K so bass fishing lol. I know how to use a lot of baits (self taught mostly so i may still be doing a lot wrong 
) Frogs have been out of my reach for a while now.
I am trying to learn the technique when using frogs on lilly pads. Do you just cast into the pads and retrieve at a slow pace? do you try and flip the pad so your frog is underneath or on top? How close should i be to the pads when fishing them?
Any advice would be appreciated and helpful for when i try usuing frogs again.
) Frogs have been out of my reach for a while now.
I am trying to learn the technique when using frogs on lilly pads. Do you just cast into the pads and retrieve at a slow pace? do you try and flip the pad so your frog is underneath or on top? How close should i be to the pads when fishing them?
Any advice would be appreciated and helpful for when i try usuing frogs again.
i think the idea is to be on top of the pads. Scurry the frog in a frantic manner with pauses, preferrebly inbetween pads. When your approaching a hole in the pads, pause the frog just before the hole, on the last lilly pad and keep twitching it, hopefully exciting whatever bass has been following the frog from underneath.
I believe you want pretty heavy line and probably a medium heavy rod as you'll want to be able to rip through lots of lillies while pulling your bass out. I would imagine most use baitcasters for this type of fishing.
Hopefully others can chim in.
I believe you want pretty heavy line and probably a medium heavy rod as you'll want to be able to rip through lots of lillies while pulling your bass out. I would imagine most use baitcasters for this type of fishing.
Hopefully others can chim in.
I use a saltwater inshore rod fast tip medium action with a abu round body reel(these reels take a beating and work well for this application). 40lb braid(could go heavier but haven't needed to yet). I cast into the pads and pull the bait across the pads letting it pretty much fall into any holes I see. the hard part is getting down the timing for the hookset. still trying to get that down. find myself not allowing the fish enough time to get it in their mouth once I see the explosion. definitely exciting fishing.
I use a 6'6" heavy action spinning rod. I spool up with 50lb braid. cast over the pads and vary your retrieve from a straight drag to popping it, stopping it. Pay attention and watch your bait, If a bass blasts it, look and see if the bass got the frog, if you dont see your frog SET HARD. This should all happen in a blink of an eye not a few seconds. My favorite frog is the Koppers Live frog. It lands upright more often then other frogs and stays upright. It also sits Butt down in the water. Here is a tip. Trim the skirted legs of your frogs by at least a third. This will help avoid short striking fish.
My thoughts basically mirror those of Stratos- I use a 6' 6" medium heavy rod with a good size spinning reel and 20lb - 30lb braid. Top water frog fishing has produced around 80% of my lunkers this year and by far is the most exciting bass fishing I've experienced along with night time jitterbugs and swimbaits. I find snag proof frogs strike to hook-up ratio to be the best due to soft plastic body, but if you're going for realism the Live Target is tops in that category and can produce some awesome strikes. I find most strikes occur at two points of the retrieve: almost immediately after the bait hits the water and the hop retrieve begins most blasts will occur and I also find after working it off the pads and once the bait hits open water some of the biggest fish I've caught this year have hit and it's an instant hook set due to the power of the fish. You always have to be ready with the frog because fish will hit at random as well, definatelty a variety of retrieves will help to see what the fish want: hop it, swim it, pause it, steady pull in or just a spiratic variety will do the trick when bass are hungry. If you happen to see live frogs near the edge of the water definately target that area because the bass are waiting for a brave frog to hit the open/exposed water. Good luck!
Totally agree with Stratos and Angler 21 , I personally use a G Loomis Frog Rod and Or A Crucial 7ft 6 XHeavy Casting Rod spooled with 50lb Power Pro matched with an Abu Garcia Revo STX or Premier, I like the gear ratio at 6:4:1 so I have the 24lb drag, same thechniques apply as previously mention , and coincidently I use the same Koppers Live Target Frog , in one of 2 sizes, 3/4/ or 5/8 oz, snipping the legs short and tweaking the hooks out slightly to improve hook set, sometimes (for instance the other night) I saw a bass tailing and had to cast too her 3 times the first two retrieves, one steady and one slow produced nothing , the 3rd I left sit for what seemed like an eternity (around 30 seconds) the slighest movement after that triggered the best frog strike Ive had all year, she breached like air jaws, I let her land felt the weight and blasted her.
SPRO frogs, medium heavy rod, 30 lb braid. I also trim the legs by about 1/4...
As far as the hookset goes, it's rough. These things have a hook up ratio of 60 percent or less on a good day... For me, anyway. It's definitely one of the most exciting ways to fish though, and this technique has saved me from many skunked trips on a hot summer day.
I'd say if the frog is gone after the splash, you should count to two-Mississippi and then slam it while hoping for the best.
