Topwater frogs are among my favorite bass baits to throw this time of year, and I’m not alone here. Anglers throughout the country stock up on frogs during the summer in order to capitalize on their efficiency at drawing explosive strikes.
Where are the best spots to fish topwater frogs to maximize their effectiveness? Here are four ideal places to begin your hunt for big bass with a topwater frog lure.
Find That Shade
In the heat of the summer, I’d start out by finding areas where there’s shade created by low hanging branches and bushes extend out into the water, such as willow trees and bushes hanging over steep banks. Having a shade line also gives bass cover for ambushing prey, especially when the sun is high.
Work Those Docks
Any boat docks you come across are likely to be prime overhead cover for summer bass. Here, you’ll want to target underneath these floating structures, specifically hitting the shadows with your frog. When I’m fishing a dock, I typically try to skip my frog under it, targeting as close to where the dock meets the bank as possible. Then, I’ll bring the frog back to me along the length of the dock, keeping it in the shade and walking it with a side-to-side action the whole way.
Choppin’ Veggies
Slop, cabbage, “thick stuff”—whatever you call it, any time you find grass mats, weeds, or a layer of slimy muck on the surface, it’s an ideal opportunity to throw a frog. This is because when the mat gets thick enough, it blocks the sun and grass beneath dies off, leaving open areas for bass to hunt. Lily pads are famous frog locations, as well, and where there are pads, I like to slowly creep my frog along the top, pausing it for a few seconds in any open spots along the way.
Minor Tweaks
Frogs are very well-designed baits, but that doesn’t mean a few tweaks here and there won’t make them even more effective at catching fish. One thing I’ll usually do to my frog baits is bend the hooks outward a little. Fresh out of the package, the hooks on most frogs are flush with the bait’s body, causing a lot of missed fish. Bending them out a little will increase your hook-ups significantly. I’ll also trim the frog’s legs, which is an absolute must for a lot of anglers. Usually an inch or so off the end, cut at an angle, is ideal.
