Who doesn’t love fishing topwater frogs for bass in thick cover where blowups are the norm? Wired2fish interns Nick Dumke and Will Stanley set out on a mission to capture vicious largemouth bass live strikes in matted wild rice but also established a sweet little pattern through observation. Kick back, relax, and enjoy watching some insane eats on a hollow-body frog.
FEATURED PRODUCTS
- ROD – Cashion ICON Series Frog Rod, 7’4″ Heavy
- REEL – Daiwa Tatula 150 Casting Reel, 7.3:1
- FROG – Snag Proof Bobby’s Perfect Frog, color – Hot Mess
- FROG – Z-Man Leap FrogZ Walking Frog, color – Black Knight
- LINE – Sufix 131 Braided Line, 65-pound
As water temperatures rise, so does the vegetation. In this video, the wild rice has just begun to lay across the water surface and even started standing up in certain river areas. Nick and Will didn’t take long to discover that the bass were using pockets in the grass to ambush minnows and other prey.
Dumke stresses that a hollow-body walking frog is one of the best ways to fish wild rice in its growing stage. While wild rice can be fished with the pitching and flipping methods, the vegetation is so thick that something 100% weedless is necessary to fish clean. Both white and black colored frogs are great options for this scenario, so you and the fish can see the bait from afar.
The correct setup is vital in accomplishing everything needed from cast to catch with a frog in heavy cover. On this day, Dumke and Stanley put the 7’4″ Cashion ICON Frog Rod to the test with outstanding results. Long enough to make bomb casts but short enough to hit small pockets littered throughout the wild rice fields. Soft enough to get the most action out of the hollow-body frog but heavy enough to winch bass out of the jungle.