I've heard of guys skipping frogs across open water. Any of you guys have any luck with this? Is there a particular technique? Every single time I've tried this, and I have devoted days and days to it, I have never even gotten as much a bass trailing it...
As far as the hookset goes, it's rough. These things have a hook up ratio of 60 percent or less on a good day... For me, anyway. It's definitely one of the most exciting ways to fish though, and this technique has saved me from many skunked trips on a hot summer day.
I'd say if the frog is gone after the splash, you should count to two-Mississippi and then slam it while hoping for the best.
I've heard of guys skipping frogs across open water. Any of you guys have any luck with this? Is there a particular technique? Every single time I've tried this, and I have devoted days and days to it, I have never even gotten as much a bass trailing it...
Thanks for all the advice. I did not realize how heavy a line should be used lol. I was gonna use my 7f heavy rod with 14lb test...maybe I should up the lbage a bit.
Great advice on all the retrieve styles. I'll let you know how it works out on my next outing!
Great advice on all the retrieve styles. I'll let you know how it works out on my next outing!
Thanks for all the advice. I did not realize how heavy a line should be used lol. I was gonna use my 7f heavy rod with 14lb test...maybe I should up the lbage a bit.
Great advice on all the retrieve styles. I'll let you know how it works out on my next outing!
The braid is a must. It will increase your hook up ratio 10 fold. mono has too much stretch and you will almost never sink those double hooks into a fishes mouth. Braid is also better for slicing through the pads and when your frog does bury up in the pads, you can just rip it free.
Yea i have lost a few bass due to weed related issues.
I fish a small pond that was stocked by a guy living next to it. Some big Larrys hiding in their.
Unfortunatly the weeds reach the surface pretty much everywhere in the pond so when you do hook up with a bass, they dive dive dive and wrap wrap wrap!
I fish a small pond that was stocked by a guy living next to it. Some big Larrys hiding in their.
Unfortunatly the weeds reach the surface pretty much everywhere in the pond so when you do hook up with a bass, they dive dive dive and wrap wrap wrap!
I'm not one for much advice seeing as I still have a lot of learning to do. However. I wasn't having much luck one day, so I just wanted to learn how to "walk the dog" with my live target frog. No lilly pads in sight so I casted it under a few trees in the shade about 6 feet from the shore. I noticed a nice ridgline all along that point that went from about 4 ft to about 9 or so.. So I casted above it and positioned my boat so it would walk along the ridge. I had a decent 4.8 slam it just as I was joking with my buddy how I have never caught anything topwater. Other then that. I have had alot of fish jump for it in the lillys just twitching and stopping. Then walking the dog when it gets out of the lillys. I just have a hard time setting the hook with the dam things to. I think I am going to try and bend the hooks out a little.
Totally agree with Stratos and Angler 21 , I personally use a G Loomis Frog Rod and Or A Crucial 7ft 6 XHeavy Casting Rod spooled with 50lb Power Pro matched with an Abu Garcia Revo STX or Premier, I like the gear ratio at 6:4:1 so I have the 24lb drag, same thechniques apply as previously mention , and coincidently I use the same Koppers Live Target Frog , in one of 2 sizes, 3/4/ or 5/8 oz, snipping the legs short and tweaking the hooks out slightly to improve hook set, sometimes (for instance the other night) I saw a bass tailing and had to cast too her 3 times the first two retrieves, one steady and one slow produced nothing , the 3rd I left sit for what seemed like an eternity (around 30 seconds) the slighest movement after that triggered the best frog strike Ive had all year, she breached like air jaws, I let her land felt the weight and blasted her.
similar set up for me but i fish the thickest slop, and the heaviest pads /cover since that's where the slobs tend to be where i fish. i also throw the frog way back in bushes and into trees where there's shade and drop the frog down in there so they don't get spooked. this is where heavier line and a stouter rod come into play.
powell 7'2" mag heavy / fast with 65 lb. power pro. abu garcia revo STX 7.1:1 for getting more line in quickly. it has enough drag - i think about 20 lbs. max. i usually go with the spro and never have problems setting the hook or hauling out the big ones. i have literally caught about 50 bass on this 1 spro frog this year. frogs still good, hooks still sharp. it's important to learn how to wait and let the fish take the frog before slamming the hook home. if you wait, you will not miss many fish. count out loud if you have to. there's a difference between the fish slapping it or boiling it over, and missing a hookset. they don't always inhale it.
i agree with the slow action and dead sticking, especially when it's hot out and the fish aren't active. i try to work the frog as slowly as possible unless i'm trying to cover water. the slightest twitch will get the blowup.
I dont count anymore when fishn the frog, LOST way to many! If you cant see the frog SET HOOK ASAP! If you see it wait a few before you work it again, they will come back! heavy rod on spinning reel dont use mono! Some guys use a baitcaster with frog however I cant throw as far so I still use spinning grear, Good luck!