Even though I'm technically more of a younger angler, I've still been diehard bass fishing for 11 years now and I generally don't fish tournaments other than jackpots. For me, I will throw whatever catches the most fish, I do have livescope, but I find myself using it like you Todd (when it's needed). However for me and I can speak for my other buddy who just recently got into bass fishing, and for us both we just want to catch fish, neither of our parents bass fished so we don't have nostalgia for certain techniques we just want to catch fish. And we'll both throw whatever works best at the moment. My very favorite way to catch them is a combination of deep cranking and flutter spooning, both of which I've caught way more fish without livescope than with (so far). By no means am I reliant on LS. But I just wanna catch fish weather it's a topwater spook, or a jerkbait + a blip on the screen. 👍
Fluke and fluke style baits are always a part of my arsenal. I love and fish a frog as much as the next guy but the "fluke" is a much more versatile bait and can be just as fun as a frog bite IMHO!
this morning i had only 2 bait casters on the deck of my boat with 4 fairy wands. you want to know what i started with? my frog set up. dod not catch any thing on the setup. tried that finesse stuff but what caught them form me today was a lipless being ripped through the grass. oh and i did catch one on the hybrid hunter shallow.
I'll take power fishing every time as long as it working. I'm not really a tournament guy, I just want to catch them. When it comes to tough bites and finesse fishing, the biwa rig (mid strolling) is the first place I start. I've been doing it, specifically the midstrolling, for the last 10 years as my go to finesse approach way before livescope. As for finesse, I start with the biwa in and around cover. 90% of the time it works and I stick with it, but will alternate in a wheel head, underspin and/or regular jighead with a small swimbait or very specific minnow bait. As for the hover strolling, it's super niche but probably the most fun slow non bottom oriented finesse techniques. Pretty much because hover strolling is mostly a visible/sight oriented bite. I put damiki rigging/moping and ned rigging at the very bottom of my finesse go to approaches and will most likely end up crappie fishing or breaking out the 10"+ swimbaits. All of that said, I'm super picky about the specific jighead/hook and minnow bait I use for each "jighead minnow" technique because they're all very, very , very different in what you want the bait to do for each. For example, biwa rigging/mid strolling, you want the bait to rock side to side as much as possible, getting past 90 degrees on each side is the difference maker. To get the most out of it, a specific shape of the bait is needed along with the right kind of round ball jighead (getting the right weight position that still has enough line tie to hook point clearance and a good hook is crucial for action). Whereas with hover rigging, is pretty an iMotion deal. The baby and regular z-too/Z-man version (I think Z-man makes the z-too's for Strike King, right?), don't work well for biwa rigging/mid strolling because they don't want to rock the just kinda jump around. But they're solid at hover strolling/imotion stuff and great at damiki rigging/moping. All of that said, outside of money on the line, if I can catch 10 on a frog or 30 on a biwa, I'll take the frog everytime.
The new stuff, but a lot of the new stuff is so electronics based. It's here, and at competitive levels, you need to stay competitive. At a regular fishing level, it's not necessary if you do your research before you go to a new lake. If you're going to a lake, you're already familiar with I think people would want to be fishing instead of trying to "video game" fish. Give me the frog, swimbait, crankbait, etc, any day!
Todd love your vids always makes me think. By the way I raise Vizslas. They are hunting dogs that make great companions and house dogs. I would enjoy giving your family one.
Im 26. I fish plenty each week. I start with my other baits but have recently had the jighead minnow almost on me pre-rigged. Im here to learn it. I dont fish tournaments but its a goal once i get my own boat or tournament partner. Ill stick to the power fishing and free rig
I'm from the land of the pencil popper so that or a variation is my top water then I like a chatter bait style bait but my go to all year is a carolina rig ( confidence bait).
Topwater, spinnerbait, swim Jig. I make sure they aren’t biting on those 3 before I use anything else. Ha. And sometimes even when they don’t bite it I still don’t put it down. 🤣 Did it the other day for hours. And finally right before I quit I started flippin a Texas rig and immediately started getting bit. I’m like “hmm. Maybe I should have tried that sooner”…. Nah
If the bites there. I'd rather throw big swimbaits 100% but frog is right too! I love a frog bite, who doesn't? My favorite frog last few years has been zmans poppin frogz. It's a weightless elastech Texas rig that floats. Really good hookup, comes through & over cover very well. Plus it gets me ton of bites! I keep a zman popin frog tied on spring through fall. I wanna throw something different than everyone else! Which is what got me into big swimbaits. Jig head minnow isn't my cup of tea. I don't fish tournaments so I don't need #'s. I want quality fish & to enjoy mother nature & have a good time fishing in the kayak...
