Fall 2025
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matted vegetation could consist of eel grass, milfoil, hydrilla, or lily pads.
When you see a laydown or stump surrounded by vegetation the chances are pretty good that bass will be nestled up to that wood. The same thing is true if a weed line or slop patch runs into some riprap – a bass will be sitting there. Any time you can combine two forms of cover; the chances increase dramatically that a bass will be ready to take down your lure.
I’ll have two styles of topwater frogs rigged up, one is the standard hollow- bodied frog, like the Northland Fishing Tackle Reed Runner Frog. This is my choice when working it across a thick mat of vegetation, especially if the vegetation is clingy or sticky. If there are pockets of open water within the mat, or the bass are holding just off the edge, I prefer to go with the Poppin’ style frog from Northland. This way I can impart some
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Photo: Erik Gaffron
Photo: Erik Gaffron
additional fish attraction with the frog by making it splash and chug in the open water.
I’ll fish my topwater frog on a heavy action rod with a fast to extra fast action. It is important because you need to have plenty of backbone to hook and haul a bass out of the thickest of cover, while still being able to work your frog back to the boat.
I will pair my rod with a high-speed gear ratio reel up and spool it up with 65-pound-test Seaguar Smackdown, as it has no stretch and cuts through the vegetation.
The time is now to go out and do some fall bass fishing on your favorite lake or river! Don’t miss out on these banner days of fishing, especially when they are crushing topwaters. •