Im horrible at frog fishing.

[YoTone]

The title says it all.

Ive spent a nice chunk of money on frogs this year with out catching anything.

the last two outings ive had either  a bass or a snake head take swipes on them.
 

by the time i reacted to it there was nothing there but me standing around wondering what i could of done better.

ive heard to let it take the frog under before setting the hook but the last few times all they were was swipes and i guess didnt commit to it?

and another question about retrievals on non popping frogs, do yall always walk the dog with frogs, a high sticking jerky retrieve  or what?

 

 

 

[Master Bait'r]

Search "finesse frogging".  Start hooking up with smaller baits and go up in size from there once you've assembled a large enough picture of where/when/how etc.. That's what I would do anyways.  It's hard to figure out any plausible answers without any hard data though y'know?  Once you have *something* to go on I find things get easier and you relax a little more too.  

[thebillsman]

We can't be too far from each other, and with that said I haven't had any luck with frogs around our area. The only time I have been relatively successful fishing top water is in the early morning. Just keep plugging away, if your set on making frogs work keep trying new areas and find fish that like them.

You can bend the hooks out a little to try and get a better hook set. I usually trim the legs a little bit and I always make sure it isn't filled up with water. Fish it over thick cover, pads and grass. Oh, and make sure there's fish where you're casting!

[YoTone]

7 minutes ago, thebillsman said:

We can't be too far from each other, and with that said I haven't had any luck with frogs around our area. The only time I have been relatively successful fishing top water is in the early morning. Just keep plugging away, if your set on making frogs work keep trying new areas and find fish that like them.

You can bend the hooks out a little to try and get a better hook set. I usually trim the legs a little bit and I always make sure it isn't filled up with water. Fish it over thick cover, pads and grass. Oh, and make sure there's fish where you're casting!

thanks bills, where do you fish?

and i know theres fish where i had those last two chances. i had a nice snake head destroy my plopper on Saturday morning.

 

[thebillsman]

Just now, YoTone said:

thanks bills, where do you fish?

and i know theres fish where i had those last two chances. i had a nice snake head destroy my plopper on Saturday morning.

 

ugh, snake heads.

I'm in Central Bucks but  I'm anywhere from Penn Warner, to the River, to Green Lane Reservoir. There a bunch of good watering holes out this way.

[YoTone]

ugh? dude they are ferocious fighters. people will hate on them but for me they have changed the ball game here. 

[Hog Basser]

For me, most of the time frogs only work when introduced in the right cover.  I need weeds or lily pads around to get a hit.  They only occasionally work without some type of thick plant cover.  Pretty much an early morning bait for me, unless it is overcast.  

[Red Bear]

as for when to set the hook, i never wait to set the hook on frogs. some recommend counting to 3 or something like that. but i figure once the lure is gone under water to set the hook immediately because by the time i count to 3 ive missed my chance and the bait has been spit. as soon as your frog dissappears underwater set the hook. though there is no guarantee he has the hooks in his mouth when it goes under, its got some part of the frog in its mouth for sure though...

[YoTone]

Thanks, what type of retrieve works the best for yall?

walking the dog? or high sticking it? with long pauses?

 

[Hog Basser]

I mix up my retrieve.  A lot of times I just pop it and wait, sometimes I walk the dog, I just like to make sure I making a little racket to get their attention then wait for the hit.  Make sure you have a heavy rod, I've made the mistake of tying a frog on a little bit lighter rod and couldn't set the hook properly.  

[Master Bait'r]

27 minutes ago, YoTone said:

Thanks, what type of retrieve works the best for yall?

walking the dog? or high sticking it? with long pauses?

 

 

It really depends day to day.  When I'm covering water I usually like to do a fast wiggly walk so they don't get a great look at it.  If I've seen something to make me think there's a higher likelihood of a fish being there, I may try to do 1-2 quick twitches and kill it on the spot, let it sit for 10 or more seconds sometimes and then do another twitch or two, especially if it's a really realistic or smaller frog.  

