Frogs For Bass

When, Where and How to Fish With Topwater Frogs

Of all the topwater lures and techniques used these days, very few are more effective than bass fishing with frogs. When the season and other condition call for this type of lure, frogs are deadly!

If you read my last post on fishing line or any of the other posts, you should realize how important it is to consider fishing conditions in choosing your lure, as well as every other aspect of fishing.

frogs in my opinion, are one of the most misunderstood and mis-used lures available. Most fishermen try a frog once or twice in the wrong place or at the wrong time and chalk it up as a failed experiment. This is a mistake. Like every other lure, you should consider the frog as a tool; you need the right tool for the particular task that you want to get done.

Where to fish with frogs

Frogs work best in places where they are a natural prey of bass. In other words places where frogs actually live. Typically this will be shallow water area's with thick vegetation such as weeds, matts, lily pads or thick brush and stumps. As a good indicator, if an area is shallow and looks swampy, it may be a good place to fish a frog.

When to fish with a frogs

The frog lure that we're discussing today in general is a topwater lure; and should be used accordingly. While topwater baits can be effective in many different conditions and situations. Typically they work best in warmer water situations with surface temps from 60 to 80 degrees. The frog is no exception. The frogs spawn coincides with the bass in most parts of the country; making early summer one of the more productive times to fish frogs. However this lure may be productive any time bass are in shallow warm water.

How to fish the frog

The frog is one of the most weedless lures available and it's design is perfect for fishing in or on top of thick vegetation and brush. The ability to fish this lure move across or through those thick nasty matted places without snagging is one of the things that makes this lure (or tool) so effective on big bass in the places they like to hide and ambush prey.

As with any bass lure no one presentation works best all the time. Every day is different and you should experiment with your presentation and let the fish tell you how they want the bait presented. That being said one method that has worked best for me many times is a very slow twitch and stop retrieve. I cast the frog up on top of the mats or next to brush or stumps, twitch the bait once or twice and let it sit for a few seconds. I repeat this action all the way back to the boat.

If I'm fishing the frog on lily pads, milfoil or some other type of vegetation mat, I like to pull the frog off of the vegetation into an opening or hole in the mat and give it 2 short twitches and let it sit for 10 seconds. The strike will often come as the frog sits motionless on the water.

How to set the hook

The most common of mistakes that most beginners make with topwater lures, frogs included is in the hookset. The mistake is setting the hook too soon after the strike. Given the sudden explosive action when a big bass blows up on a frog or any topwater lure, it's easy to understand why. It's a natural reaction to jerk the moment the strike occurs. You must learn to delay your hookset until you feel the weight of the fish on the rod.

Different types of topwater frogs

The two most common types of topwater frog lures are the Popper frog and the kicking leg frog. Both will catch bass and you should try both in your own fishing situation to determine which works best on a given day. Some of the better brands I've used are

The Spro Bonzye frog, Stanley Ribbit, Scum Frog

Frog Lure Colors

I use the same principal for choosing color in frog fishing that I use with any other lure. The darker colors, Black, amber or darker green for dark water or low light situations and lighter or natural colors for clear water situations.

When used in the right places and at the right time, frogs are a very effective lure; especially on those big momma hawg bass. So dig down into that box of discarded lures and go fishing with frogs this summer.

Until next time
Fishhound