I have yet to meet someone who bass fishes that doesn’t love the thrill of frog fishing. From the giant blow ups to the hand to hand combat needed to get them to the boat, everything about frogging is a blast! Having the right gear will help you land more bass on topwater frogs.
When I am frog fishing my rod and reel are just as important as the frog I choose. With out the correct action and power I will lose the action I can put into my frog as well as lose fish that blow up and eat my frog. I use a 6’8” XH Fast Action Voodoo II. This rod is short enough and has enough tip I can make a frog walk-the-dog in open water, but it still has the backbone and power to muscle fish through the slop and get into the boat. I pair my frog rod with a Daiwa Tatula reel. It has an 8.1:1 gear ration so I can pick up a bunch of line and keep the hooks in a fish when they eat and I’ll spool it up with 50 or 65 lb braided line.
I really like the Terminator Frogs from Rapala, but I will use any frog on the market. I will always modify my frogs from the package. The first thing I do when I pull a frog from the package is I ensure the hooks lay parallel with the body of the frog, many times I will need to take a pliers and bend the hooks out away from the frog a little bit to make them parallel. This makes sure I get a good hook up ratio when I get a fish to eat it. I also trim the rubber skirted tails, I cut about half of the rubber off and I will always cut one just a little bit shorter than the other. This helps when I want to walk the frog in open water and gives the bass a little bit smaller profile to aim at. I will also use a black sharpie to color the belly of the frog this makes whatever color on the belly seem a little bit more muted and natural when it rubs off after a few casts.
I will throw a frog at any shallow water cover I think a bass lives. If there is matted grass, lily pads or duckweed, I will work my frog with my rod tip in the air at the 10 o’clock position and pop the frog to give it a little bit of action as I work it back to the boat. When throwing a frog around a dock or the outside of a mat I will use the rod tip and slack in my line to walk the frog side to side. Walking a frog in more open areas seems to keep the bait in the strike zone longer and make more noise getting a few more bites.
When you do get a fish to eat a frog wait until you feel some weight before you set the hook. Having my rod tip up when working heavy cover forces me to drop the tip before setting the hook giving the fish time to eat the bait. So many times anglers will set the hook when they see a bass blow up and all that happens is the frog comes flying back at you because the fish didn’t get the bait all the way. The best time for frogging is here. Tie on your favorite frog and use these tips to help you catch a few more fish.
