Plenty of professional anglers love throwing a frog, and there are anglers like Louisiana's Cliff Crochet. He's a frog fanatic and it's his favorite way to catch a bass and one of the techniques he has the most confidence in. He throws them everywhere and has a system designed to be more efficient with them on the water.
Crochet also looks for non-traditional situations to throw them and isn't bound to just fishing them on top of vegetation. For this article, he shared some of his biggest tips for catching more fish on frogs, just in time for the prime froggin' season.
Froggin' the shad and bluegill spawns
Most anglers associate frog fishing with aquatic vegetation, but they are two of Crochet's top options for targeting bass feeding on spawning shad and bluegill.
"The deal with a frog is mostly about where you can put the bait," Crochet began. "If I'm fishing a shad spawn and the fish are blowing up on a point in open water, I will use a walking topwater bait. But, if the shad are spawning under docks or around bushes, a frog will be the way to go because it can get there easier."
His frog and color choice for these situations is a Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog in the all-white Alabaster color to get as close as possible to matching the hatch. He'll also fish his frog a little differently than usual.
"You can be much more aggressive with it when they are actively feeding," he said. "I fish it fast and work it hard when looking for fish. But if I see one fish blow up, I'll make a cast to it, slow it down, walk it in place, and talk that fish into biting it."
Around the bluegill spawn, Crochet says the same frog in a bluegill-imitating pattern is hard to beat, especially when he hears or sees something specific.
"You'll hear that sucking sound in the grass and that's the sound of bluegill that are spawning," he said. "You'll also fish your frog around and start seeing little groups of bluegill following your bait. That's how you know it's time."
Picking the right frog and gear
There are many different frogs to choose from and just like he does with a crankbait, Crochet picks a frog based on what he plans to do with it. Two of his top frogs are the Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect and the Phat Frog.
"I heard Bobby Barrack talk about this on a video recently and he's spot on with the way that I choose between the two," said Crochet. "The Phat Frog skips better because of how flat it is, so I'm using that anytime I'm skipping a frog way under a tree or dock. The Bobby's Perfect is a great all-around bait for open water or fishing around grass."
Braided line is a must for froggin' and Crochet will use between 50 and 80-pound test KastKing Hammer braid. He adjusts his sizes based on what he's doing but also knows that not everyone will have multiple sizes on hand.
"If I only had to pick one, it would be 50-pound because you can use it for so many more techniques," he said. "It will allow you to make longer casts than heavier braid because it's thinner. It's my choice when making long-distance casts with a frog."
That said, he's also a fan of 80-pound braid for different reasons. "It's obviously super strong and has zero stretch, but it's also much easier to fix if you get a backlash, which will happen," he said. "It's a lot easier to fix one when you have rope compared to sewing thread and you can get back to fishing much faster."
For rods and reels, Crochet has things dialed in for a specific purpose, going with a KastKing Spirale rod, a 7-foot, 3-inch heavy model and a KastKing Deadbolt reel.
"I had a lot of input on the design of that reel and it has no star drag so that you can get a true lock-down drag," he said. "With frog fishing and big line, you don't risk losing fish from your drag slipping on the hookset. The rod has the perfect amount of tip for accurate casting and working a frog, but still, enough backbone to drive the hook home."
Crochet fishes a frog as much as he can and over the years, he's learned just how versatile they can be. He can consistently catch more bass with a frog by picking the right frog for the job and having the correct gear.
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