Where should I go for a first catch on my frog?

[detroithiker]

Anyone have advice for a first time frogger?

I have never caught anything on a frog, is this a good time to use it, I don't know any place I can fish at night and from what I can tell the frogs only really work for about 1-2 hrs in the morning and 1 hr at dusk.

 

[J Francho]

Where ever there is surface slop.

[soflabasser]

A good spot to fish a hollow body frog is a area filled with lily pads.

[Bassman37]

Work your frog near the shore and on top of and on the edges of weed lines.  

I leave it sit motionless for at least ten seconds before I start the retrieve.

[Fried Lemons]

Look for any kind of overhead cover like slop, pads, matted grass or trees. Frogs can work even mid day since bass take refuge underneath when the sun comes up.

[grampa1114]

And....Detroithiker.....you were smart enough  to ask the question so I'm hoping that you are smart enough to pay attention....These guys have been at it for years and can give some pretty sound advice.

[MassYak85]

Lily pads are my go-to, not just during dawn or dusk either. Somedays when it's the middle of a hot afternoon they get really cozy with those pads and it can be very effective. 

[detroithiker]

Well this week I have fished the frog for a solid hour 3 different times so far, tried everything I see in the videos and still get nothing.

I am 90% sure I am doing something just a bit or a lot wrong, I tried early morning, I tried middle of the day, I tried at dusk, I just can't seem to get a 2nd bite, the first and only bite was last month and it was awesome, I didn't set the hook it but I do know to wait a few seconds, I will get it before the season ends if I am lucky.

I ordered a few more frogs online just to see if the problem is the frogs.

[Hez]

13 minutes ago, detroithiker said:

Well I have fished the frog for a solid hour 3 different times so far, tried everything I see in the videos and still get nothing.

I am 90% sure I am doing something just a bit or a lot wrong, I tried early morning, I tried middle of the day, I tried at dusk, I just can't seem to get a 2nd bite, the first and only bite was last month and it was awesome, I didn't set the hook it but I do know to wait a few seconds, I will get it before the season ends if I am lucky.

I ordered a few more frogs online just to see if the problem is the frogs.

Not to discourage you, but I have been trying to catch a fish on a frog for a year now.  Some waters just aren't ideal for frog fishing 

[MassYak85]

36 minutes ago, detroithiker said:

Well I have fished the frog for a solid hour 3 different times so far, tried everything I see in the videos and still get nothing.

I am 90% sure I am doing something just a bit or a lot wrong, I tried early morning, I tried middle of the day, I tried at dusk, I just can't seem to get a 2nd bite, the first and only bite was last month and it was awesome, I didn't set the hook it but I do know to wait a few seconds, I will get it before the season ends if I am lucky.

I ordered a few more frogs online just to see if the problem is the frogs.

When you are picking apart the pads or other cover with a frog, be very vigilant of your surroundings. A lot of times when frog fishing I catch them after seeing a disturbance and then casting to that disturbance. Could be as obvious as a blow up or splash, or as subtle as a lilypad or piece of grass getting flicked aside (something large swimming underneath). When I am in my kayak and I am not getting bit on a frog what i will do sometimes is actually paddle through the cover relatively fast (this is on large flats of lily pads not small isolated cover) and I will look for large swirls which are bass getting spooked by the large disturbance, this will at least tell me they are in the area. Make sure to vary your retrieve and speed as well, sometimes they want it walked, sometimes a straight retrieve will do better (almost like a little mouse swimming). Sometimes they are hanging next to the thickest,nastiest piece of cover, sometimes they are targeting open pockets. 

As far as the hookset, I don't actually "wait" like you would think. There is no "okay, it blew up on the frog, now count to two". I always have my rod tip high, and when I see one take my frog I immediately drop the rod tip, reel in until I feel that they actually have it and didn't miss/spit it out, and then hammer them. Now granted that process takes 1-2 seconds so there is time already built in, I don't feel the need to give any extra. 

I doubt the actual frogs you are using are the issue, buying more can't hurt but I'm not sure it will help. Some are easier to walk, so that may help, but the main advantages of certain brands have more to do with durability/ease of compression on the hookset (softer ones will expose the hooks better). Your issue seems to be with getting the bites themselves, which is probably more with how/where you are fishing them. 

Also like @hezeez@gmail.com said above me, some waters are not as well suited for frogs. Some lakes with different cover may produce better with different types of topwaters. I generally tend to use frogs in cover that no other topwater can really get into without snagging, I feel that is where they shine. But they are very versatile and can be fished open water with success as well. Good luck though, don't give up on it, frog fishing is definitely up near the top of my list of funnest techniques. 

[detroithiker]

I think I may also have a faith problem if you will, I just don't believe they will hit it because it has only happened one time for me and I have been fishing since middle of last summer and have tried the frog quite a few times since I started learning to bass fish, I do well on many types of bait and can't get a bite on others, I think this affects my technique and limits the time it takes to give up before I say "this won't work" and throw something else that I have faith in, every time I give up I I am proved correct by catching a bass very soon after switching.

I am only admitting that part of the problem may be in my head.

[dwh4784]

Maybe change it up and try a mouse instead of a frog. Definitely target the slop, but most notably any cuts, holes in it. I like to cast past the spot I've picked out, make as much noise as possible dragging/hopping it through the weeds until it's just at the edge, then ease it in like the mouse was nervous to swim across. Because he knows a hungry bass wants to eat him! And when they do, you'll be hooked for life.