I fun fish only, rarely is my choice a small swimbait on a "baby" hook. Crankbait, Chatterbait, Lipless crank, etc. are my choices. I don't fish like a tourney angler.
Anyone that has a “day” with any lure they want to throw that lure because it’s catching not fishing. Now having a big bass flush a frog is hard to beat!
I love throwing frogs swim baits and finesse fishing all are fun for me. I’d rather throw the frog and swim bait over the damiki rig and wacky but the spinning gear is a close 3rd and 4th I always love fighting them on light line
I agree . My routine i go to the bank w a trap and hybrid Hunter 1 2 punch then pick up the xd 5 and6 frog sexy dawg here and there stay a swinghead and last if i just haven't got a single strike I dig out the spinning reel
I've never been a frog guy but I'd throw a frog all day instead of a minnow. I wouldn't even throw a minnow lure as a last resort. Before I did that I'd just lock a spinnerbait in my hand.
I must say just the opposite. If I see fish chasing bait and hitting the top, I’ll put on a top water. If they’re hitting top waters, I love catching them on top. But the good old Texas rig is definitely my comfort rig, especially when the fishare not out super deep.
If you take tournaments out, where pressure exists to catch limits, I don't see any reason to throw a jig head minnow, unless you are dropping on Crappie. If it's "just fishing"...I'm trying to catch one big one (5lber or bigger)over 15 - 2lbers...when I get a bite on the stuff I throw "just fishing" my chances of it being a bigger one increases. If I ever started fishing tournaments again,I would adjust that a little bit to be more consistent...although I've never been scared of the ZERO in pursuit of a bag of bigs
I'll drive across the state to get a frog bite or cranking bite. I will not drive 20 minutes up the road to use a spinning rod. I'm not throwing a spinning rod in a tournament unless I absolutely have to. 90 % of the time, I'll miss the jig head bite cause it's miserable fishing. Fun fishing, I will never have a spinning rod in my boat.
I would much rather catch em scoping than any others style of fishing. Im a 20 year old college fisherman. Ik most college anglers prefer scoping over normal fishing also.
Todd When I go to your older videos and try and order off your Tackle Warehouse it’s saying service unavailable. Do the older videos not let you order after a while?
I rather catch 1 on a frog all day than 10, shaking a minnow. If there are no points on the line, this still goes if I am in a tournament. With that being said the more fish you have to catch the more the minnow will shine. Meaning 4 day tournament and/or every fish counts. If there are no points on the line I will go down power fishing frog, jig under dock, sight fishing ect. I will go down with the ship because I know I can win in the last hour.
Rather throw a frog. Coming from a Co-angler this time of the year in east TN if we are shallow, I will throw a frog because my boaters don't, wacky rig stick bait. This is the one-time of the year I will use the pink OCHO and the bass love it. If I get caught behind a guy live scoping, I will throw a topwater, Hybrid Hunter and if he isn't doing circles a Carolina rig. Unfortunately, I can't find my favorite Supa Fry color cause some dude in Texas has them all in his Garage. LOL
You’re forgetting a spook or sexy dawg. Top water has been on fire the last two months near me. All on walking hard baits. Frog, spook, whatever topwater gets bit. Kaboom!
If I'm out fun fishing I generally like to grind it out shallow with a swim jig Texas rig or frog and other topwater baits this time of year or fishing points and humps with crankbaits and Carolina rigs or even football jigs even if it means I'm not going to catch as many fish as I would livescoping fish with a minnow and a fairy wand... That said even when I'm fishing local tournaments I really try to make other things work before I go livescoping. I just have way more confidence in catching fish that way and I know how to adjust much faster when things start changing. But if I have to livescope to catchem then that's what I'm gonna do if I have money on the line. Luckily for me fishing local tournaments on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn I can almost always put something together the way I want to fish and I've learned to work livescope into the way I like to catch them.
Gimme that 🐸 🐸 all day. If I’m throwing that baby Z 2 or fluke, it’s gonna. Be weightless in the same place I’m throwing the frog, looking for the same fish 😂
Maybe you don’t see more of the Z too fishing in you area, because it isn’t as prominent as it is here in the Midwest or north. We fish the Z too more than the frog type baits.
