Each year for the past two decades, the famed Snag Proof Open occurs on the California Delta. It's a frog-only tournament on the fishery that helped make hollow-bodied frogs famous nationwide. The event is run by Best Bass Tournaments (BBT) and this year will be another great event. The organization typically runs several different specialty events, and this year, they are focusing solely on the Snag Proof Open, an event that has been run for more than 20 years.
Tournament Details
The tournament dates are August 5th and 6th out of Russo's Marina. The event pays out 100% and anglers can use any frog from Snag Proof or their sister company, Scum Frog. Any bait that says "frog" on the package from the two brands is an eligible lure and anything else must be stored in your boat and not brought out during the event.
There are quite a few great frogs from Snag Proof, including the Bobby's Perfect Frog and Phat Frog, but a few others are permitted. They include the Perfect Buzz, Poppin Phattie, Ultra Popper, and Wobbletron. Any of these and the Scum Frog products are good to use in the event. The rules outline precisely how you can fish them, but basically, it's to fish them right out of the package as they were intended to be fished. They cannot be weighted in any way and fished on different rigs; it's all about the topwater action in this event.
Randy Pringle is the Tournament Director and says the event is such a draw that anglers return year after year.
"This is the event that guys who stopped tournament fishing come out to fish," he said. "It's their chance to see all their old friends. It's a must for a big group of anglers who want to come out and fish a frog and try to catch the three six biggest bass; the limit is three per day. It's always a very good event and the Delta is the perfect place for an event like this."
Pringle, who also guides on the Delta, says this year should be good for frog fishing and will open up many different ways to fish a frog.
"The higher water we had this year will open it up and it won't just be fishing a frog on mats," he predicts. "There will be a lot more open-water frog fishing and guys will be able to walk them just like a big walking topwater and catch fish. There will be many more ways to do it for this year's event. I also think the popping frogs will be more of a factor."
Prizes and New Divisions
This year, the Snag Proof Open will have a few new tweaks with different divisions designed to give more anglers a chance to compete for the top prize. There are two divisions, a Pro division that requires a $210 entry fee and an Amateur division that costs roughly half as much to enter, at $110 per team.
Inside the amateur division are options for youth anglers. "The Junior division is for any angler below college age, so below 18 years old and under," said Pringle. "We also have a college division that allows anglers to compete and try to be the best college team. Both of these are within the amateur side of the event."
Payouts for the event will be 1-in-5, and each day, three big bass prizes will be awarded to the teams catching the three biggest bass. Only live bass will be allowed to be submitted for this prize.
Last year, Jamond Andrews and Harvey Pulliam won the Pro side with a two-day total of 25.02 lbs. Bill and Cliff Wentworth won the Amateur division with 23.83 lbs. Those are stout weights and the event could take even more this year.
Prizes are another standard for this great event and Pringle says the giveaways are already stacking up. "We always have ample prizes and give away a lot of stuff," he said. "Not only do we have frogs from Snag Proof and Scum Frog, but we have a lot of other things from their parent company, American Baitworks. We will be giving away tons of NetBait plastics, Halo rods, jigs, and all kinds of stuff."
The Snag Proof Open has been an extremely successful event over the years, spawning many similar tournaments across the country. The chance to throw a great frog from Snag Proof or Scum Frog non-stop for two days is a blast and happens on the world's best frog fishery, the California Delta.
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