely however ready for any susceptible prey to swim by. He detects the vibrations of your frog via his lateral line normally earlier than he ever sees it. The bass might strike in a flash with out warning or, if he’s particularly large, he might flick lily pads along with his tail on the best way to your bait, a refined signal of an imminent strike.
2. The Eat
He creates suction by dropping his decrease jaw and flaring his gills as he assaults. Even when it’s not a direct hit, he’ll seemingly gulp the bait into his mouth. There are all kinds of bass strikes (together with totally airborne ones), however essentially the most irritating situation is when a bass smashes the lure however doesn’t eat it. When this occurs, don’t swing. Let the lure sit twitching—prefer it’s crippled prey. The bass might come again for it.
3. The Flip
Bass desire to eat their prey headfirst, and, for those who’re fortunate, he’ll gulp the complete frog. Oftentimes, he’ll seize the frog by the pinnacle after which shift it round in his mouth whereas he turns again to cowl. Research have proven that bass can journey about 5 ft in a single second. The typical human response time is a couple of quarter second. He’s transferring a lot sooner than you’re, however for those who set the hook now, you’ll nonetheless miss him.
4. The Hook Set
You have to give the bass time to reposition the bait in his mouth in order that your hooks have an opportunity to hit residence. That is the toughest half for rookie frog anglers. Wait a full “one Mississippi” after the strike earlier than swinging on the fish. Then preserve the stress on, crank arduous, and carry the rod tip excessive to struggle him out of canopy. Generally you’ll swing and miss, however that simply builds anticipation for the following strike.
Find out how to Decide a Frog Bait Model and Shade
You’ll be able to’t simply chuck any outdated frog bait into the pads and pray—not less than not if you wish to hook into large persistently. So, I’m going to breakdown the highest frog bait types, and the place to fish them to provide you extra confidence for catching bass with frogs. —Kristine Fischer
Hole-Bodied Frog
The hollow-bodied frog is the preferred, normal frog bait. It consists of a pointed nostril and a hole physique for buoyancy. Most types characteristic lengthy rubber strands that act as “legs” and provides the frog a bit of extra “life”.
The pointed nostril is designed to assist the frog maneuver round heavy cowl, making it ideally suited within the lily pads, brush, and emergent vegetation. These frogs additionally shine on high of deep and shallow matted grass.
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Poppin’ Frog
Poppin’ frogs are hole bodied with a Pop’R or “scoop” type mouth, which permits it to make appreciable commotion on the floor. These frogs sometimes stroll properly, and are sometimes meant to imitate baitfish, along with an precise frog.
Due to its development, this frog doesn’t come via heavy vegetation practically in addition to it’s pointed-nose cousin. Nevertheless, the poppin’ frog will transfer some water and make noise, which is good for fishing open water. Along with open water, this frog is a superb choice in when fishing round rip rap, docks, and laydowns.
Swimming Frog
Made in hole or stable plastic our bodies, I refer to those baits as swimming frogs as a result of they’re normally fished a lot sooner, with a straight retrieve. Among the hole bodied types have a stable paddle tail trailer or two cellular stable legs that give the bait plenty of motion because it strikes throughout the water or sparse vegetation.
I fish a swimming frog like a finesse type buzz bait. They make rather less commotion however are fished the identical. This type of frog shines when an angler must cowl water with out getting hung up. Not like a buzz bait, these baits are basically weedless, so you’ll be able to fish them over grass, pads, and thru a lay-down with out it hanging up.
Frog Bait Colours
Now that we’ve lined your primary forms of frogs and the place to fish them, let’s speak colours. One of many greatest misconceptions of frog fishing is that the frog is meant to signify a frog. Anglers have to take into account that extra instances than not, bass are feeding on bream, shad and different baitfish, so “matching the hatch” is vital. Understanding this, an angler can nearly at all times get away with simply 3 colours for any bass fishing water within the nation: white, black, and a few type of “bluegill” coloration.
When to Use a White Frog: That is an apparent selection when bass are keyed in on shad, however I additionally like white on cloudy, low vis days.
When to Use a Black Frog: That is my go-to for muddy water, because it helps create a extra outlined silhouette that fish can see simpler.
