Top Tips from Frog Experts

He rigs them on a 5/0 Gamakatsu EWG Superline hook. “Add a bit of superglue on the eye of the hook to keep the frog from slipping down the shaft,” he recommends. Tim Horton uses a 4/0 Excalibur Tx3 hook for YUM Buzzfrogs. “When a bass eats the bait, don’t set the hook,” he says. “Wait for the rod to load. Once you feel the full pressure of the fish, set the hook hard.”

Seasonal Strategies

Although froggin’ is primarily as a summer presentation, some situations extend their season considerably. “The open-water frog bite may start in late March on Lake Guntersville in Alabama,” Horton says. “Few anglers realize how good this bite can be. I fish swimming frogs around spotty weeds and willows at this time and get some amazing strikes.”

Barrack agrees. “Here in California, I’ve caught bass on frogs throughout the year and in water as cold as 43°F. That day, I caught four bass but they were all between 4 and 43⁄4 pounds. I caught them in less than 20 minutes, before the bite stopped. In cold water, any frog action is short-lived. But when it happens, you can put a lot of weight in the boat fast. You’d probably get more bites on a worm, but the frog fish are bigger.

“The most important factor for frog fishing is stable weather,” Barrack says, “whether it’s summer, fall, or winter. A few stable days can turn the bite on. The sun positions the fish tighter in cover, where the frog excels. Cold fronts and drastic drops in temperature ruin a good frog bite, even in summer.”

Most experts agree that summer is best, with water temperatures above 75°F. “There’s just something magical about that temperature,” Rojas says. “That’s when bass turn to eating frogs.”

Barrack adds that each season seems to have an optimum temperature that triggers bass. “In summer, they go crazy when the temperature hits 75°F. In fall, the best bite is above 65°F and, in spring, 63°F seems to be the threshold. During winter, the temperature doesn’t seem to be as important as stable conditions.”

Retrieves and Techniques

Many anglers fish frogs on top of weedmats. Recently, however, a few anglers have had great success walking frogs in the manner of a Zara Spook, and twitching or chugging them across open water. “In open pockets,” Barrack says, “frogs are an overlooked option. These new models can walk-the-dog beautifully.” As with other topwaters, anglers should let the response and activity level of the bass indicate the best retrieves.

“During the middle of the day, the thickest weedmats produce the best bite,” Tim Horton continues. “And the fish tend to school in them, too. In the thick stuff, I insert a 1/16-ounce bullet weight in the frog to add weight. By snapping the rod tip downward, the frog digs into the mat. A deeper-sitting frog makes it easier for a bass to burst through, and also creates more underwater disturbance to alert bass that there’s something edible up there.”

Hollow frogs are versatile, working effectively at various speeds and retrieve cadences. “I often start by working the frog fast on top of the mat, then wait for a bass to give away its position,” Rojas says. “Then I’ll cast back to the hole it made in the grass. The Bronzeye Frog was designed to walk back and forth in a spot, which can prove irresistible to bass that have given away their location. I also like to chug it fast in open water,” he adds. “I use that technique to find fish fast. And if you suddenly stop the fast retrieve, they crush it.”