When you mention frog fishing, the traditional hollow frog with skirt material for legs is the image most commonly conjured. This tried-and-true bait certainly merits its go-to status, but a little variety goes a long way when you’re trying to entice tough fish to bite or if you’re simply trying to extend a fading rally.
Some, like the Optimum Furbit, use strips of rabbit hide for a rippling, swimming appearance. Also, the Furbit employs a Colorado blade suspended from below the body to add some fish-attracting flash and thump. (With a little tinkering, you can enhance your favorite frog with a similar blade accent.)
For diverse action, you’ll want to keep several popping frogs handy for chugging and spitting water in open areas. This is especially productive for schooling bass.
Also, carry frogs with molded plastic legs, as this kicking design gives a different look than the softer swimming look of multi-strand skirts or rabbit fur.
Another point to note is that a frog doesn’t have to look like a frog to deliver similar results.
Hollow-bodied rats, oversized tadpoles and even fish shapes can be presented the same way you’d fish your traditional frog. The Picasso Shad Walker, for example, blends the concept of a hollow-bodied frog with a shad-shaped bait bearing a double frog hook.
As far as the general frog form, sometimes you may have the right color and the right design, but the fish may be dialed in on a particular forage size. That’s when it’s helpful to have multiple sizes of your hot color. This may require a selection of brands and some subtle design differences, but the ability to show fish a bigger or smaller version of the color they like can prove very strategic.
Finally, don’t hesitate to intersperse your hollow frog presentations with some soft-plastic buzz toad casts. Rigged weedless on a wide-gap hook, these baits swim with frantic leg-kicking action that can really irritate an otherwise non-committal fish.
Keep in mind that, however, that whereas a hollow frog floats, the old toad sinks in open water. Pausing a toad sends it to the bottom.
Use these dissimilar presentations to your advantage by playing them off one another. Specifically, if a bass blows up on a buzz toad and misses as it passes an open “window” in heavy cover, follow that cast with a hollow frog and pause the bait when it reaches the danger zone. Make that hot bass stare at the target for as long as you can stand it, and expect carnage the moment you twitch it.
On the flipside, if a fish blows up on a hollow frog that walks and wiggles across the weeds, he may prove hesitant to make a return shot.
However, the sputtering look of a buzz toad is much more intrusive, so that might push your bass over the edge. If not, kill the bait over the strike zone and let it fall. A tentative bass might feel better about grabbing a toad that appears wounded.
Options are many, so stock your box with several types of frogs (and toads) and experiment until you dial in what the fish like on a given day.
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