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10.4.'09
Mr. Seewald,
I want to thank you for your tips on fishing with frogs. I live in Iowa and we
actually have pretty good bass fishing here. A friend of mine took part of his
pasture and put in a pond 4 years ago with the help of the NRCS and DNR. He
stocked it with Large Mouth Bass, Sunfish and some Catfish. It is about 5 acres
in total size. We waited and waited for 4 years now and have finally started
fishing it heavily. He originally had a jetski with a hoist next the the dock
but after ridding of the toys, he and I purchased a 16' boat and a trolling
motor, using the jetski hoist to get it out of the water.
This summer is the first year we had fished it hard. Starting out in June from
the shore, we were able to land a few 3 pounders with spinner baits. As July
came along and it got warmer, some heavy moss started setting in along the
shore. It became thicker in the shallower areas as the weather heated up and the
pond "turned" over in August. We started using topwater lures along the edges of
the moss with great luck and the spinners were still working if you could keep
the moss off them. Another friend and I went out on a Sunday and after about 20
minutes, had around 15 nice bass from 2.5 - 4 lbs. We had a nice feast and it
took less than an hour to catch and clean. I was using a buzzbait and he was on
a spinner. They would strike my buzzbait when it hit the water or within about 6
in. of its entry point. My friend had never seen anything like it.
As the moss got heavier, I purchased a frog for the first time. WOW! We were
having problems getting them to stay on but realized that we were instantly
trying to set the hook. Last weekend, I took my 4-year old daughter out and
fished from the dock. A small lump of moss was floating by and I thought I would
try something. I cast over the moss, pulled the frog up to it and hopped it over
the moss and BAM! Instead of trying to set the hook, I let it take it until he
had the slack out of my line and was able to pull him onto the dock, a nice 3.5
pounder. It is very difficult after years of fishing to try to not set your hook
on a strike but I think I can layoff if it lands the fish.
Your website article gave me some good pointers, good suggestions for
techniques and just confirmed my suspicion about why we had trouble landing fish
on a frog. I am going to try reeling down next time as this might help get more
fish in the boat. Never thought of that, thanks.
I did want to suggest another website that has seemed to help us here.
Fishingreminder.com (http://www.fishingreminder.com) uses solunar tables and
tides to suggest times that should work. It is still dependent on local weather
but when it sends me an email that says Major Times are x to x and Minor Times
are y to y, the fish seem to start biting hard within those times. It is free
and is run from a nice gentleman from New Zealand. He now has a mobile version
so if you hit it from a BlackBerry, it will not take 5 minutes to load. I have
it set to only email me when times are rated "Excellent" (3 out of 3). If we
have a High pressure system sitting around us, they also seem to bite more
frequently. So, I also have a barometer in my office and fish really seem to be
active when the pressure is above 29.5.
I wanted to include a picture of my 4-year old holding a couple of nice bass she
landed by setting a Berkley PowerBait worm on the bottom of the pond and by
using her "technique", was able to get up to the dock.
Thanks much,
Todd Vohs
Danica Vohs with
her 2-3lb'ers.
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8.7.'09
Mr Seewald,,,,thanks for writing such an informative piece on frog fishing. I
just started fishing with frogs 2 months ago, and I am addicted!! Visual
fishing...what a concept! I was having a tough time getting hooksets,,,,a real
hard time in fact. After reading your article I have changed the things I needed
to change, and now have been landing some nice fish. So thanks a lot, I found
your article informative, and fun to read. I own more frogs than the # of fish I
have caught. I fish on the Calif, Delta and I see you have had some good success
there. May I ask where you have had the good luck while on the Delta? I'm not
asking you to give away your secrets, but maybe you could point me into the
right direction..
Thanks again for the great article - GH,,,,,,,,livin' on the Delta!!!
8.8.'09
GH, Glad to help. Lately the spots that have worked for me, and others, in the
past two weeks (I was just there) has been the open areas between the slough
edge and the cheese. It also has been good all day long, not just the mornings
and the afternoons. Anywhere where there is a solo batch of tulles or brush is
key too, fish around them and don’t be afraid to throw in them. The incoming
tide is probably best overall, but all times work in the right areas. MS
8.10.'09
MS,,,,thanks again for the tips,,,,O.K, I went out Saturday morning and threw
the frogs in places I usually passed by on the way to the thick cheese up around
The Meadows. The tide was up, there is a stump en route, it has some weeds
around it so I stopped and on the first cast,,,BAM! Soon as I had it within 2'
of the stump,,,,3.2 lbs.. Good way to start! I would not have usually thrown
it there- I do now. Then I hit a stump on the edge of some tules,,,,BAM,
there was a 3.0lber......I couldn't believe it. After a couple misses I
ended up getting 3 fish on the frog that morning ( 1 more at 1.5 lbs.)
Then yesterday 2 more fish 1 -3.0 lbs., and a 2.5- In open water! More fish in 2
days than I had landed the previous month!
Thanks again!! Let me know if you are ever in need of a boat, or someone to fish
with while up here on the Delta,,,I live in Lodi,,,So the water is only 20 mins,
from my house,,,,thanks again! GH
8.12.'09
Again, glad to help GH. Will have to look you up next summer, I'll be up there
again.
Blessings, MS
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