Throwing frogs over deep cover in the summer is the best topwater action. You’ll catch more fish when you choose the appropriate frog fishing setup. So, topwater rod and reel setup for frog fishing are very important.
A wrong setup can be terrible. Working a frog through matted grass or thick lilies requires different gear than other topwater lures. It takes a lot of precision to cast these lures into a cover where a large bass may hide in ambush.
However, once a fish is hooked, it is also important to land it. Once caught, bass will run right through the cover. Enormous, thick weed beds or even large lily pads are examples. This should be no problem with your frog tackle. A lightweight setup or presenting a worm on a rig isn’t cut. Let’s see it now!
Best Frog Fishing Rod Setup
One of the essential elements of your setup is the rod. The fact is that frog lures have two huge hooks, and it takes a lot of energy to push the hook points into the stiff jaw of the bass. This is particularly true if you’re casting long distances and get a bite 30 or 40 feet away. To put the hook far enough away, you’ll need enough backbone.
Furthermore, this approach is typically utilized in or near dense cover, and if you hook a giant fish in these conditions, you’ll need a lot of power to get the fish away from all potential entanglement points. As a result, lightweight finesse rods have no place for this technique.
What Kind Of Rod Should You Use For Frog Fishing?
Baitcasting or spinning rods are important for topwater? A baitcasting rod is ideal for frog fishing. Compared to spinning rods, baitcasting rods offer superior casting accuracy, which is incredibly handy if you attempt to position your lure in an exact area near cover. This might be a lily pad, a log in the water, or any other bass-attracting structure.
However, it would be best to have exceptionally great casting accuracy to hit those areas. Casting rods offer better casting distance in addition to precision, which is an essential consideration if you’re fishing in vast shallow lakes with wide grass flats or lily pad fields.
What Are The Best Frog Fishing Rod Length, Action, And Power?
Fast action is the ideal action for frog rods. A fast action rod features a soft tip with a firm backbone, which you need for strolling and popping your frog on the water’s surface. When you master this technique, you’ll be able to twitch your lure back and forth in one location without recovering it, which is ideal for staying as long as possible inside the striking zone.
However, although a soft tip is necessary for the optimum lure motion, the remainder of the pole should be as firm as possible to put those enormous hooks in a stiff bass jaw (sometimes at a long distance). You should avoid choosing a moderate-action rod, as these rods bend down to the center.
Heavy power is ideal for frog rods because you need a solid backbone to set those huge hooks and keep big fish held down before diving under the cover they came out of to catch your bait. In addition, if the fish becomes entangled, a strong power rod can assist you in extracting it together with the plants wrapped around it. Landing a 4 – 5-pound fish with 10 pounds of weeds is usual.
Frog rods should be 7’1″ to 7’5″ in length. A longer rod is required because it provides you more leverage when you need to set that hook at 30 or 40 feet distance, and it also comes in helpful for moving a large bass away from cover as quickly as possible. A longer pole can also cast further, which helps cast on large grass flats. Depending on your height, you may wish to select a little shorter or longer length.
Best Frog Fishing Reel Setup
A good frog fishing reel is also essential. This approach necessitates a lot of force, which is where baitcasting reels shine, as they perform excellently with thick, heavy braided lines and can easily cast large lures. This is ideal for this style of fishing, as 1/2 ounce lures are typically cast on 50 or 65-lb test braid. Make sure you acquire a baitcasting reel with many aluminum parts when shopping.
It should ideally have an aluminum frame and aluminum side plates. The reason is that this approach necessitates setting the hook with considerable force to drive home the large hooks, and graphite reels might warp as a result of this strain, but aluminum reels do not.
Related Post: Best Baitcasting Reel For Frog Fishing: 6 Top Picks
Can You Use Topwater Rod And Reel Setup For Frog Fishing With A Spinning Reel?
A spinning reel setup may be used to catch frogs, but it lacks the power of a baitcasting rod and reel. And you’ll need powerful frog fishing gear to get massive bass out of dense cover. Spinning reels are best employed for delicate applications for frog fishing, which isn’t the case with frogs.
What Is The Perfect Gear Ratio For Frog Fishing?
For frog fishing, the optimal gear ratio is 7.5:1 to 8.0:1. Because you need to pick up your slack as quickly as possible when a bass grabs your bait so you can place the hook, it’s critical to acquire a reel with a high-speed retrieve rate. A high-speed reel will let you accomplish this quickly enough to place the hook successfully.
A high-speed reel also enables you to burn your bait back to the boat as quickly as possible so you can perform another cast. This is useful when you receive a brief strike 30 or 40 feet out from the boat and want to immediately cast your lure back into the exact location to target the same fish.
Best Line For Frog Fishing
For frog fishing, a braided line is a way to go. Because the braided line floats on the water, ideal for this topwater technique. Furthermore, the braid has no stretch, which is highly useful for setting the hook when a bass bites your lure a great distance out from the boat or when you need to draw it away from lily pads or other covers. You may also connect a monofilament leader to your braid mainline if you’re fishing in clear water and fear the braid might be too apparent for the fish. Most anglers tie the braid to the frog and catch much good fish.
A 65 lb test braided line is the most excellent size for frog fishing, and it’s perfect for fishing under heavy cover. However, if you’re fishing in somewhat open water with sparse cover, a 50 lb test braid would suffice, and it will also throw better than the 65 lb test. Note that this technique was created for fishing in areas with a lot of vegetation, and when you catch big bass in these areas, it will always want to dive into the thickest portion. As a result, your ultralight fishing setup must be capable of bringing in that fish while supporting an extra 10 to 20 pounds of plant material wrapped around it.
The Best Lure For Frog Fishing
There are hollow bodies, types of crankbaits, Tiger Muskie Baits, and popper lures for frog fishing. The hollow body is likely to be the preferred option. Notice that these will usually float, but squeeze it to release any water from the soft body if it loses buoyancy after a few throws.
Conclusion
Frog fishing is one of the most entertaining ways to capture bass in the summer. However, to be successful with this strategy, you can lose a lot of fish without the proper setup. So a perfect setup of a baitcasting rod and reel with a match-size braid fishing line can help you attract a lot of excellent fish. I hope the topwater rod and reel setups for frog fishing article are helpful for you.
