®
SCATTERED VEGETATION
If I’m fishing around scattered vegetation, such as lily pad fields, where there is a fair amount of open water present or along a grass line where I’ll be bringing my bait back across open water to the boat, or skipping the frog underneath overhanging trees or boat docks, I turn to the walk-the-dog retrieve.
In open water this the side-to-side cadence drives bass wild as they are looking up along a weedline or sitting underneath a dock ready to dart out and grab a meal. I tie on Snag Proof’s Ish’s Phat Frog for the side-to-side presentation. The Phat Frog walks-the-dog like no other frog, right out of the package. With its flat belly, it skips very nicely.
FINICKY FISH
The last retrieve I like to use when frog fishing is the stop and pause. For me this works very well when bass have received a lot of pressure from other anglers throwing frogs or if a cold front has just moved through the area. I’ll work my frog back at a steady pace and then I’ll pause it, the pause will happen around an open water pocket, stump or a sweet spot that I have identified in the slop. For this method, employing any of the Snag Proof frogs will work.
The stop and pause retrieve is also a good choice when fishing the Ish’s Poppin’ Phattie, as I can work the bait, making it splash water and then sit still. A bass will inhale this presentation with a vengeance!
This retrieve emulates a baitfish being chased along the water’s surface and then when it is paused, the skirt tail on the frog will pulsates in the water, giving the bass the idea that an injured baitfish is just lying there, ready to be eaten.
As for colors, I like to keep it simple by using a white, black or brown frog. However, there are times to use a bright, non-traditional color like Sexy Ish to help attract bass in murky or heavily vegetated waters.
EQUIPPED FOR THE FROG
Regardless of what retrieve you are going to use with your frog, it is important to use a line that is strong and has no stretch. The advancement of braided lines have made slop fishing that much easier. On my reels I use 65 lb test Seaguar Smackdown as it has no stretch and cuts through the vegetation. For
16
Hefty largemouth like this won’t miss their chance to hit a topwater frog! Photo credit: Josh Dahlke