Rod Tip Up or Down When Using Frogs on Mats?

[Micropterus salmoides]

Do you have your rod tip up, like when jig fishing, or down when using frogs on mats? I was watching the Bass: The Movie Trailer2 and noticed in that one shot that Bobby Barrack had his rod tip down when he was fishing mats. I've always had my rod tip up.

[Dewayne]

There are a number of reasons.

Crawling the frog so I wna slow deliberate movements.

Often work combinations of open water and mats.

Less slack to reel on the ook set.

[Ron C]

Down - ALWAYS.

As Dewayne noted, a high rod tip prevents the frog from "crawling", which is a natural presentation. It also puts too much slack in your line when you drop your rod tip to set the hook.

As a rule, I fish frogs with a low rod tip and with my rod perpendicular to the bait. When I get a blow up, I quickly point the rod tip at the blow up and if the frog is gone (a good thing), I set the hook VERY hard.

One of the biggest mistakes most beginning froggers make is setting the hook on the blow up. While you may get some of these fish, you will lose more of them by doing this. A brief pause (say, like the time that it takes to point your rod tip at the blow up, thus giving you a chance to see if the fish ate your frog) will increase your hook up to blow up ratio considerably. But keep in mind that a frog is a low percentage bait to begin with.

I also recommend having a follow-up bait at the ready, like a Senko, Brush Hog, or a big worm and pitch it right into the hole created by the blow up. You will be surprised at the number of these fish you will catch doing this rather than throwing your frog at them again. If you are fishing a team tournament and are getting a lot of blow ups on frogs, it is a good idea to have one guy throwing the frog and the other guy pitching one of these follow-up baits into the missed blow up holes.

Good Fishing!

Ron C

[Larry Hemphill]

Ron is right on all counts! Always point your rod tip to the frog - as much as possible. Wait 'til the bass takes it under the surface. You will alway miss the first blowup of the year - because of excitement and a quicker than normal reaction. Then you remember - wait a second or two!!

[J.B.]

I have found alot better action keeping the tip down in all styles of frog fishing. Short twitchin with the tip down on mats and open water walking also.

And when its time to set the hook through all that salad you got the power.