Frog Fishing

[Keanzan]

Do you guys think I could get away with using a medium action rod to fish frogs?

[Mr_Poche']

Are you fishing cover?

[BassinLou]

Do you guys think I could get away with using a medium action rod to fish frogs?

Hollow body frog? Can you get away with it? Depends on your experience with a frog. An experienced frog fisherman may be able to pull it off, but honestly you will be better served with a 7ft MH rod, and utilizing braid for a better, secure hookset. That's just my .02 .

[RyanFishing]

Hollow body frog? Can you get away with it? Depends on your experience with a frog. An experienced frog fisherman may be able to pull it off, but honestly you will be better served with a 7ft MH rod, and utilizing braid for a better, secure hookset. That's just my .02 .

I agree. To me it seems like it would be difficult especially if you're not experienced.

[The Patriot]

Im not experienced with frogs at all.  I have a Boo-Yah pad crasher and have only fished it a few times.  One twice have I gotten a reaction.  I've fished it over open water alongside cover and over thick pads and grass.  I have a M power rod with 20# braid.   Im still learning what works for retrievals, but I can comfortably say that my retrieve might be better, but Id definitely feel more comfortable with MH or H rod.  

[WIGuide]

If you're around sparse cover you could probably get away with it, but if you're fishing any thick stuff it's gonna be a strugglefest to say the least. 

[lecisnith]

Before I became a little more learned, I probably had just as much if not more success on a 6'6" M spinning rod fishing frogs as I do now with my 7'0" M/H with 50# braid. Not saying I shouldn't be using what I'm using now, but sometimes we anglers tend to overthink things and maybe a medium rod with a moderate tip will help with the slower hooksets we look for when frog fishing. So, yeah, you can use it and have success...

[BooyahMan]

If the cover is VERY sparse then it is definitely do-able. I pulled in my PB using a Booyah Pad Crasher with 30lb Spider Wire strung onto a medium action 7' Shimano Compre  but that was in October when most of the lily pads in my area have died off. I also used a medium action Daiwa Crossfire for a bit in the spring but after the lily pads got thicker towards summer I felt under-gunned, especially with anything over 3lbs.

 

Long story short, if you are going to be fishing any sort of cover I would HIGHLY recommend just investing in a heavy action rod. You just might be saving yourself some heartache if a trophy bass decides to eat your frog.

[hatrix]

When I started fishing again I fished hollow body frogs a bunch on a M spinning rod and 30# braid because all my gear had been stolen and it's all I had. I wasn't really fishing super thick matts but I caughts tons of fish. I was also fishing spro frogs and those are the stiffest of all frogs. Just because your supposed to use ( X ) or that's what you heard doesnt mean it can't be done. The only way to find out is to try really. What do you really have to loose.

[BassinLou]

If the cover is VERY sparse then it is definitely do-able. I pulled in my PB using a Booyah Pad Crasher with 30lb Spider Wire strung onto a medium action 7' Shimano Compre but that was in October when most of the lily pads in my area have died off. I also used a medium action Daiwa Crossfire for a bit in the spring but after the lily pads got thicker towards summer I felt under-gunned, especially with anything over 3lbs.

Long story short, if you are going to be fishing any sort of cover I would HIGHLY recommend just investing in a heavy action rod. You just might be saving yourself some heartache if a trophy bass decides to eat your frog.

This is very true. When the almighty bucketmouth decides to hit, its better to be ready than un-prepared. Or you will be creating another thread of the one that got away.... and what did I do wrong.

[FinCulture]

the last time I went frog fishing, I was using my medium power. I got about twenty hits, and I landed two fish, if that puts it into perspective.

[hatrix]

the last time I went frog fishing, I was using my medium power. I got about twenty hits, and I landed two fish, if that puts it into perspective.

I find it hard to believe that was all because you used a medium power rod. How many do you think you would of hooked with a standard frog rod? Like 5 or 6? It also could of been one of those days. There has been plenty of days where I get hit after hit but they are just swatting at it and you were never going to hook them. It just happens sometimes.

[Keanzan]

I'm from Hawaii and the bass don't get too big here so I don't want to use too big of a rod that the fish are not fun fighting, but I still want to learn how to fish a frog. Also the cover here is not very thick. On the smaller bass, will the hook set with a M rod be easier because they have softer mouths, or should I just stick with the MH rod. 

[FinCulture]

I find it hard to believe that was all because you used a medium power rod. How many do you think you would of hooked with a standard frog rod? Like 5 or 6? It also could of been one of those days. There has been plenty of days where I get hit after hit but they are just swatting at it and you were never going to hook them. It just happens sometimes.

I would say about 8 fish actually held on to the frog long enough for me to get a hookset. My first cast of the trip, I got a monster hit on my frog. I casted out again and a monster slams it. I give him a good fight but, alas, he get wrapped up in the pads and unbuttons. It was at least a four pounder, not a fish you wanna lose.

