Frogs are without a doubt one of the most fun and exciting bass lures you can use.
They give you heart stopping blowups, can be fished through absolutely anything, and have big bass upside.
But with any lure, you can’t effectively use frogs anytime and anywhere. You need to know when to fish frogs for bass.
Frogs are my favorite bass lure, so I start using a frog as soon as I possibly can.
As soon as the bass start spawning, I start throwing a frog. Now, I am not exactly targeting the spawning bass with a frog.
But not all of the bass in a pond or lake will actually spawn. These other bass will be active and hungry enough because of the higher water temperatures that they will destroy a hollow-body frog.
Speaking of water temperature, I start fishing frogs as soon as the water reaches 60 degrees fahrenheit.
Here in Virginia, that takes place in about mid April. In the southern states, water will reach 60 degrees a few weeks earlier, and in northern states, a few weeks later.
All throughout the summer months, a frog should be heavily in your rotation.
The tons of vegetation and warm water temps combine to make perfect frog fishing conditions and make the best topwater lure for summer.
And because a frog can be used to mimic all sorts of bass forage, you have a lot more freedom to fish it all summer and even into the early fall months.
To be honest, a frog can work from sun up to sun down. However, I avoid the mid day hours when I am frog fishing in clear, summer water.
The high sun tends to be a bit too much for summer time bass, causing them to stay a bit too deep or a bit too far under cover.
But in the spring and late summer months, all hours of sunlight are frog fishing hours.
And even in the mid summer, if you can find creeks or shallow banks that are in the shade, frogs will still work very well.
Frogs are not the most aggressive, loud, or obnoxious topwater lures. So the ideal weather temperatures are calm, warm days.
They can’t call in bass as well when there is lots of chop on the water. And rainy weather completely drowns out their sound and visual attraction.
A calm day is perfect. It doesn’t matter if it is overcast, partly cloudy, or blue bird skies.
As long as there isn’t much wind and there is no rain, frogs will work great.
Frogs are shallow water lures. It’s as simple as that.
This is the case for pretty much all topwater lures, but is especially true of hollow-body frogs because they are quieter, more subtle topwaters.
They don’t have the ability to call bass in from deeper water like other topwaters can.
Keep your frogs within 10 ft of water and closer to the bank.
Lily pads, reeds, algae, pond scum, mats; these are the types of places that made frogs popular.
The frog’s ability come over top of the thickest vegetation without getting hung up at all is what sets it apart from other lures.
During the warm months of the year, bass love to hide up under vegetation to get out of the hot sun and ambush prey.
There is no better lure for fishing this type of cover than a hollow-body frog.
This might seem a bit contradictory to what I just explained, but yes, frogs are great for fishing open water.
Especially popping frogs which have more sound and drawing power.
By “open water”, I am not talking about deep, 20 ft areas targeting suspended or schooling bass.
What I mean is shallow, open water. As long as you remain shallow, you don’t need to fish the frogs close to vegetation or other cover.
Because frogs also mimic shad, bluegill, birds, and other forage, they still work in open water when bass are very active.
Also Read: Best Frog Colors for Bass Fishing
Seasonal Timing: Start using frogs early in the year around the spawning season and continue throughout the summer when warm water temperatures create optimal conditions.
Time of Day: While frogs can be used throughout the day, focus on early mornings, late afternoons, and shaded areas during midday hours in clear, summer water.
Weather Conditions: Calm, warm days with minimal wind and no rain provide the ideal setting for frog fishing, allowing their sound and visual attraction to work effectively.
Preferred Locations: Target shallow water areas within 10 feet of the bank, especially those with dense vegetation like lily pads, reeds, and algae. However, frogs can also be successful in open water as long as it remains shallow.
In conclusion, frogs stand out as one of the most exhilarating and effective bass lures available to anglers.
There are also plenty of great hollow body frog modifications that can elevate your game even more.
Their ability to elicit heart-stopping strikes, navigate through dense cover effortlessly, and attract big bass make them a staple in any angler’s arsenal.
However, mastering the art of frog fishing requires an understanding of when, where, and how to use them effectively.
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