Attractants On Frogs

[Bobby Uhrig]

There was a post below and it brought back a few memories. Frog fishing really hit public mainstream bass fishermen when a man named Dusty Pines won the 1000 Island BassMasters Tournament back in the early 90"s. It was called Rattn back then. There were no real state of the art frogs like the Spro's back then. Hook up ratio"s were about 25%. I started fishing the Hudson River back in the 80's. There was a non evasive weed there called the water chestnut. Oh my god ! What a nightmare these things were.For you fishermen that dont know what they are. They are the meanest weed known to man-they are the snake heads of the aquatic kingdom. Like everything else in life they have their upsides and down sides. First they are like lily pads on top. Below they are like a jungle of vines. They can grow to 10 feet long and grow in massive fields. I have seen modern 225 HP motors run into them and stop dead. It takes about a half hour to get the vines untangled off your prop. There is no trolling motor alive that can get very far in them. What it did though was protect the bass from anglers allowing accessibility to them. They harbored big bass-They offered a great canopy for the bass to sit under as well as bait fish to thrive in. The only way to fish them was to flip the edges or the first few feet in by pitching or flipping. Once you hooked the bass it was a nightmare trying to get them out. Again landing that fish was about 50%. One thing I knew is the big bass lived in the chestnuts.If you caught five bass you were cashing a check. So the rats or frogs we used were usually the older Manns style. We would throw the baits over the weeds and drag them back. I have seen some of the most explosive strikes while doing this. Reaction strike isn't the proper terminology.They would miss it 50% of the time never to come back-just try a follow up bait but thats another story. When they did hit it and we would set the hook-the bass would release the bait only to have it hit me or my partner in the head or chest. They just let it go. I would apply the megastrike to the baits.Now using a stout rod and heavy line the bass would hit the bait-I would wait until I could feel them -then set the hook.Ya have to keep their heads up and basically water ski them over the weeds or they are gone. Not only did the MegaStrike lube the baits to come across the vegetation easier but the fish held on to it which allowed my hook up ratio to increase considerably. It was like fishing live bait with my dad when I was little-when they hit-count to three-feel them then set it.I have used the goo with all of the modern type frogs now-I still call it rattn' -the use of better rods and braided line also help you increase the hook up ratio..Its one of the only techniques I use braid for. LOW STRETCH Try rattn with some Megastrike and I promise you that it is some of the most explosive action there is on the water. Remember the big fish live in the thick stuff.Gettn them out is half the fun.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I really wish we had some lakes around me with some matted grass.  I love a good frog/toad bite.

Bobby, sent you a PM a couple days ago.  Get it?

[CWB]

Who doesn't like a good Frog bite?

I use attractant on all my soft plastics, frogs included. What good is getting that explosive hit and then the fish spits it before you reel up and hit 'em. Good read Bobby. I still have a few of the original Rats

and quite a few of Manns Swimming Frogs, which I think are among the best Frog baits ever made.

[Bobby Uhrig]

Rats and buzzbait fishing-the two most exciting ways to get a heart attack

[fivesixone]

Rats and buzzbait fishing-the two most exciting was to get a heart attack

;D ;D

I don't fish rats, but frogs and buzzbaits I'll agree on!

[Kelly J]

i have to agree with you fishing frogs in heavy cover is a quick way to scare the heck out of ya but wow is it fun...by far my favorite way to fish

[eyedabassman]

Would you fish frogs during the spawn and post spawn? This may be a stupid question,but I want to fish more frogs this year. :-[

[Bobby Uhrig]

The best time that I do frattn' Hey I just made that up-froggn/rattn- you heard it here first. anyway,the best time is right smack in the middle of summer. Those bass dig in deep under those mats of grass-look for the good green stuff/more oxygen and use a good quality frog like a Spro-You might not get a lot of fish but man they are usually good ones.

[RoLo]

Hey I just made that up-froggn/rattn- you heard it here first.

That's funny Bobby.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "Guntersville", home-of-the-rat?

Roger

[Bobby Uhrig]

Because of its massive weed beds Guntersville-is known for its rat fishing-there isnt a faster way to cover water on them-The point I really was looking to make was that rattn' really wasnt mainstreamed until Mr Pines won the Bassmasters tournament at 1000 Islands-I was won in an area called Lake Of the Isles. I learned that technique up there as well as theJohnson Silver Minnow with a trailer over the mats because the rats back then were absolutly terrible.

[little_stephen]

Frog Fishing Is My Cardio Work Out!

lol

Id kinda like to chime in a different idea...... I fish frogs of course. but my favorite off branch on the frog family tree is the toad..... I love it. fast paced. nonstop retrieves. covers tons of water! and on my home lake the water clarity blows!

