By Tackle Warehouse | Updated September 2023
Arguably one of the most thrilling ways to catch a bass, hollow body frog fishing combines the adrenaline rush of an explosive topwater bite with the physical nature of grass fishing. One of the most weedless baits on the market, the hollow body frog is an indispensable tool for tournament anglers trying to access big fish in heavy cover, and also a great option for novice topwater anglers who don't want to constantly worry about snagging.
A combative brand of fishing unrivaled in terms of excitement and big bass attraction, the frog bite starts to heat up in the spring and only gets better as the days become longer in the summer. A staple tactic for warm weather that requires specialized gear to ensure your success, this guide will cover the best tackle combination, explore modifications to improve your hook-up ratios, and examine when you might choose one style of frog over another.
Matted vegetation calls for the power of a heavy or extra-heavy casting rod, but you don’t want a total broomstick when fishing a hollow body frog. A stout rod with an extra-fast taper in the 7’ – 7’6” range will provide enough leverage to set the hook and a soft enough tip so you can still cast and skip with precision. Hollow body frog fishing is often centered around extracting big fish from the heaviest of cover, so you don’t want to get caught using an underpowered rod, and always want to try to match the power to the thickness of the cover that is present. In open water or light cover situations, some anglers will choose to scale down to a medium heavy power for better bait handling, casting accuracy, and added tip action to walk the frog easier.
Just like your other topwater lures, you want a casting reel with a high gear ratio to pick up line quickly as you reel, pop, and walk your frog back to the boat. Frog fishing often involves covering a lot of water to find a productive area, so try an 8.0:1 gear ratio or higher so you can effectively work through stretches of matted vegetation then reel your bait back quickly for another cast. If you get a bite in heavy cover, a 150- to 200-size reel with a faster gear ratio will provide the power and quickness you need to keep the head of the fish up so you can extract them and reduce the chances of them getting locked up in the mat.
Heavy braided fishing line is a must when fishing the hollow body frog. The highly responsive, no-stretch properties of braided line make it a necessity for driving the hook home and removing fish from cover. Fluorocarbon and monofilament lines will stretch under high load and do not provide the same type of strength that braided line offers. Usually, 50lbs is a good starting point to help your frog walk efficiently and make longer casts, but depending on the thickness of the cover, 65lb or heavier may be necessary.
As vegetation and fishing pressure begin to grow in the summer months, bass will start to miss your frog, blowing up just behind it, or struggling to penetrate through dense mats. To stack the odds back in your favor, you can make a couple of small adjustments to your frog to help boost hook-up ratios and pique interest. If the cover allows, try slightly bending your hooks up and out with pliers to help improve your hook-up ratio. The hook points should be angled away from the plastic body, so they have a better chance of burying into the mouth of the fish rather than the plastic, and some anglers will even go as far as adding a stinger hook if the fish are swiping at it.
A heavier frog will sit deeper in the mat and is less likely to move when fish strike. To increase the weight, try removing the hook and inserting small weights into the hollow body cavity, or wrapping lead wire around the hooks. Not only will it help boost your hook-up ratio around thick mats, but it will also extend your casting distance. To set your frog apart from the competitors, try adding an acoustic element of attraction by inserting a small glass rattle into the body, or create a pop of color and scent with some dippin’ dye.
Don’t throw out your frogs as the hooks begin to dull over time, as the hooks can be swapped out easily using our How-To video as a reference:
Popping, walking, buzzing, and pointed nose hollow body frogs provide anglers with different actions and shapes that make them better suited for fishing different types of cover and retrieve styles. If you’re fishing targeted pieces of cover, walking frogs are a great option as they can be worked in place to help keep you in the strike zone longer. Alternatively, if you need to cover water around sparse cover or along the edges of grass lines, a buzzing or popping frog offers more efficiency as the action is created by reeling, twitching, and moving the frog across the surface. In extremely matted vegetation standard or pointed nose hollow body frogs may be the best option, as the cupped mouth of a popping frog or legs of a buzzing frog could have a tendency to hang up and become less effective.
Hollow body frogs don’t only imitate amphibians. In fact, many anglers would argue that a frog does a better job of resembling bluegill, sunfish, small birds, or baitfish as they become more prominent in shallow water. Typically, a bass will only be able to see the bottom of your frog, so you want to pay more attention to the color of the belly when selecting a color. Green and brown variations provide a more natural look but don’t overlook the high contrast of a black or white belly when fishing in low light or overcast conditions. Chartreuse belly frogs provide a great bluegill imitation and present a brightly colored target that is easier for a bass to spot under the mat.
Whether you’re methodically crawling a frog over mats, popping it along a tule berm, or walking it in open water, you can’t help but feel the anticipation of being a split second away from a new personal best! The hollow body frog presents a substantial meal for large opportunistic fish making them a must-have for any angler’s bass fishing arsenal. Pair a hot summer day with emergent vegetation and you could be in for some of the most exciting topwater fishing that can be had all year!
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