# Topwater frog technique



## Pigsticker

In ponds or marshy areas give the TJ method a try. My fishing protege TJ aka Bassprentiss was having problems gauging distance on his casting as first and kept throwing his Spro frog up on the bank beyond his target. After awhile I realized he was getting bit as soon as he'd hop it into the water right next to shore. Imo pond bass position themselves facing the bankoften, just waiting on a frog go get spooked so they jump in. Then they slam em! This is particularly effective when using spinning gear because its tough to feather your landing without making a huge splash. When things are slow give it a try.


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## Scum_Frog

Its always better to throw a frog on some sort of structure ie bank, log, pads so forth before bringing it into the water for a much more realistic approach. You percentage of explosions will multiply. Goodluck


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## halfstranded

Agreed. I notice lots of people fishing for bass do the bank-bounce no matter if it is a frog lure, hula skirt thingy or what have you... I have had pretty decent luck pulling a big rubber crawdad like a frog this same fashion, even. Something good also is plopping froggy onto the edge of some floating weed and twitching him for awhile before leaving the weeds... frogs rock, i barely fish anything else, really... one thing i have caught a lot of with rubber frogs? Real frogs ! Sometimes out of nowhere i get hit by bigger frogs, they bumrush my rubber frog!
One thing i like to do in clear shallow water is let the frog rest and eyeball it. Dinks will come nibble, bluegill will inspect, and sometimes by sight I can hook larger bass when they come up, pick up the frog and give it a once over chaw before spitting it out. yay frogs !


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## bblaha

i tried this and had no luck, its not as easy as i thought it would be


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## Scum_Frog

did u try it recently?? frog bite is slim to none right now due to the weather and colder water.....early june til beginning of september is frog time. what sort of frog are you using and have u not had any explosions?


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## jason_0545

my fav frog is scumfrog bigfoot have caught ones in the muck cattails lillypads and also where theres basically no structure present but gotta be patient as when i first started using it i was hooking up with about 3 of every 10 hits and even watched on jump outta the water hitting it and clearly watched as i set the hook(what i like to call impatient fisherman syndrome) the frog fly right outta the fishes mouth


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## Bassbme

I'm with everyone else.... I love fishing frogs !!! It's like all the articles say though...... you have to wait on the fish after the strike. I remember when I first started fishing them I thought the articles were crazy. I figured the fish would spit the lure right away, and if I waited, I'd miss the fish. But they don't. Heck I've had them take it and start swimming away with it. One thing that has helped me is using a color of frog that is easier to see. I want to be able to see if the bait is sitting there after the initial explosion, or swirl. If I don't see the bait, I set the hook. That little time it takes for me to see if the bait is still there has helped my hook up percentage a ton. And no offense to the original poster....... but I don't know if I would use spinning tackle for fishing frogs. I'd hate to lose the fish of a life time because my tackle was too light.


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## LilSiman/Medina

I stopped fishing frogs and started fishing lizards in the same fashion. A texas rigged lizzard with a small bullet weight or no bullet weight works the best. Thrown onto shore, pulled into the water then pulled along the surface. Had my first hit this year in the beginning of April, it was one of the best topwater hit's I've ever had. 

I just started my buzzbaits again in shallow water at ponds with barely any shore access because of cat tails or logs.


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## 10fish

This style also works well fishing spoons near or under a bridge. Just cast out and bang the spoon off the cement on the brdge and hold on. 

For frogs I like to do the above and also to bring the frog on top of the pads not just around them. When I get one on a pad I just let it sit for a bit maybe twitch the frog but not enough to pull it off the pad. Then I pull it off the pad hard like the frog is making a move to the next pad. Had many big bass hit as soon as I "hop" it off the pad. 

Nothing like top water fishing!


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## JSykes3

10fish said:


> For frogs I like to do the above and also to bring the frog on top of the pads not just around them. When I get one on a pad I just let it sit for a bit maybe twitch the frog but not enough to pull it off the pad. Then I pull it off the pad hard like the frog is making a move to the next pad. Had many big bass hit as soon as I "hop" it off the pad.


