California Delta anglers would jump at the opportunity of fooling a big tournament-winning fish, and at the upcoming Snag Proof Open, that pun will take a little more than a cast-and-twitch strategy.
For this objective, we’ll outline several strategic points and incorporate the sage insights of Bassmaster Elite Series pro Ish Monroe, whose namesake PHAT Frog will, no doubt, see plenty of action during this event. Monroe’s experience fishing frogs all over the country has honed his amphibian acumen to a sharpness rivaling those twin Gamakatsu hooks.
For those interested in notching up their frog game, here’s a handful of pointers.
Click for Next Round of Frog Tips with Ish
Break N Shake: His Phat Frog comes with a glass rattle chamber, but when he needs to give the fish a bigger dinner bell, Monroe will locate the rattle inside the bait, hold it between his fingers and then use his pliers to crush the glass container. More pieces equals more sound.
“You can hear it go from one rattle (sound) to several different rattles with all that broken glass and the bead,” he said. “The (crushed) rattle is never going to fall out because it’s built into the body when they pour it into the mold.”
Other sound-enhancements:
- Temporarily remove the frog’s legs and shove rattle chambers or loose BB’s into the body and then replace the legs.
- Add a jig rattle to each shank of the double frog hook. (Make sure the additions hang below the shanks to prevent impeded hookups.)
- Hang spinner blades from the hook shanks to add thump (as well as flash).
Look at Those Legs: A frog’s legs greatly influence its walking action, so if you’re getting too much drag in open water, trimming the tips will help liberate your bait. Even cuts are fine, but if you want to spice up the look, trim one side about 1/2-inch shorter than the other and the drag disparity gives your frog a limping saunter that can generate those aggressive feeding strikes from opportunistic predators.
Now, to the contrary, Monroe finds a full set of legs advantageous when fishing weed mats, because the more profile a bass can see, the easier it is to grab the prey. Limited visibility caused by darker water and habitat obscurity often finds bass missing the frog’s body, but if they get a grip on leg strands, they can suck in the bait.
“I really like the full legs when the fish are in mats because they can find the legs and they can suck that bait in,” he said. “So you have to give them that extra second of pause.”
Heavy Hitters: Similarly, adding lead BBs will make a frog heavier for a twofold benefit. First, increasing weight increases casting distance — a benefit in high visibility and/or pressured areas.
Also, the more a frog weighs, the more it displaces vegetation and the deeper it sinks. This allows bass to better track the bait across thick canopies and, frogs that sit lower in the vegetation, are more easily reached.
More frog mods from Snag Proof pro Mark Daniels Jr.
The Original Frog Only Tournament is coming!
August 6th & 7th, 2016
The 15th Annual Snag Proof Open will blast off from Russo's Marina.
Sign up by June 30th at get a free breakfast burrito and coffee.
Pro Teams - $200 entry with all options (all in $290)
Semi Pro - $100 entry with all options (all in $190)
Big Fish - $20 - $10 option - $20 option - $30 option
Event Info: HERE
Entry Form here: PAY ONLINE
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