How To Fish A Frog Around Docks For Giant Bass

Frog fishing has rightfully earned its spot as being the most invigorating, hard hitting techniques for targeting brute bass during the heat of mid-summer. Those who have fished the frog are aware of it’s value when fishing the thickest matted grass. While frog fishing thick pads and grass may seem like the only way to produce solid strikes there are other overlooked methods of frogging that aren’t limited to fishing slop.

Frogs are not just for slop and pads

One alternative to slop fishing that comes into play when the fish aren’t stacked in grass is to fish frogs under docks. Frogging docks pose a great opportunity for anglers seeking a big bite. Seemingly “untouchable” trophy bass get passed up every day because they sit too far under docks for most anglers to reach. The frog is not strictly for vegetation. Its ability to spit and walk when fished in open water can be just as deadly as any other topwater technique.

Look for the right docks...

Certain docks are better than others. It’s important to identify the docks that are worth fishing. Fishable docks are ones with plenty of shade accompanied by nearby structure such as brush piles, sea walls or dock extensions. Docks surrounded by vegetation are a huge plus as well. Fish seeking cool water will ultimately find areas with grass and structure as ambush points when feeding on baitfish. Strangely enough shaded docks are often overlooked by most frog anglers making them an ideal substitute to fish when the mats and grass patches are heavily pressured. The advantage the frog has over other traditional topwater baits is it obvious ability to get in and out of sticky situations. Being that the majority of hollow body topwater frogs are weedless they can be thrown dangerously close to dock pylons without getting hung up.

Why frogs work around docs

Hollow body frogs have the unique ability to walk in a tight side-to-side motion like a twitch style bait. The walking action of a frog resembles the motion of an injured or feeding baitfish which drives bass crazy. Some frogs are worth throwing more than others. The Lunkerhunt Combat Frog, has a deadly spit action that kicks up water which specifically imitates the kicking, slapping sound shad often make when surfacing.

The perfect setup for frogging docs

The most important aspect of frogging docks is coming prepared with the proper equipment. Ditch the heavy “broom stick” style rod and focus on a lighter setup. Casting rods ranging from 7’ 2” medium heavy to 7’ heavy are a great combination of power and sensitivity for twitching frogs under low docks. Braided line is still highly recommended for this frogging style in order to pull heavier fish out of harms way before being tangled up in dock pylons. Similar to normal frogging a fast gear ratio casting reel is needed to keep up with powerful fish that tend to make quick runs.

Conclusion

So be sure not to overlook shady alternatives to the pads and grass that big bass use to escape the heat. Give the frog-to-dock method a shot and land some of those hard to reach toads that swimming in the shade.