Northwest Fishing Reports

WATER: heavily stained
VEGETATION: pads, reeds and other vegatation like you wouldnt believe


we just had an awesome day on topwater. we boated an excess of 10+ lbs of fish just on topwater alone.

as many as we boated, we lost the same amount in weight... but thats fishing. we had another which was about 5+ lbs totally miss the bait.

:king:

we are going back next week for sure.

we have alot of ground to cover, and i will have a buzzbait following my every step. last trip i threw a jitterbug and boated about 5+ lbs alone, the buzzbait that followed me had the bigger fish. it was an awesome time on top water. the only downfall was the jitterbug could not cover all the ground i wanted, it could not go where the buzzbait could go.

please note we work in tandem, and fish in a matter than benifits both people.

im looking to throw a faster and more weedless bait than the jitterbug. im thinking a weedless frog should do the trick. keep in mind our goal is to cover alot of ground in very little time.

water is heavily stained and there are weed growth everywhere. we were so much on a high on the fishing trip, that we only threw a followup bait once. ha - dumbasses. we only threw it after the big one missed the bait.

what would be 2 ideal followup baits for this heavily stained water. we will be throwing a senko type bait but we dont want to be throwing the same bait.

there are bruisers in this lake, and we are destined to find them

thanks

i like to throw a white frog, then follow it up by burning a white spinnerbait. obviously it doesnt work in super heavy weeds, but if you keep it up it will pull through the tops of most weeds and create a ton of commotion, especially if you rip it out of the weed tops as you go. i use a 3/8 ounce with double willow blades for maximum speed.

also i've moved to throwing a frog much more than a buzzbait this year. if you think a buzzbait can go where a jitterbug can not, well a frog can go where a buzzbait can not. i've caught some bass in slop so thick that i dont think i would have sunk in if i jumped onto it. no way you can pull a buzzbait through that and have it work, much less not get snagged, but a frog pulls right through and as long as there's little pockets of water, it will draw strikes. i use buzzbaits sometimes for slop edges or weed beds where the tops are just under the water, but for the true nasty stuff frogs are the only way to go. i also think they work just as well as a buzzbait in most situations anyways, plus you can kill them and twitch them if you need to.

Nik wrote:i like to throw a white frog, then follow it up by burning a white spinnerbait. obviously it doesnt work in super heavy weeds, but if you keep it up it will pull through the tops of most weeds and create a ton of commotion, especially if you rip it out of the weed tops as you go. i use a 3/8 ounce with double willow blades for maximum speed.

also i've moved to throwing a frog much more than a buzzbait this year. if you think a buzzbait can go where a jitterbug can not, well a frog can go where a buzzbait can not. i've caught some bass in slop so thick that i dont think i would have sunk in if i jumped onto it. no way you can pull a buzzbait through that and have it work, much less not get snagged, but a frog pulls right through and as long as there's little pockets of water, it will draw strikes. i use buzzbaits sometimes for slop edges or weed beds where the tops are just under the water, but for the true nasty stuff frogs are the only way to go. i also think they work just as well as a buzzbait in most situations anyways, plus you can kill them and twitch them if you need to.

interesting

:king:

i like how you kept the color consistent, but as you changed followup baits your strike zone / water depth changed.

how has your success been with the frog this year? we only threw it a few times last year and have had moderate success.

have you tried putting rattles in your frogs for added weight and noise attraction?

well for me that's the key to a follow up bait, changing the presentation slightly. if you're going to throw the same color at the same depth, you might as well throw the same bait again right? i try to keep the bait looking similar, but change the depth or speed or vibration slightly. for instance if i was throwing a bass colored spook and had a missed strike, i would throw back a bass colored soft jerkbait and twitch it right where i had the strike.

as far as frogs, i would say i've had a pretty successful year on them. looking at my fishing log, i count 5 fish over 2 lbs on frogs this year. when i throw a frog, it's weightless, rigged with a 3/0 wide gap hook. as far as the noise attraction, i leave that up to the action of the frog, and there are definitely some frogs that work better than others. my personal favorite is the Zoom Horny Toad.

