“The 8’ rod allows you to make the right pitch or flip, it gives you (optimal) leverage on the fish, and the AGS guides provide super sensitivity. The combination of a heavy- action rod with a little bit of a softer tip means you won’t tear the hooks out of the fish when you go to set the hook.”
Monroe said he favors the HD reel because it boasts 13-lbs of drag and comes with a 100-milimeter handle, which enables him to put the heat on buried fish.
“That handle allows you to winch those fish,” he said. “Usually, when you’re punching, you’re pulling in a 5-lb bass with five-pounds of grass on it. Pairing this with 65-lb braid means you’re not going to break that punch rig off.”
Technique Tips: “I keep the colors simple. When there are bluegill around, I use candy grass,” he said. “I’ll use superbug when crawfish are present and if you don’t know what to use, you always go with black and blue, which is the Bruiser Flash color. That’s probably the most consistent color on any lake in the country.”
TOPWATER FROG
The Outfit: 7’, 4’ Daiwa Steez AGS extra heavy frog rod, 7.3:1 Daiwa Zillion SV baitcasting reel, 50- or 65-lb Maxima braid.
Application: Monroe likes this rod because it blends the extra-heavy action needed for frogging with just enough tip to facilitate precise presentations.
“This rod allows me to fish over mats, it allows me to skip and it allows me to fish open water,” he said. “I’ll
use the 50-lb Maxima
braided line in open water
and 65-lbin matted
vegetation.
“The 50-lbseems
to allow you to make
longer casts when
you’re in open water and the 65 just gives you that extra horsing power when you need to pull that bass out of thick, heavily-matted vegetation.”
Technique Tips: Frog color selection needn’t be complicated, Monroe said. Sure, you may want to shake things up with a specialized look, such as Cali, Iced Out or Ishalicious; but day in and day out, Monroe’s going with three main colors.
“White for bright sunny days and clear
water; black for early morning, dirty water,
overcast/cloudy days and late afternoons;
and then a bluegill pattern when you’re fishing
around bluegill,” he said. “With any color, set
the hook hard, don’t stop reeling,
and swing the fish into the
boat.”
Last tip: Monroe
said to banish any
thoughts of where
a frog will not work.
With the exception of
fishing bottom-oriented
presentations in deep water,
this is the go-anywhere option
that anchors his arsenal.
“The frog imitates so
many different types of
forage that a bass wants
to eat that you can fish it
around any type of cover
you want,” he said. “From
grass, to laydowns, to docks,
to overhanging limbs; you
can skip a frog into place
where the fish never see a
bait.”
When that happens,
good things usually
follow.
36 ®