Freaky Frog..... an in depth look into Frog Fishing
- Neil Ferris
- Oct 31, 2019
- 6 min read
First and foremost, happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all are staying warm and safe this holiday. I woke up to snow on the ground here in central Illinois, which effectively ends the fishing season for me. But, there is always plenty to do in the off season and I have some awesome blog posts coming down the line! But, today we are going to take an in depth look into one of my favorite fishing techniques and that is the hollow body frog.
Two years ago I started to really work on my frog fishing skills. I had never had very much success because I had never been shown the proper way to set the hook when you catch a fish on a frog. One I figured that out, boy was it on. I started messing with different retrieval styles, colors, and brands and the results started coming in. I love fishing a frog because it lets you get to some of those hard to reach places that you normally wouldn't be able to get other topwater baits. You can fish the thick mats, the lily pad beds, grass, and much more with a hollow body frog. Being able to get a topwater bait right on top of those fish in the heat of summer is so valuable, and can't be stressed enough. Something I have realized is that after you figure out how to use a frog well, it really is a very simple bait to use.
The first thing I want to talk about is retrieval of the frog. The frog is a classic walking bait that uses twitches of your rod to get the desired action that makes a frog so juicy looking. A really important key that I have found is to mix up your retrieval. Sometimes I will just go ahead and walk that bait all the way back to the boat. But, something that helps trigger a lot of strikes is pausing during your retrieve. I'll mix it up constantly, just trying to keep that bait looking fresh and new to those big fish. Popping it three to five times and then letting it pause for three to five seconds is very effective. A lot of times those bass will hit it on the pause, or they will mash it on the first pop after the pause. I think it helps trigger a little more of a reaction strike just because the fish get a chance to sit there and look at it. Bass will absolutely inhale a hollow body frog, just use patience and you will know why it is so popular.
The next item I want to discuss is color. When you go to your tackle store, or view a frog online, just like every other bait on the market they come in a wide range of color options. I have had people ask me before, "Does the color of my frog really matter?" That has always been a tough question for me to answer. Here's the best way I can answer that question... yes and no. The reason I say yes, is because it can never hurt to try and match your bait to the food source the bass eat. We call this Match the Hatch. I always do my best to try and match all of my baits with what the bass are eating in my area. The frogs where I live are a dark brown/really dark green, so my tackle box is full of Booyah Pad Crashers in the Cricket color. The Googan Baits Filthy Frog in Bullfrog and Ghost Gill would be my choice if I was fishing the bodies of water here in Central Illinois. So, go down to the water and see what color the frogs are and try to match it as close as possible. Now, the reason I also say that it doesn't necessarily matter is because a frog triggers so many reaction strikes. I don't think it would matter what color you tied on and you would get fish to bite because it is a reaction strike bait. The action and movement of the frog bait design triggers those big bass to hit and honestly, all they really see is the bottom of the frog from the water. So, I don't think it really makes a difference when we are talking color. I like to match just in case it does make a difference, but I don't think you can go wrong when it comes to frog color. What do you guys think? Does frog color make a difference in the number of fish strikes?
The next thing we are going to talk bout is different styles of frogs. Now, I'm not going to go into every single brand and their version of these because so many companies have their version of each different kind of frog. So, we're going to talk today about the ones I use the most and why they are effective for me. The first style I use is the traditional hollow body frog. This one is pretty simple. It's just your standard hollow body frog that is so popular. The brands I use are the Booyah Pad Crasher and the Googan Baits Filthy Frog. I like these two because of the profile and color options they provide. I feel like the profile is easy to cast, lifelike, and does great along the top of the mats. The next style I want to talk about is prop frogs, or frogs that are fished more like a buzzbait. These kind of frogs have become increasingly popular in the last couple years. The one I turn to is the Booyah Toadrunner and Toadrunner Jr. This frog is just a typical hollow body frog with a whopper plopper tail added to the back of it. These frogs are a great bait to get that reaction strike. The action alone is enough, but when you add the sound of the whopper plopper tail, fish will hit this thing so hard to make the noise stop. The only issue I have been seeing with these, is that when moss and weeds get caught where the tail attaches, it messes up your presentation and you have to continually clean it off so the frog will work the right way. So I would say this frog is better in more open water areas then in the thick and deep cover. The last style of frog I want to mention is the Booyah Poppin' Pad Crasher. (Pictured Below)
I will reach for the Poppin' Pad Crasher whenever I want a little more water displacement. This frog has a cupped top that gives it a little bit of a popper look, combined with that hollow body frog. This, like I said, is good when you feel like you need a little more water displacement. I highly recommend the frogs that I mentioned and will link them below.
The last thing we are going to discuss is the rod and reel set up that I use with my frogs. This will very frog angler to angler depending on what you like, your preferences, and just what feels best for you. My rod of choice when throwing a frog is the Enigma Fishing Phenom Titanium Gen2 Series 7'3 Medium Heavy Rod. This rod is my favorite for frogs cause it gives me the backbone for a good cast, a good bite on the hook set, and it can be utilized for other topwater baits. For reels, the main thing when I'm frog fishing is I want a reel that has a ratio of 7.1:1 or better. This allows me to burn that frog back in and make another cast. The two reels I would recommend are the Enigma E-CAST EC-150 Series with a 7.3:1 gear ratio and the Phenom Edition reel that also has a 7.3:1 gear ratio. These two reels are great casting reels and I say that once you use one it will be the last casting reel you ever use. Both these reels are fish catching machines and I know that you will agree as well. When it comes to line, I have tried several different kinds and I am still experimenting trying to find that perfect combo. The one I am heavily leaning towards is P-Line TCB 8 Braided Line. I had never used braid while frog fishing until this last year and I love the casting ability and strength that it gives.
I will link all these products and a couple other below for you guys to check out. We would love to hear from you guys and what you guys have learned frog fishing! Thanks and Fish on!
Frogs:
Jackall Kaera Frog:
Booyah Pad Crasher: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Booyah_Pad_Crasher_Frogs/descpage-BYPC.html
Googan Baits Filthy Frog:
Booyah Poppin' Pad Crasher:
Booyah Toadrunner:
Rods and Reels:
Enigma Phenom Titanium Gen2 Series Casting Rod 7'3 Medium Heavy:
Enigma E-CAST EC-150 Series Baitcasting Reel (7.3:1):
Enigma Phenom Edition Reel (7.3:1):
P-Line TCB 8 Braid:
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