Nik wrote:well for me that's the key to a follow up bait, changing the presentation slightly. if you're going to throw the same color at the same depth, you might as well throw the same bait again right? i try to keep the bait looking similar, but change the depth or speed or vibration slightly. for instance if i was throwing a bass colored spook and had a missed strike, i would throw back a bass colored soft jerkbait and twitch it right where i had the strike.

as far as frogs, i would say i've had a pretty successful year on them. looking at my fishing log, i count 5 fish over 2 lbs on frogs this year. when i throw a frog, it's weightless, rigged with a 3/0 wide gap hook. as far as the noise attraction, i leave that up to the action of the frog, and there are definitely some frogs that work better than others. my personal favorite is the Zoom Horny Toad.

we had an awesome day on topwater. in total of less than 1 hour of topwater we had 5 strikes, 2 takedowns, 2 hooksets, 1 fight... and 1 experience we will never forget.

though none of the followup baits produced.

:king:

next time we are going to throw a fast paced topwater, as well as a slow moving one.

I love throwing frogs. For years I used a standard ScumFrog, but this year I started throwing a Trophy ScumFrog and love its action more and the way it sits when dead sticking is awesome. Haven't threw the SPRO Frog, yet, but think it may be similar just more $$$. I usually start off throwing white because it gives me better visibility, don't really think the fish care about the color that much. I have 7 bass this year over 5 pounds in my diary that have fallen prey to my frogs.

As far as a follow-up bait, sometimes the frog is used as my follow-up when searching with a spinnerbait in loose pads. When I use the frog for a search bait because of thick weeds, I like to use a soft plastic worm that resembles a frog or buzz frog, but I will definitely use a different color. Often I will use a large 7 1/2 inch plastic worm as a follow-up bait, also.

Concerning color selection: My personal thinking is that a bass in the jungle reacts to motion more than sight so I pick colors that are easier for me to see. Afterall, how many times have we seen bass come over the tops of the weeds to pounce when there was no possible way they can see the lure?

cavdad45 wrote: I love throwing frogs. For years I used a standard ScumFrog, but this year I started throwing a Trophy ScumFrog and love its action more and the way it sits when dead sticking is awesome. Haven't threw the SPRO Frog, yet, but think it may be similar just more $$$. I usually start off throwing white because it gives me better visibility, don't really think the fish care about the color that much. I have 7 bass this year over 5 pounds in my diary that have fallen prey to my frogs.

As far as a follow-up bait, sometimes the frog is used as my follow-up when searching with a spinnerbait in loose pads. When I use the frog for a search bait because of thick weeds, I like to use a soft plastic worm that resembles a frog or buzz frog, but I will definitely use a different color. Often I will use a large 7 1/2 inch plastic worm as a follow-up bait, also.

Concerning color selection: My personal thinking is that a bass in the jungle reacts to motion more than sight so I pick colors that are easier for me to see. Afterall, how many times have we seen bass come over the tops of the weeds to pounce when there was no possible way they can see the lure?

i havent had much success on a frog myself, though my buddies have. it is rare we throw the same bait at the same time, unless its a spinnerbait.

do you throw that worm with a weight? if so, how heavy is the weight.

:king:

i might go back to worms as a followup bait.

If I follow up with a YUM BuzzFrog it is weightless and rigged on one of those big Zoom hooks. The worm is usually a standard Texas-rigged 7 1/2" Culprit with a 3/16oz pegged weight. I use the weight because I lose distance and accuracy when trying to cast a weightless worm with baitcasting equipment. It also helps the worm get below the vegetation better. Pegged weights are also my preference for detecting bites.

The only time I really go weightless with a plastic worm is in more open vegetation that allows me to use spinning gear.

You said that you haven't done well with frogs. I believe it's not a magic bait, but just one more piece of a bass fishing arsenal. Like many other types of bass fishing it takes time, dedication, and practice in order to build confidence. For instance, I see all over this website guys dropshotting. I suck at it, but I am working hard to develop that skill. Actually I suck at most finesse fishing skills and have built my confidence on power fishing and larger lures. I do however spend time working on these other aspects to become a better bass fisherfman.

