Frog Fishing

[otto]

I fish in a few lakes that have alot of lily pads and high grass. I get alot of monster hits but can never seem to hook the fish. Does any body have any guidlines or tips

[grimlin]

Well what exactly are you using? Type of rod,it's action rating,hook size ect,ect?

A fish may hit the frog several times before taking it into it's mouth,could be you are setting the hook too early?  

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

ALSO,try to have some sort of a follow up bait ready to throw in the hole.Swim jig,texas rigged worm or creature perhaps?

If it is not extreme matted slop try a weedless swim spoon.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

If the fish is a dink or even smaller size you may have trouble too.A biggie will usually inhale the bait and all the surrounding weeds too. Go a little slower,sometimes a bass has to clearly see the bait at least for a split sec to grab it.Otherwise theyre slashing at the ghost movement they detect.

[dale]

I feel braided line is a must due to it's lack of stretch.

you might want to use pliers and bend your hooks up a little also

I know that it has helped me.

Dale

[Redlinerobert]

Wait til you feel the weight of the fish, then cross his eyes.  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

or if you catch  real fish,...her eyes

It's as simple as that

[Redlinerobert]

or if you catch real fish,...her eyes

It's as simple as that

True, but some of us catch real big fish, then that is better than what little man said.....  

[FD.]

Fish with braid with your rod tip up.  When you see the strike drop your rod tip and reel up the slack just like worm fishing and then a short but hard hook set.  I also use an attractant so they hold it a little longer.

[Guest avid]

First, just resign yourself to the fact that Froggin is one of lower percentage baits for actually hooking and landing fish.

That being said, it is mad cool to watch a big bass blow up in the thick stuff to take a froggie.

Use a stout rod.  6'6" MH is minimum with longer and/or heavier desirable.  Use of braided line is highly recommended for hook setting power and for cutting through the weeds better.   Wait for the weight, reel in all slack.  get a solid footing and BLAM-O.  Just be careful not to fall over backwards if you miss the fish.

I don't know why I said that because it has never happened to me  :

[Ifish4keeps]

yeah you should wait until you feel the fish but are you talking about soft plastic frogs or the other type of frog

[Catt]

Wait til you feel the weight of the fish, then cross his eyes.

This is when you set hook with any type of top water bait  

[Ifish4keeps]

if your using a buzz frog check to see if the hook is pointing up or down when you reel it in and if it is pointing down, you should fix it so it points up

[Bassnajr]

Hey...

When my brother taught me to bass fish 30 something years ago, all we used was Uncle Josh's Pork Rind Frogs (Nasty green and white color and smelly as hell!!!) I mean that was the only lure. Occasionally a weed wing buzz bait or a hula popper, but that was it. I watched him catch a TON of bass including 3- 7+ lbers. (not bad for Rhode Island!) He used to say the key was a monster weedless hook (an Eagle Claw 0/0 weedless if I remember right??) and keeping the frog in constant motion so the bass could track it better.

I have a couple of Spro's I picked up for this spring and I can't wait to use them. I'll fish them the way my 'bro taught me and see!!!

Good luck,

Alan

[Tokyo Tony]

I did a lot of frog fishing last summer, and I really improved my technique just by trying different things (after I read about different techniques   )

Anyway, this is what I do after tons of trials and errors:  It's important to start reeling as soon as the frog hits the water to prevent it from sinking, and another thing that helps is lowering your rod tip as the frog is in the air, then just before it hits the surface, raise the rod toward you as you start reeling.

When I retrieve, I keep the rod tip almost up at 12 o'clock, which helps keep the frog up on the surface, and you can work it more slowly without it sinking.  

As you see the strike, lower the rod tip towards the fish immediately to give it some slack, reel down, and after a FULL second or even two FULL seconds (I know that isn't long, but it seems like a really long time when you're actually waiting), set the hook firmly.  I don't typically wait til I feel the weight of the fish, but just give it a full second or so.  This technique has really helped me a lot when I'm frog fishing.  

Now if you're fishing really dense cover, I'm not sure if you should wait that long before setting the hook.  I saw a show with Dean Rojas fishing his SPRO frogs, and it seemed like he did an immediate hookset, which was kind of strange, but his intention was not to allow the bass to go back down under the pads.

But Otto, regardless of what specific technique you use, you should definitely wait a bit after the strike before setting the hook, whether it's a second or two, or until you feel the weight of the fish.

$.02

[The Next KVD]

a few key words here: 7 1/2 ft rod Heavy action, 50-65lb braid, a quality frog, and a little patience.

[silvercliff_46]

I got my own way of frog fishing. First I tie it to my wife's line and tell her where to cast in the slop. When she gets a blow up and freaks out I cast my worm or creature bait in and catch it ;D.

It works better if our Preacher is fishin' near by then I don't have to hear them nasty words (at least till I get home!)

[mike bat]

i have to dissagree with avid on this one ..... 1st you may have a gear issue .... i use a good frog rod ,,  a high speed baitcast reel ,,, a 50lb braided line ,,, and last a spro frog .....

once you have the essentials the rest is up to you .... if you still have trouble you will have to work on your hook sets ,,, dont worry with practice it will come ...... olny then will your catch ratio go through the roof ..... i had trouble with the gear then the hookset ,,, now i olny miss a few bass ..... i mean the bass that inhail the frog of those i olny miss a few ..... practice youll get it ////