When to Use a Bluegill-Coloured Frog: That is an apparent coloration selection when fish are up shallow feeding on bream, and when fishing round bream beds. However that is additionally a coloration I’ll at all times have tied on when the water has good readability.
Nice Frogs
Sort out for Frog Fishing
Catching bass on a frog doesn’t require an costly rod or a fancy setup. You want a rod that has sufficient size to forged far, sufficient energy to haul bass out of weeds, and a stiff sufficient motion to drive the hooks. Meaning a rod that’s 7 to eight ft, has heavy to extra-heavy energy, and has a quick motion. When you’re out there for a baticasting combo, you’ll be restricted to a medium heavy energy, which is flexible rod that may work for fishing a frog. However, I’d counsel sticking with the smaller choices like a Jackal Kaera or Deps Slither Ok. Listed here are a few of the best frog rods throughout a variety of budgets.
Frog Rods
Fishing a drop shot requires a easy drag and a dainty reel to steadiness a light-weight spinning rod. A frog reel then again, must do battle with fish in a muddy and cover-abundant enviornment. So that you want a reel that may silt in its mechanisms and have its gears pushed to their limits day after day. You additionally want a reel with a quick gear ratio. The quick retrieve will let you wind up the slack fish create after they strike. It’ll additionally let you burn a frog in as soon as it’s out of productive water and hearth it again out.
When you’re on a finances, I like to recommend spending rather less on a rod, so you should buy a reel that gained’t crap out on you. The Daiwa Tatula and Shimano SLX are underneath $200 and each stable choices for frogging. If you would like a reel that can let you forged frogs straight throughout a pad subject, get the Curado DC.
Frog Reels
Line is straightforward for frogging. You need heavy braid that can minimize via vegetation. I like 80-pound Energy Professional Maxcuatro and I tie my frog on to the braid with a palomar knot. When you’re involved about line capability, the 65-pound choice will work too. — Scott Einsmann, gear editor
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Frog Fishing for Bass: Ideas and Hacks
Boil your frog. Many frogs are inflexible when they’re new, and this might forestall you from getting a stable hookset. To make the frog “collapse” higher, place the plastic physique of the frog in boiling water for just a few seconds. This may soften the physique and assist the hook penetrate higher.
Add a rattle. You will discover aftermarket rattles in most deal with retailers which you can add to provide your bait additional noise. This is usually a welcome addition when fishing open water. You merely insert the rattle contained in the physique of the frog.
Add tungsten or lead bullet weight. Including a bullet weight into the physique of the frog while you’re fishing extra-thick mats helps the frog “settle” into the mats higher so that you’re in a position to successfully work the frog.
Trim the legs. The unique legs on the frogs are normally very lengthy. Lengthy legs create drag within the water and make it very tough to stroll the frog. I like maintaining the size, so I differ the trim on the strands to the place I’m “thinning” the legs with out taking away an excessive amount of size. —Kristine Fischer
Use Heavy Line
More often than not for those who’re tying on a hollow-body frog, you’re desiring to forged it into heavy cowl like lily pads or over floor weed mats. This implies there’s little or no profit to a fluorocarbon chief, as a result of within the cabbage, fish aren’t more likely to discover your braided line and get turned off. They’re merely going to react to the sound and motion of the bait when it will get proper of their faces. Once they assault, you need as direct a connection as attainable to set the hooks with plenty of pressure after which muscle the fish out of the vegetation rapidly. On this situation, a splice knot or swivel connecting a pacesetter is simply going to create a weak level that might fail underneath the pressure.
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Don’t be afraid to place 40- or 50-pound braid in your frogging reel. Simply be sure to’re additionally utilizing a rod with some additional spine and energy that may deal with arduous units and horsing fish out of canopy. I tie my hollow-body frogs on with a easy Palomar knot. There are different braid knots that maintain properly, too, simply do not forget that knots just like the clinch that work properly with monofilament tend to slide when tied with slick braid.
Tweak Your Hooks
Seize your frog arsenal out of the storage and take a minute to check the hooks. Very often, you’ll discover that the factors lay even with the bait’s again, or they could be angled down barely. Remember the fact that earlier than any frog’s hook seize meat inside a fish’s mouth, the physique of the frog has to compress and expose these factors. The sooner they expose, the extra seemingly you’re to attach, so in case your frog has flat or downward-facing factors, right here’s a bit of tweak.