Just take time practicing with the frog. It's alot of fun once you start making it pay. Topwater fishing is the pinnacle of bass fishing excitement!! In the thick weeds its heart-stopping thrills!!

cavdad45 wrote:If I follow up with a YUM BuzzFrog it is weightless and rigged on one of those big Zoom hooks. The worm is usually a standard Texas-rigged 7 1/2" Culprit with a 3/16oz pegged weight. I use the weight because I lose distance and accuracy when trying to cast a weightless worm with baitcasting equipment. It also helps the worm get below the vegetation better. Pegged weights are also my preference for detecting bites.

The only time I really go weightless with a plastic worm is in more open vegetation that allows me to use spinning gear.

You said that you haven't done well with frogs. I believe it's not a magic bait, but just one more piece of a bass fishing arsenal. Like many other types of bass fishing it takes time, dedication, and practice in order to build confidence. For instance, I see all over this website guys dropshotting. I suck at it, but I am working hard to develop that skill. Actually I suck at most finesse fishing skills and have built my confidence on power fishing and larger lures. I do however spend time working on these other aspects to become a better bass fisherfman.

Just take time practicing with the frog. It's alot of fun once you start making it pay. Topwater fishing is the pinnacle of bass fishing excitement!! In the thick weeds its heart-stopping thrills!!

weights and pegged weights are my preference as well. even if its a light weight. like you said, it improves my distance, but it also allows me to get deep into the brush and docks.

:king:

im pretty much the same wait, i do not have the confidence or dedication to drop shot or finesse fish. one of these days i will take the time to learn more about them.

until then i will throw that frog. ive also read, that fish that come off the frog definately makes time and effort worth while.

I'll get the drop shot down eventually, but it's hard to put down the confidence rigs.

T Dot...I tend to be a bit unorthodox when it comes to follow up bait. I like where Fishinislife is going with it. I typically throw the baits that everyone else has had luck on (including myself), then I like to dig DEEEP in the tackle for something the bass haven't seen. This has proven successful in the past.

Just something to keep in mind when you're fishing heavy presure waters. My "go-to" is deep to med. crank baits. They're fun to fish and the fish hit them hard.

Keep us posted on how you do.

Bassackwards

I have done fairly well using a suspending jerk bait (soft or hard) as a follow up to a fish that missed a buzz bait (could be kidding myself but I think it looks like wounded prey). If the jerk bait did not work usually a senko would attract a response.

fishnislife wrote:As a follow up bait through lilies you could try the SPRO ARUKO-SHAD 75. It swims nose down and rides through the stocks without getting hung up a lot. You will need 20+lb braid and a stiff rod to rip through the lilies when you do get stuck. Just an idea for a follow up bait.
Check it out. SPRO makes some great lures.
http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csc_Spro.htm


fishnislife

never thought of that

:king:

its something we will definately try out

bassackwards wrote:T Dot...I tend to be a bit unorthodox when it comes to follow up bait. I like where Fishinislife is going with it. I typically throw the baits that everyone else has had luck on (including myself), then I like to dig DEEEP in the tackle for something the bass haven't seen. This has proven successful in the past.

Just something to keep in mind when you're fishing heavy presure waters. My "go-to" is deep to med. crank baits. They're fun to fish and the fish hit them hard.

Keep us posted on how you do.

Bassackwards

still doing poorly with the followup

:king:

we might try a larger plastic with a rattle

prmcav wrote:I have done fairly well using a suspending jerk bait (soft or hard) as a follow up to a fish that missed a buzz bait (could be kidding myself but I think it looks like wounded prey). If the jerk bait did not work usually a senko would attract a response.

we had one tied on recently

:king:

to our surprise we could not throw a followup. our hookup ratio is through the roof.

T Dot wrote:

prmcav wrote:I have done fairly well using a suspending jerk bait (soft or hard) as a follow up to a fish that missed a buzz bait (could be kidding myself but I think it looks like wounded prey). If the jerk bait did not work usually a senko would attract a response.

we had one tied on recently

:king:

to our surprise we could not throw a followup. our hookup ratio is through the roof.

They are sweet lures no doubt. Been experimenting with a hard jerkbait quite a bit in the last couple monthes and they are fun. And productive.

cavdad45 wrote:They are sweet lures no doubt. Been experimenting with a hard jerkbait quite a bit in the last couple monthes and they are fun. And productive.

i have yet to experience that.

:king:

mine seem to attract trout, and catch them as well. atleast one was a trophy.