If you want to experience one of the most exciting moments in all your fishing days, try frog fishing for largemouth bass. The sight of this massive fish blowing up on a topwater frog will be the highlight of your angling career, believe me.
Do understand, though, that fishing a topwater frog can also be a frustrating experience if you do not know what you are doing. To be successful at frog fishing, you must learn about different frog bait styles, the necessary tackle, and how and where to fish.
I’ll cover all you need to know if you keep scrolling!
All About Topwater Frog Fishing
Frogging can deliver tremendous success when targeting a trophy fish such as a 10-pound bass! However, a catch like that requires proper timing, tactics, and gear.
Where & How To Fish Topwater Frog Lures?
You can catch bass with topwater frogs in almost any water condition. However, to ensure you are always successful, concentrate on a location covered in dense vegetation.
Namely, frogs normally inhabit areas offering plenty of plant coverage, such as lily pads, reeds, and standing grass. Bass know that and target these locations in search of prey. Moreover, due to their hunting success, they keep returning to them day after day. Use this to your advantage!
Do not hesitate to use your frog bait near woods or docks too. In fact, most forms of shallow cover will do!
You should not be afraid to cast your frog bait directly into the thick cover. Frogs are weedless, so you do not need to worry about them getting tangled in the underwater vegetation.
Frogs are top choice lures for sight fishing bass on beds, too. When bed fishing, position a frog directly over the bed and wait – you should get a bite quite quickly. Alternatively, cast your frog onto the bank near the bed and gently slide it into the water.
You can also use frogs to target largemouth bass in the deeper water along the outside edges of shoreline cover. The best tactic, in this case, is a slow stop-and-go retrieve.
Favored retrieval techniques are popping, skittering, and walking. You should combine all these methods until you find out what works best in your current fishing environment.
Work the frog with your rod tip lowered to create the side-to-side action and drive the bass crazy. The key is to be patient. The slower you drag your frog over the vegetation, the more time bass will have to locate it, and charge at it.
The opposite is true when working a frog over holes in matted vegetation. Bass have time to inspect your lure if you let it sit for too long. Hence, swim your frog quickly across the open water and stop only when you reach the edge of the mat. In this way, you will imitate the natural behavior of a frog that would stop moving only when it has reached its safety.
Do not aggressively set your hooks to the side as soon as you feel the strike. Be patient and allow for a couple of seconds for the bass to reposition the hook in its mouth before you swing on it.
Hook set timing is often a problem for newbies, but everyone gets better at it as they gain experience. Give yourself time to master the bass fishing basics, and success is bound to follow!
Do you want to develop and improve new bass topwater fishing techniques? Here is an excellent video offering a few excellent tips from one of the best frog lure anglers, Ish Monroe:
When To Fish A Frog Lure?
The Best Season For Frog Fishing
You can start fishing frogs as soon as it gets hot outside. In some parts of the country, you can begin in early spring, but, in general, it is best to wait for the summer. It is the most productive time of the year for catching bass with frogs.
When the summer heat creeps in, bass become less active and seek shelter in heavy cover. The only way to lure them out is to offer them a frog. It is thus one of the best lures you can use from the beginning of the summer through early fall.
The Best Time Of The Day For Frog Fishing
Early morning and late afternoon are the best times of the day to try out your frog. However, frogs work all day. Even on a bright sunny day, when bass take cover in dark, hidden places, frog lures can bring you success!
It would be best to always have a thermometer with you and check the water temperature. Namely, frogs can be used when the water temperature reaches 55 degrees Fahrenheit, but they work best when it goes over 60 degrees.
How To Choose The Best Frog Lure?
In order to be successful at frog fishing, you must choose the right frog for your setup. There are a few different styles and colors for you to choose from. Let’s see what those are!
Different Frog Styles
There are two styles of frogs you can use:
- Walking frogs
Due to their cylindrical, pointed shape, these frogs, as their name suggests, “walk” on the water surface with ease. They are best suited for skimming over weed mats, but you can use them whenever you want to work your bait faster.
- Popping frogs
Thanks to their hollow mouths, these frogs resemble topwater popper plugs. Hence, just like popper plugs, they are best suited for muddy or stained water and fishing under bushes and docks. They are also great for popping around weed edges and lily pads, and fishing during mayfly hatches.
Different Frog Colors
If you are a beginner, start with black and white color. The former is excellent for low light conditions and stained water, while the latter should ideally be fished in clear water. Yellow is also a highly versatile color to use.
You can try other colors later on, and, in time, you’ll identify the best color for your setup. The following video can help, too:
What Gear Do You Need For Topwater Frog Fishing?
Rod
Your bass fishing rod should be at least Medium Heavy and 7 feet long. A longer rod gives you more leverage and allows you to pull bass from the cover at a longer distance.
Line
Frogging calls for a braided line of no less than 40lbs in the open water and light cover and at least 50lbs when fishing heavy cover.
Reel
You must have a high-speed reel to drag bass out of the heavy cover. I favor the 6:1 gear ratio, but many anglers go for the 7:1 gear ratio reels.
FAQs
Are topwater frogs good for bass?
Topwater frogs are good for bass, especially when targeting areas covered in thick vegetation, such as lily pads, reeds, and standing grass. Frogs are also an excellent option for fishing around docks and laydowns.
What time of year do you use topwater frogs?
The best time of year to use topwater frogs is the summer season. However, you can successfully fish frogs from early summer (in some areas even late spring) through early fall.
When should you throw a frog for bass?
You should throw a frog for bass when the water temperature reaches at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it would be best to fish frogs when water temps strike the low 60s.
What is the best color frog for bass fishing?
The best color frog for bass fishing is black. It works great in stained water and low light conditions typical for places with heavy vegetation. If you plan to fish frogs in clear water or on a particularly sunny day, go for white color.
Wrapping Up
If you are an angler looking for bass fishing summer bait, search no more! Frogs are an excellent choice as they help you get these big predatory fish out of the cover and into your boat.
If the content you’re currently viewing hasn’t answered all your questions and you want to find out more details about frog fishing, leave your comment, and I will get back to you ASAP. Happy frogging!
