Top water frogs

[iiTzChunky]

So had my first encounter with hooking into a frog with my frog today, I knew it was only a matter of time. But as soon as I set the hook I said "yea that's not a fish..." 

 

On a side note, I wasn't getting any hits on the frog till the sun had started setting. I could see about where my frog was and I could see the bass come strike it, but couldn't tell if they had it or not so I set the hook a few times on a miss and sent the frog flying. So how does everyone tell when it's dark of the fish has hit the frog or missed it. 

[j bab]

LOL poor frog, that's hilarious!

Regarding the missed fish after dark, reel down and if you feel resistance set the hook because the fish probably has it in their mouth. You'll be able to tell after a crank or two if you're just moving the frog or if there's something on there

[iiTzChunky]

6 hours ago, j bab said:

LOL poor frog, that's hilarious!

Regarding the missed fish after dark, reel down and if you feel resistance set the hook because the fish probably has it in their mouth. You'll be able to tell after a crank or two if you're just moving the frog or if there's something on there

He was OK, got the hook and and 3 hops later he was back in the water. I'll try to remember to do that next time I top water at night. Thanks. 

["hamma"]

typically wait a second and pull up on the rod feeling for the fish. If you feel one, drop the rod tip some,..reel in slack, and set the hook,...of course this is really quick in reality. dont feel one there after that second? continue fishing 

[iiTzChunky]

2 minutes ago, Keith "Hamma" Hatch said:

typically wait a second and pull up on the rod feeling for the fish. If you feel one, drop the rod tip some,..reel in slack, and set the hook,...of course this is really quick in reality. dont feel one there after that second? continue fishing 

 I'm new to fishing so I've been doing the wait 2 seconds and set the hook thing, which works when I can see... Not so much when I can't. 

["hamma"]

Its all about the "feel". you need to feel that the fish has it. Thats the trick. But it all happens in a split second. The quicker you determine theres a fish on it the better. 

Personally I think 2 seconds is too long to wait. Think about it, when cranking in a crankbait a bass can hit it and you dont even know theres a bass on it sometimes. Within 2 seconds many bass will have had it and spit it out by then. I try to determine if a bass has it asap

[MRBAMA57]

Found out yesterday that Gators love frogs. Had a 3 foot Gator take my fishing partner's frog and it took us 15 minutes to get him to let it go!

[IgotWood]

Usually, whether day or night, when fishing surface lures, you don't set the hook until you feel the line come tight. This is tough to do, especially during the day when you see the strike. I have been fishing my whole life, and still, I often pull it away when I see a fish strike. At night, you may or may not hear the strike, but keep your line tight, or semi-tight, and you'll know for sure whether or not to set the hook. 

[primetime]

Good hook set on the frog. No Kidding.

I often am more proud of myself when I land a 10" bass on a full sized frog with both hooks through the top lip. The best way to learn some ideas on how to set the hook since everyone has tricks they use that work for them, is to visit you tube. You can actually watch how guys do it, I kind of suscribe to the theory that if a Bass wants a frog, it will take it down, hold it, and as long as you have the right equipment and swing hard enough, you will land more than you miss.

Even fishing topwater lures with 3 treble hooks is never 100%. I would estimate that you hook 75% of fish on a good day. But often times the swipe allows you to locate the fish and follow up with a different presentation that can lead to a pattern. Regardless, Frog fishing is fun even if you only land a few fish, they are usually good quality and just seeing the strikes is fun. 

You can do everything perfect and still miss, so don't get down on yourself if you miss a few fish and feel you did it correctly. It happens. When fishing heavy cover, Bass have a hard time getting a bead on the frog, often throwing it right back in the same spot works, or after a missed strike, leave your frog still for as long as you can stand it and then start to work it again with just slight twitches. Other Bass often come over to see what the commotion is all about.

On 8/24/2016 at 8:47 PM, MRBAMA57 said:

Found out yesterday that Gators love frogs. Had a 3 foot Gator take my fishing partner's frog and it took us 15 minutes to get him to let it go!

At least he didn't land it because he was convinced it was a Huge bass. I had a friend who is new to fishing who hooked a good 3-4' Gator at night, and he was positive it was a Bass because he said he saw the wake. I kept telling him that if it was a Bass, then it is a world record, from a 5 acre pond, likely a fish in the 40-50lb range or bigger, and as it started getting closer (At night) he realized what he had when I finally stopped trying to cut his line and retreated 10 feet back. 

Gators love topwater lures, esepcially smaller ones. So do turtles but they are harder to hook.

[MRBAMA57]

I knew right away by the bend in his rod that he had something other than a LM Bass.  This was a first for me! Which is really surprising since Lake Eufaula, AL has lots of Gators.  I recommended to him to keep tapping his snout with the rod tip and he did finally let go.  I was sure glad the double hooks did not penetrate into his mouth.  The Frog and line were not damaged.

[iiTzChunky]

On 8/25/2016 at 1:35 PM, IgotWood said:

Usually, whether day or night, when fishing surface lures, you don't set the hook until you feel the line come tight. This is tough to do, especially during the day when you see the strike. I have been fishing my whole life, and still, I often pull it away when I see a fish strike. At night, you may or may not hear the strike, but keep your line tight, or semi-tight, and you'll know for sure whether or not to set the hook. 

I don't get to top water as much as I'd like to since it's much more exciting. But when I do I've gotten pretty good as seeing that strike and counting to 2 and then setting the hook making sure the bass has the bait. I'll be trying to keep my line a little tighter from now on so I can feel the fish