Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
A FROG IN THE THROAT
Frogs have never been overly popular lures; something that Sam Edmonds reckons is a huge oversight…
PIKE are an ultimate apex predator. Whatever is in or on the water and looks in some kind of distress, is food! This means that, in addition to fish, ducklings, newts and frogs are all on the menu for pike. Having used frogs for a number of years, they were generally only produced as ‘floating’ surface lures, classically made from wood or hard plastic. But since the dawn of modern soft plastics, frog lures have become much more versatile. “I often used frog lures and other surface baits on the Fenland drains or natural waters, where frogs were naturally abundant,” Sam told us. “These days I think nothing of fishing them in rivers, canals or big gravel pits, such as this one at Fisher’s Green. Places that have possibly never seen a frog. But, from my results this doesn’t seem to make a great deal of difference to the pike.
Buoyant bait
Designed primarily as a surface lure, the new Berkley Powerbait Kicker Frogs are neutrally buoyant. This means they will sink slowly under their own weight. This enables these particular frog lures to be fished in a number of ways, offering the angler the ability to present the pike something they’ve never encountered. “By rigging them in a variety of ways, I can skip these lures across the surface in the traditional style, add a small amount of weight so they work sub-surface, or mount them on a jig head so they fish deeper,” the 21-year-old Get Hooked On Fishing project manager told us. “My two favourite methods are to fish them ‘weedless’, Texas-style so the hook stays clear of any snags in the swim, or on a straight ball jig head.”
Going Texas-style
Sam reckons that as long as the lure is in the water, there is always a chance of a fish. Areas in and around features such as reed beds, lilies, shallows and snags are always excellent lying-up areas for pike. But, these spots are also notorious for weed that could complicate matters at this time of year. So, rigging the frogs Texas-style, either weighted or unweighted, is the perfect way to present them in these difficult swims. “I rig my frogs differently to the usual Texas style of using a nose cone,” explained Sam. “On to a size 4/0 or 5/0 offset hook, I slide a Sebile soft tungsten weight, so that it sits just under the lip of the bait, where the hook shank comes out. “The addition of this single weight is not to make the lure sink any faster, it simply helps the frog to ‘track’ straighter through the water on the retrieve. Without the weight, they can wobble, producing a very unrealistic swimming action.”
Using only a tiny weight, Sam fishes the frogs sub-surface, typically at a depth of 2ft3ft, and ramps up the attraction by using a stuttered retrieve. He casts out and counts down the lure to the depth he wants, and then makes a half turn of the reel’s handle, before briefly pausing and repeating the process. “The stop/start action makes the frog’s legs kick, giving it a breaststroke swimming style in the water, perfectly mimicking the way a frog or toad really swims,” he confirmed. “But, on other days, a simple straight retrieve can also work well, or if set-up totally weightless, skim them across the surface.”
On the jig
Fishing a frog on a jig head is not a tactic many lure anglers would consider, but Sam has found this presentation works extremely well on certain days, particularly if the pike are being shy and are taking prey deeper in the water column. With one of the Berkley Kicker Frogs, Sam reckons a jig head between 7g (1/4oz) to 10g (3/8oz) is the perfect match. One essential is to use a big hook. Sam recommends a 5/0 jig head. “This sounds enormous, like a codding hook to many anglers but, as the frogs are around four inches long, having a longer, bigger hook means that the hookpoint exits the lure close to the rear of the frog’s body. This can help get more hook ups if the pike are tail nipping and not taking cleanly,” explained Sam. “Also, with a jig head, I can also bounce the frog along the bottom, in a similar style to fishing a shad. This uses the frog lure as more of a 'creature bait' that just happens to be frog shaped, rather than considering it always has to be fished on or close to the surface where frogs are naturally found. “Fishing like this has brought some great results early season.”
Frogging tackle
Sam is really setting out for pike, rather than perch, using frogs. He therefore chose a 60g Abu Garcia Veritas lure rod combined with a 20lb Spider Wire Code Red braid. This sounds heavy but it balances with the heavier lure and enables him to set the hooks at distance or pull through heavy weed easier. An 18in titanium trace completes the set-up. Although tradition dictates frog lures are always fished on the top, with these Berkley Kicker Frogs there are many ways to present them and increase your fish count. It is said that tradition is a prison, with the thoughts of the majority being the jailer. It’s time you broke free from lure fishing’s outdated shackles.