SO as if a horny toad didnt kick up enough of a disturbance. I found something smart to do. two step process....

step one, chartruse or red spike it dye pen to the "legs"

step two. slip a swivel with a plastic tube on the hook shank with a tiny cloroado blade on it under the toad!

awesome profile in the water! ;D

[Bobby Uhrig]

Little Stephen- You seem to be on the right track in your approach to fishing-Absolutely- change things up-Evolve-Mutate- Thats how most of the best fishing fishing lures are designed-adaptations for original ideas. Thats how you can catch more and better quality fish. MY sayings in life "EVOLVE OR BECOME EXTINCT" and "DARE TO DREAM"

[Big Bait Fishing]

i don't use attractants on frogs , it more of a reaction strike than a slowly come up and taste it bite, like say a power worm. the bass come up and crush frogs for fear they will get away from them ,so when they hit it ,they hit it good ,usually the only time they would spit it out is if you were daydreaming and didn't see or feel the bite and didn't feel her on the line and didn't set the hook.

[Mattlures]

Bass most likely arent going to be influenced to bite a frog becuase of the Megastrike. However they should hold it longer and it will certainly increase your hookups. Lubing a frog is just like lubing a swimbait.

[Bobby Uhrig]

Frattin is a reaction strike . Rarely do I see them nip at a bait. The saying I have with froggn and rattn-when they want it-they want it-they try to crush them

[Maxximus Redneckus]

If you use a rage tail frog u dont need anything but a good heart ..these thing are amazingggggggggggggggggggggggg

[infiltwb]

Generally i've used the cabelas mad tommy toads on a 5/0 gamakatsu ewg. I have rarely had a half hearted strike at these. 9 times out of 10 they get absolutely blasted. I have found that once a frog does get hit a time or 2 and the hook just refuses to hold, i'll flip it over, rig it upside down and just let it sit on the edge of a weed bed and generally get the same reaction.

A quick shot of garlic never hurts but I haven't found it to be necessary. Frogs rule!

[RoLo]

Because of its massive weed beds Guntersville-is known for its rat fishing-there isnt a faster way to cover water on them-The point I really was looking to make was that rattn' really wasnt mainstreamed until Mr Pines won the Bassmasters tournament at 1000 Islands-I was won in an area called Lake Of the Isles. I learned that technique up there as well as theJohnson Silver Minnow with a trailer over the mats because the rats back then were absolutly terrible.

Back in the late 60s, Lake of the Isles was my favorite largemouth grounds, long before BASS held their first tournament there (Larry Nixon).

I used to lodge in Rockport, Ontario, and from there I motored 5 minutes to Hill Island at the mouth of Lake-of-the-Isles.

Bassin was so remarkable there that I rarely needed to fight with the coontail mats in Lake-of-the-Isles, on Wellesley Island.

Back then, I never saw ONE bassboat, but today they're like flies on a carcass. And so it goes :'(

Roger

[Big Bait Fishing]

If you use a rage tail frog u dont need anything but a good heart ..these thing are amazingggggggggggggggggggggggg

oh yeah, caught a 7lb.6oz toad on a green pumpkin/pearl belly rage tail toad . ( pic. of it in my sig.) these things are sweet , have to get a couple more packages this coming week !!!  

[Bobby Uhrig]

Rolo-I am a grown man of 47 years old. I have had 6 fiberglass bass boats and fished tons of tournaments in big water. Let me tell you I have never ever been so frightened than practicing for a BassMasters Tournament back in 94. We went 35 miles out to Lake Ont. smooth as glass- Then at noon the wind started -10 footers -no GPS or cell phones back then-Let me tell you 3 hours back it was scary-didnt think we were going to make it. Some of the best fishing in the country

[RoLo]

Rolo-I am a grown man of 47 years old. I have had 6 fiberglass bass boats and fished tons of tournaments in big water. Let me tell you I have never ever been so frightened than practicing for a BassMasters Tournament back in 94. We went 35 miles out to Lake Ont. smooth as glass- Then at noon the wind started -10 footers -no GPS or cell phones back then-Let me tell you 3 hours back it was scary-didnt think we were going to make it. Some of the best fishing in the country

Bob, that's the meaning of "fear" and "loneliness" that no landlubber could ever experience.

Negotiating an angry sea for hours on end, with whitewater rolling into the trough of every swell.

In the early going, I only had RDF with poor radio reception, there was no such contraption as a cellphone back then.

In my own defense, I did have an EPIRB unit : ;D

Roger