[Fin Stalker]

I'm from Hawaii and the bass don't get too big here so I don't want to use too big of a rod that the fish are not fun fighting, but I still want to learn how to fish a frog. Also the cover here is not very thick. On the smaller bass, will the hook set with a M rod be easier because they have softer mouths, or should I just stick with the MH rod. 

Here's my take on this.

A 7' MH Power, Fast Action rod is a good general purpose rod that every bass angler should have in their arsenal. I would also say it should be paired with a medium speed reel of about 6.3:1 gear ratio. I run braid on all of my light gear and have found that for the most part anything over 40# is over kill for me. With a set-up like that you can use it for several applications.

When fishing frogs and toads I slam the hook home every time regardless of the size of the fish. The trick to a good hook set with frogs is making sure the fish has the bait and not re-acting too fast. Drop your rod tip reel up the slack then set the hook.

As far as playing the fish. Don't. Get the fish landed and back in the water a quickly as possible. Catching a fish is fairly stressful for the fish and it's best to get it over as fast as you can.

[hatrix]

I would say about 8 fish actually held on to the frog long enough for me to get a hookset. My first cast of the trip, I got a monster hit on my frog. I casted out again and a monster slams it. I give him a good fight but, alas, he get wrapped up in the pads and unbuttons. It was at least a four pounder, not a fish you wanna lose.

I mean yea I guess if you fishin pads with some gnarly stalks that are sure thick it might be a issue using 20 or 30# braid. 30 is the max I put on a spinning reel and only 1 has 30 right now. Most are 20 or 10#. Even if it does get wrapped as long as it straight braid and 30# you might be able to rip it out of the pads. I would think your line will snap before you were to brake a rod or something. The only thing that sucks is spinning does have the cranking power like casting.

[BassinLou]

Do you guys think I could get away with using a medium action rod to fish frogs?

To the OP, I never asked you what rod you were referring to? Spinning rod, or a baitcasting rod? 

[scbassin]

No! Your catch ratio will probley be less than 1% you need to get good hook sets. Remember you have 2 hooks to get set, I use a heavy action & in real thick cover a 2X. You want to keep the fish up on top to keep it from wrapping your line up in the cover so you need power & a high speed reel & a good line. On single hook baits(toads, buzzbaits, snakes, etc) I will use a m/h rod in normal cover. My rule of thumb is for heavy cover use a heavy action rod & a high speed reel. Hopefully with some practice this will get your catch ratio to 65-70%.

I use medium action rods for baits with treble hooks unless I am floating it over grass then I switch to a  m/h rod with a high speed reel.

This works for me but I am sure others will have different opinions. Hope this was helpful to you.

 

 

[hatrix]

Well I do have a opinion. Bold text and huge font is unnecessary. You don't "need" a specific rod at all and the 1% catch rate is just plain ridiculous. As for buzzfrogs one of my favorite ways to fish them is on a glass rod. Basically a cranking stick and I use a spinning rod usually. I catch tons of fish on that setup with no issue.

[Keanzan]

To the OP, I never asked you what rod you were referring to? Spinning rod, or a baitcasting rod? 

Bait casting Rod

[Keanzan]

So I just went bass fishing and I thought I would try using a Hollow body frog. I only had Med Lt action rod with me, but I still managed to hook up to a few. This was on 15 lbs fluorocarbon. Out of 18 fish I lost about 7. Here is a pic of a bass my uncle hooked today on the hollow body frog.

I plan on getting a bigger rod to fish the frog but not sure if I should get a M action MH action rod. 

 

[hatrix]

For sure a MH rod. It is kinda a universal rod that you can do anything with. Usually they rate about 1/4-3/4 oz I like a rod that is rated to a ounce or even 1 1/4 oz. For frogs I would look for one that says it is rated for like a ounce or so.

[scbassin]

In the Oct/Nov FLW Magazine there in the gear section there is a article about getting the best rod for any frog fishing scenario. I suggest You get a copy & read this article before choosing a rod for frog fishing. It will improve your catch ratio a bunch.Don't worry so much about what brand of rod the pro's use but the spec's. If you want to be serious about frog fishing you need to read this article.

.

In my last post on this I forgot a 5. It should have said 15% instead of 1%

[the reel ess]

Im not experienced with frogs at all.  I have a Boo-Yah pad crasher and have only fished it a few times.  One twice have I gotten a reaction.  I've fished it over open water alongside cover and over thick pads and grass.  I have a M power rod with 20# braid.   Im still learning what works for retrievals, but I can comfortably say that my retrieve might be better, but Id definitely feel more comfortable with MH or H rod.  

The braid will certainly help in setting the hook.

[Bass newb]

So I just went bass fishing and I thought I would try using a Hollow body frog. I only had Med Lt action rod with me, but I still managed to hook up to a few. This was on 15 lbs fluorocarbon. Out of 18 fish I lost about 7. Here is a pic of a bass my uncle hooked today on the hollow body frog.

I plan on getting a bigger rod to fish the frog but not sure if I should get a M action MH action rod.

Where are you fishing that you get 18 blow ups in a day?