I love doing this.


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## jonnythfisherteen2

i never had one bit of luck with topwater frogs 
i have a scumfrog popper.


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## 10fish

jonnythfisherteen2 said:


> i never had one bit of luck with topwater frogs
> i have a scumfrog popper.


Patience is the key with most top water lures. Use some of the tips shared here and I believe you will find success. Once you start catching using top water frogs or poppers I am sure you will get "hooked" on it.

Cast out into the "crap" and let the lure set long enough for the water rings to dissipate ( spelling..) then wait, then wait, then when your heart starts beating fast WAIT again. Trust me the bass are creeping slowly in to check it out. Now pop or twitch the frog just a bit and wait twitch wait and then IT happens a big swirl of water NOW WAIT UNTIL YOU FEEL THE FISH and set the hook. 

Top Water is the BEST fishing IMHO , I have never ever wondered if I have a bite when top water fishing, they most often hammer it.


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## JSykes3

Got this one on a frog today, missed many more including a 20+ incher.
Was disappointed at first but got over it. It happens with frogs.


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## Pigsticker

Bassbme said:


> I'm with everyone else.... I love fishing frogs !!! It's like all the articles say though...... you have to wait on the fish after the strike. I remember when I first started fishing them I thought the articles were crazy. I figured the fish would spit the lure right away, and if I waited, I'd miss the fish. But they don't. Heck I've had them take it and start swimming away with it. One thing that has helped me is using a color of frog that is easier to see. I want to be able to see if the bait is sitting there after the initial explosion, or swirl. If I don't see the bait, I set the hook. That little time it takes for me to see if the bait is still there has helped my hook up percentage a ton. And no offense to the original poster....... but I don't know if I would use spinning tackle for fishing frogs. I'd hate to lose the fish of a life time because my tackle was too light.


I never said it was light spinning tackle. I just watched Roland Martin pulling out 30lb Redfish outta slop and muck 3' deep just like when frogging using spinning tackle. No Ohio bass is gonna put as much pressure on your tackle as one of those will.


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## Bassbme

Pigsticker said:


> I never said it was light spinning tackle. I just watched Roland Martin pulling out 30lb Redfish outta slop and muck 3' deep just like when frogging using spinning tackle. No Ohio bass is gonna put as much pressure on your tackle as one of those will.


I meant no disrespect with my post. If spinning tackle is all someone has to use, then by all means they should use it. It's not a slam against spinning tackle. I'm just saying that it if it were me, and I had a choice, I wouldn't use spinning tackle. It's not just the power of the rod or the lb test line I am talking about when I say light. I know you can get heavy power spinning rods, and when using braid you can use heavy line that casts good on a spinning reel. Spinning reels just don't have the power of a bait casting reel. It's just that simple. When I fish frogs I'm fishing them over heavy weeds. I want to get the fish up and skiing across the top of the weeds as fast as I can, and you just can't do that with spinning tackle. After you get the fish to open water, spinning tackle and bait casting tackle are pretty equal. But before you get that 3 or 4 lber to open water, give me a bait caster any day.


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## Scum_Frog

I am with u bassbme......when throwing a frog into cover its a lot easier too flip the frog softly into a covered area without making much of a racket....between the two in open water you're right they are equal.....forcing a pig up on top of the surface is 100x easier without a doubt using a baitcaster.....but if you're a spinning gear user....by all means use what u got and throw some topwater!!!!!


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## Pigsticker

Oh i agree baitcasters are far superior in heavy cover to spinning gear. The spool being sideways like a winch definetely gives it more power while still being solid in the hand. Sometimes when using spinning tackle and you have on a heavy fish or reeling in a log the reel can feel like its coming apart at the seat and baitcasters dont have this feeling imo. But spinning tackle can be done.


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