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“You got to feel it, when you start fishing a frog right, you just get to feeling it,” she said.
Crist suggests two colors for a hollow-belly frog – black and white. Ninety percent of the time, she is throwing a black one.
“It’s really the only color you need, if you were going to only own one,” she said. “I keep a black hollow-belly frog setup in my boat year-round. From the West Coast to the East Coast it just works. Whether they think it’s a silhouette or what, they hit black.”
She noted there are a few places where they prefer a white frog a tad more and in that situation, Crist will use a popper-style white frog.
Crist suggested using heavy gear for setting the hook and immediately reeling the fish straight into the boat. There should be no hesitation when fishing a frog.
Crist’s gear specs for throwing a frog are 40- to 50-lb Seaguar braid, a W&M 7’2” TC Frog Pink Rod and a 7.9:1 Skeet Pro Carbon Series reel. She wants a high-speed reel to get the fish in the boat fast.
ROCKY POINTS
When the heat of summer starts to die down, search out rocky points using walk- the-dog baits. Crist prefers the Lunker Punker in lakes known for giant bass, largemouth and especially spotted bass.
She prefers the Megabass Dog-X for smallmouth and a Spook-type bait in clearer impoundments.
“When working rocky points, I’m moving pretty fast, trying to cover water as quickly as possible,” said Crist. “This is generally in the summer/fall and I’m not slowing my presentation down at all.”
As for walking bait colors, she prefers to stick with baitfish (shad patterns) – colors such as white with blue, chartreuse and even some with pink on them to mimic injured bait.
Lastly, Crist gives us some extra tips for to take us into the next season of topwater – the fall.
“In the fall only, the River2Sea Whopper Plopper is a must,” she said, “If someone is catching them when everyone else on the lake is struggling in the fall, the Whopper Plopper is probably at play.”
She also suggested adding a 10-ft leader of 20-lb monofilament to braid for the Plopper. Monofilament is stiffer than braid, so it doesn’t foul up the props or get caught in the front treble hooks.
Crist gave us some great insight into topwater fishing in a few different scenarios. Pay attention to environmental factors and what the fish want when you’re out fishing and you’ll find some topwater success.
Crist is proudly sponsored by: Wright & McGill, Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp, Under Armor, Keystone Oilfield Fabrication, Seaguar and
Raymarine. Be sure to follow her on Facebook
and Instagram.
Photo by Trait Crist
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