Frog Man

ARTICLE BY DAN CHASON

I have often said that if I could only take three lures bass fishing they would be a Wobblehead, a Texas rigged worm and a frog. That is a broad statement when you look down the rows of a tackle store and see every wiggling, rattling shaking bait in every color known to man. The sight can be a little overwhelming but my reasoning for simple selections go back to my childhood. The man who taught me to fish was my grandpa, D.C. Chason. My “Pop” as I called him was a notable bass angler back when bass fishing was more looked at as a way to put meat on the table than for bragging rights. There weren’t any tournaments in those days and Pop spent many a day on the Flint River and Lake Seminole in Southern Georgia perfecting his craft. In those days, lure selection consisted of a Lucky 13 chugger bait, a Texas rigged worm and a frog. I rarely saw him throw anything else. However, I am quite sure had I had wobbleheads in the day, Pop would have been throwing them.
Frogs come in all shapes, forms and varieties. The mainstay of frogs is the old faithful “scum frog.” This lure is designed to be worked over matted grass or duck weed, leaving a line of a trail through the grass where the frog is pulled. The bite is vicious and the catch ratio is not that good unless the bass are really hungry. To understand why a bass strikes at a lure is merely to understand that a bass’ mentality is to kill. Eating is secondary. They are protective of their space and are one of the most territorial creatures in the water. It is said that if you put a largemouth bass in a small aquarium, he will literally kill himself striking at his own image in the glass. Bass bite when they are hungry, when protecting territory or fry (baby bass) or when irritated. That is why you can make repeated casts to a spot and after many casts, finally get a bite when most would make one cast and leave. That bass isn’t hungry, he is irritated.
To address this you also need to understand that when an angry bass strikes, he will do this many times with his mouth closed. That is why some hook sets are on the outside of the mouth instead of inside. If you want to know if the bass are hungry and your selection is the right one, you will find your lure deep inside his mouth.
There lies the problem with scum frogs, rats or other presentations that are fished over cover. The hooks may be large but the bass uses the leverage of the lure (fatness) to get unhooked which is hard to overcome. This is a problem with many lures as they may make a bass bite, but biting and getting a solid hood set are two different things. This is why I fell in love with a frog who goes by the brand name “Ribbit.”
The Ribbit is made not to float but to make a good disturbance with its rear legs. The lure is low profile which allows for an easier hook set as you are not pulling a hook through or around a fat bait. Stanley, who makes this lure, also has a custom two-hook in the 5/0 size that does not easily hang, but comes through the lure for more effective hook ups. The cast can be on top of scum or on the edges of heavy cover. My favorite is to work the Ribbit by Cypress trees and lay downs. You fish this bait anywhere you would throw a buzz bait but with more ability to work it over heavy cover.
One of the top foods of a bass is and always will be a frog. If you launch into a lake at daylight and hear the rumble of bull frogs, you are in Ribbit water. The time of day does not really matter as I have caught them at high noon in 90 degree water on the Ribbit. The rear legs act like a churn or buzz bait and the ripples draw every critter from bass to alligators. It draws attention. The down side is the Ribbit is a lure that you must constantly retrieve as it does sink. However, if the presentation requires a stop and start, merely change the hook to a single 5/0 offset and you can pause the bait.
On a recent trip with a friend, he opted to throw the scum frog and I stayed with the Ribbit. After I boated fish number 4, my friend was talking ugly to his scum frog. He had 3 strikes and had not boated a fish. Not that he was doing anything wrong, but the bass were not that aggressive. After changing over to a Ribbit, he caught fish after fish and we ended the afternoon with over a dozen bass with only one under 3 pounds.
The optimum time to fish a Ribbit is early and late as with any top water presentation. The best day is on a falling barometer. (right before a front). Bass will readily feed towards the top in the upper level of the water column on a falling barometer and there is not a better time to get Mr. Ribbit hunting. Color selection is pretty basic as I try to stay in the same color range as our frogs. Natural is the best selection except on high skies with a bright sun. On these days I opt for black as it sillouettes better against the sky and you don’t miss as many strikes.
So the next time rain is in the forecast and you have the bass catching blues, try to go back to the basics. Grab a bag of Ribbits from your local tackle store and enjoy a great afternoon of top water explosions. There is nothing like it.