5 Frog Fishing Tips That Will Catch You More Bass
Frog-style baits have the perfect design for working over weed mats. Unlike lures with exposed hooks that bog down in the slop, the lightweight, weedless frogs smoothly glide over the vegetation.
While it ranks as one of the best topwater lures for fishing in weeds, the frog is another option the pros use for fishing open water and around other cover.
1) Skim Across The Weeds
This is the most popular way to fish a frog and probably the most frustrating way as well. Bass blow up on the frog when you skim it across matted vegetation with steady twitches of your rod, but the fish frequently miss the bait. You have a better chance for a solid hook set if you skim the bait over the mat and then let it sit still in the openings of the mat.
2) Key On Weed Edges
When fishing short patches of mats or lily pads, skim a frog across the weeds and continue to work it in the same fashion once it slides into open water. Constantly twitching your rod when the lure hits open water will cause the frog's legs to kick and thrust to imitate the real thing.
3) Try Wood Targets
Lay-downs, overhanging willows, and cypress trees are also ideal spots to throw a frog bait. Rapidly twitching the frog close to wood is similar to the commotion created by a buzz bait. But the buoyant frog has a distinct advantage over the buzzer since you have to keep a buzz bait moving, or it will sink, whereas a frog can stop and let it sit to trigger a strike.
4) Frog Fishing Color Options
Select frogs in black or dark hues for fishing in muddy water or sunny days in clear water. The best frog colors in clear or stained water with overcast skies are chartreuse and white.
5) Choosing The Right Gear
When fishing in thick vegetation, throw a frog on a 7'6" heavy action rod and baitcasting reel filled with 40-65lb braided line. A medium-heavy action casting rod with a fast tip will work in most frog fishing applications. Using a high-speed casting reel allows you to bring in more line with each crank of the reel, which helps close the distance on long-distance hooksets you often see when frog fishing.
Bonus Frog Fishing Tips:
Trim Your Skirt - Trimming your frog's skirts will help prevent fish from short striking the lure. Leaving one of the legs on the skirt longer than the other helps a topwater frog walk back and forth more easily.
Walk Your Frog - With a tight line, point your rod tip pointed down and make quick, hard twitches to the rod tip to get your bait to walk back and forth.
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Updated June 8th, 2021 at 5:56 AM CT