By Paul Tyre
Frog fishing is one of the most exciting ways to catch the largemouth bass that ambush feed in grass-choked reservoirs of the South. Lake Seminole, on the Florida/Georgia border, is one of the best frog-fishing lakes in the country. If you ever get the chance to visit Seminole, do it. In the meantime, maybe these tips and techniques will help on your local grass mats.
My favorite hollow-body frogs are the Spro Bronzeye series. Spro Bronzeye frogs are built around a Gamakatsu EWG double hook that is very strong and sticky sharp, which is needed for getting big bass out of heavy cover. They come three styles: Bronzeye Frog, Bronzeye POP and Bronzeye Shad. Each has a unique action that works great under different circumstances.
The Bronzeye Frog 65 has a pointed nose that can be worked over and through the heaviest cover or in open water. It’s the frog I choose for covering water to find concentrations of bass under grass mats. As the grass starts to die under mats, it creates open pockets and perfect frogging conditions. When fishing a Bronzeye Frog 65, heavy braided line is a must. My choice is Cortland Master Braid for its durability and strength. I also prefer a high speed reel, at least 7:3:1 gear ratio mounted on a 7-foot, 2-inch to 7-foot, 6-inch heavy action rod with a fast tip and a lot of backbone to haul big bass out of cover.
Make long casts across a flat and work the frog with a fast hopping action. Expect a blowup! This is a great technique for covering large expanses to find out where fish are holding. When you get a strike, be sure to pause before setting the hook. Also, when a missed strike occurs, reel the bait in as fast as possible and cast back past where the strike occurred. Work the frog slowly with slight twitches to move it side to side but not forward. The bass should key in on the bait and strike again.
The Bronzeye Pop 60 has incredible attention-drawing power. Its concave nose allows you to fish slower with a popping of the rod tip. The frog remains in the strike zone longer and generates explosive strikes. Fish this frog around all types of cover from laydowns to docks, to grass lines and holes in grass beds. I prefer a 7-foot to 7-foot, 3-inch heavy action rod with a fast tip and a high-speed reel with 50- to 65-pound braided line, depending on the cover
I’m fishing.
The Bronzeye Spit Shad 65 has a spitting and gliding action. It can be fished anywhere you would want to throw a hard bait but can’t due to hang-ups. I fish lily pad fields with this bait. It comes through pads very well and allows faster fishing to cover more water.
Contact Paul Tyre, of Lake Seminole Fishing Adventures, at (850) 264-7534, e-mail paultyrefishing@yahoo.com and follow him on Facebook @paultyrefishing.