[GORDO]

aim for the holes in the pads/weeds, cast over them, work the frog slow to the holes, then pause ones it gets into the holes. Wait several seconds, give it a little twitch, work it to the edge of the hole and pause again for several seconds. Another tip, cast the frog to the bank and work it off the bank into the water. You will be surprised how many bass will destroy it right off the bank. 

[Jon G]

If you are new to fishing frogs and are having hookup issues try this to get your confidence up

 

[YoTone]

had another big time miss on the frog just now. but it was my fault because i saw a snake head looking at it ready to pounce and i got all stupid and decided to take my phone out and try to video tape it. as soon as i got the phone in  my hand i heard that pop noise and she engulfed it but i wasnt ready and she let go. felt like the biggest loser on earth for a little bit untill i ditched the frog for a pit boss on a shakey head and got her. 

but i wont give up on the frog.

[BassinLou]

This time of year, if your looking to be successful frogging cover and shade are going to be your key areas. Depending where you are fishing. Cover may consist of hydrilla, pads, wood, grass, or overhangs. Look for the the type of cover where most people would think twice casting into and your biggun will be seeking refuge in there!! As far the missed hits, identify if they are indeed bass. Other species like big bream will hit the frogs skirts, fooling you its bass. When a bass takes a frog, you will know. Your frog will be nowhere to be seen. When then happens set the hook hard. Good luck!! 

[The Young Gun]

Keep the rod tip up, let the fish tell you what they want. And don't be afraid to fish it around docks or even in open water!

[Jonathan Evans]

If you are using a floating frog you can do what I did and bend the hooks out a bit. I had the same issue as you when the bass hitting it and letting go. i have not landed one on a frog yet but after I bent the hooks out I had my first hook up on a frog before he shook the hook.

[YoTone]

i went out at dusk and tried again and again i missed on a strike. i even saw it go under but still no hook up and my rod tip was up.

still had a fun time whipping the frog with reckless abandon. 

[scaleface]

Change . If you cant get them to hit frogs dont force it . You will eventually get on a frog bite , in the mean time use something different . 

[flyfisher]

If you want to learn the proper hookset timing on a frog, go fishing at night.  You won't be able to see the hit so you are almost forced to wait till you feel the weight of the fish.

As far as the right times go, I pretty much always have a frog of some sort tied on once the water warms up.  I fish them all day and in open water, heavy cover etc....they can be fantastic baits when you think outside the box, as far as their application, a little bit too.

[Red Bear]

14 hours ago, YoTone said:

i went out at dusk and tried again and again i missed on a strike. i even saw it go under but still no hook up and my rod tip was up.

still had a fun time whipping the frog with reckless abandon. 

you really got to drive the hook home on frogs

[primetime]

Missing Fish is not always the angler's fault. Sometimes it is the way Fish are smacking it, or the way they take it down, I would use a toad or smaller frog but this tip helped me get better.

Think of a Hollow body as a regular Soft bait like say a Fluke. If you are working a Fluke on top and a Bass Grabs it, you rarely worry about the fish spitting it out right? If you do not pull, Bass that really want the frog and take it under, they will take it like any soft bait and hold it.

I have played Jokes on people and clipped the hook points off and had it done to me. You realize that they hold frogs like any soft bait. They only feel the hooks when you slam them. Single hook on a soft toad helped me get better but you need to really set hard and sometimes the legs get in the way. Stick with frogs that have less "Junk" in the back, I trim legs super short since they can cover the hooks.

Frog fishing is complicated. I have days where I think I am Dean Rojas, and then days when I just can't convert, but good advise about with smaller frogs. Or try going white to black or vise versa, and always have one with a chart belly to mimic a bluegill. 

[soflabasser]

A big part of being successful at frog fishing is knowing when to set the hook and how hard you set it.Set the hook when you see the frog completely disappear underwater and do a firm hookset. Do not do a exaggerated hookset, it is not  needed.

[YoTone]

only took me 6 different types of frogs over the course of 3 months to catch one.

but thanks for the help everyone

[J Francho]

Man, this was one bait I was horrible with at first.  Congrats on your success!