Discover two pairs of pliers and use one to get a agency grip on the hook shank as near the physique as attainable. With the opposite pair, grip the shank nearer to the hook bends. Now, bend the hook shank downward away from the physique. The aim is to get the hook factors angled up. As a reference, you need the factors even with the bait’s again, however not extending over the again or else the frog gained’t be as weedless. —Joe Cermele
Frog Fishing for Ideas from Ish Monroe
Main League Fishing’s Ish Monroe is the person in relation to catching large bass with a frog. With 9 majors and 51 high 10s, his profession earnings whole over $2.2 million. So we sat down with Monroe to learn the way he catches bass with frog baits. Here’s what he needed to say.
Out of doors Life: Is it finest to maintain frogs transferring or let it sit? How do I do know which to do?
Ish Monroe: Let the fish dictate what they need. In the event that they don’t reply to the transferring, then cease and pause. Fish must dictate and you’ll need to experiment to determine it out.
OL: Do you set the hook in a different way when fishing frogs versus different lures?
IM: With the frog, you need to set the hook at 1 o’clock or 11 o’clock; by no means swing to three o’clock or downward so you’ll be able to make sure you hook the fish within the high of the mouth.
OL: The place ought to I fish frog baits to catch bass?
IM: There’s not one lake within the nation that I don’t assume you’ll be able to catch’em on a frog. Frogs work within the shallows of the Sabine River (Texas/Louisiana) and the depths of Lake Mead (Arizona/Nevada). You’ll be able to fish a frog round any kind of construction—grass, wooden, rock, docks, over-hanging bushes—so long as they’ve the chance to see it. On lakes with vegetation, resembling matted milfoil or hydrilla, I search for factors, cuts, little pockets, and different irregularities. I need to discover them near deeper water, too, so bass can feed on shad and bluegills within the grass after which have the safety of deep water close by.
However the frog is a really versatile lure. One of many greatest keys to mastering them is to study to “stroll the frog.” Frogs will be nice in open water as a result of they’re refined. Plenty of guys will throw topwater baits, like a Spook, however a bass might not need one thing that loud. Generally they do, after all. However I throw the frog lots in open water or alongside open shorelines. It’s nice in these conditions.
Shoreline riprap alongside street causeways is considered one of my favourite targets within the pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn durations. Usually, fish are on or close to arduous backside, forage is plentiful, and bass can spawn on or close to the rocks. It’s an ideal setup for frogs. Those self same areas generally get pockets of wind-blown vegetation earlier within the yr, too.
OL: What’s the perfect time to fish a frog bait for bass?
IM: Anytime the water temperature is persistently 56 levels or extra, for me it’s recreation on,” Monroe says. “It may be overcast or sunny, morning, midday, or evening—they’ll eat a frog. The one time I don’t throw one is when it’s chilly or when it’s too windy, when you’ll be able to’t see the frog. If I can’t see it, then they’ll’t see it. If the wind is blowing and waves are rolling, they’ll’t residence in on it. There’s an excessive amount of happening. But when it’s calm or there’s just a bit ripple, they’ll see it and can come eat it.”
OL: Do you ever use scents with frogs?
IM: No scents in any respect. I’d use worm rattles contained in the legs; I’ve even used cat bells for noise, however no scents.
OL: What measurement frog bait ought to I take advantage of and when?
IM: I make the Ish Monroe River2Sea Phat Mat Daddy frog in a single measurement as a result of it’s the one measurement you want. Throughout Stage 3 of the Bass Professional Tour in March, after I caught eight scorable bass for 34 kilos on day one, it was all with the frog. Nice day on Lake Fork, though it was pre-spawn, there was a number of cowl.
Last Ideas on Catching Bass with a Frog
Not solely can frogging produce large bass, it’s additionally an extremely enjoyable solution to catch fish. If you wish to succeed, bear in mind these ultimate few suggestions: Use a stiff rod and heavy line. Permit a bass a second to get the frog of their mouth earlier than you swing for a hookset. Bass are ambush feeders, so search for irregularities in thick vegetation the place they could be ready to strike, like some extent, edge, pothole, shade line, or the place there’s a mixture of cowl.