All i can say is thanks Todd....caught 3 quality keepers today on the Hybrid Hunter...to put it in perspective, it was a tough day on the water...those were the only bites i got all day....
Unfortunately in the Ozarks region we have to have the minnow on at all times. We pray for frog bites. 😀 I’m jealous of your upcoming trip. Good luck!!
I got an even better one. There's a few guys down in okeechobee. That are wacking big fish on a frog and then everybody knows it, but other anglers they'll still go out and try to throw a worm. Not comfortable tthrowing a frog i guess. Blows my mind. I know worms will have there day too.. just baffling it's constantly a big fish frog story amongst the top finishers
Todd, I've completely changed as a fisherman from my early 20s( which I used to throw a frog...don't get me wrong, if I do go top water, it will be a frog). Now in my 40s, I almost always throw a jig with craw trailer. Almost every single big bass I've ever caught was on a jig. When I was a kid, I tried everything and absolutely loved the top water bite and crankbaits. But, in the past 10 years, no matter the season, I catch more on jigs ( yes, Ned's, Nikko, bucktails as well) . But I will agree, nothing is more exciting than a frog bite.
Dude! when the water hits 50deg, the FROG is always tied on. Those big girls are up sunning, getting warm, they will EAT that FROG! Done it too many times, my buddies think im crazy, until the weigh in. Great Show Bud!
If I fished the level of tournaments that you do then I also would probably throw what had to throw to win. Thankfully I don’t fish that level. The tournaments I fish. Yr to find a bite where I can fish how I want. Which is mostly either flipping cover of finessing around cover. If I prefish for a tournament and find that it’s just not feasible for me to draw a check without throwing something like that in open water for schooling fish then I simply just do fish that tournament. I loath fishing that way and if I have the choice of winning $1500 with THAT style of fishing or just going somewhere else and fishing how I want then I’m just going fun fishing. I hate it that much. 🤷🏼♂️. And I LOVE catching the river small mouth here. Thankfully the river is high current and I don’t have to fish that way because they’ll be structure oriented 90% of the time
When I go fun fishing, I’m still trying to learn something, maybe I have a pre conceived plan for the day and it doesn’t work, I’m always trying to figure out what is working. The most fun days I have are those days when I figure out a key piece of the puzzle and catch ‘em a certain way. That being said I love a frog bite, swim jig bite and all that stuff when it’s working. I also love a punching bite mainly because I don’t get the chance to do it very often. There’s nothing like dropping that big weight through a mat and one nails it, unfortunately for me where I live it’s a rare opportunity most of the time.
Todd, people are buying those jighead minnows because in many tournaments, you have to couple that with FFS to have much chance to win. No way most people would choose to fish that way for fun. I would MUCH rather fish the "traditional" way over scoping for them. As for the frog, the 4 lakes I tournament fish in KY have zero vegetation. So while you might catch an occasional fish on a frog here, you arent gonna have a chance to win on a frog. If we had grass, I would probably fish a frog a ton.
I thought it was interesting but not surprising to hear Cory Johnston say he was using his on perspective to locate beds in salt run everyday starting out because the water was dirty in the spring. What did surprise me is that Rodman reservoir didn’t play bigger in the St. John’s event. Biggest first place lead I’ve ever heard of on that river. But he leads on the St. John’s without it for some real perspective. Lol
I learned how to fish every bait under the sun! Pick up a crankbait, spinnerbait or jerkbait but will throw a top water or frog just to see what they'll hit. That was how you became a better angler! Use your senses and figure it out.
I fish for fun-no tourneys. My home lake doesn’t have any grass, is usually 2+ visibility, and highly pressured. That limits what techniques will work and what I throw. If I see (think) topwater activity, I throw a spook over a frog because I am not fishing slop. 100% spook is number one favorite way to fish. If fish are 15 ft and less, I try a crank, a wobble head, free rig or jig. If deeper, spoon or Carolina rig. Yesterday, I fished a wacky rig. Hate it, but it caught almost all my fish. I fish hover strolling if nothing else seems to work. Catching fish is my end goal but no question some techniques are more fun than others. I can learn to love any technique (just about…) if I can catch 30 in 4 hours… I will admit, I like watching how fish react on livescope. Ive learned a lot from it. I am guessing I catch probably 2x as many fish just because I will cycle through baits faster to try to find something that works.
💯 I'll take 1 frog fish to every 10 jighead minnow fish. I think this is going to create a divide between tournament and fun fishing. When i take my kid out, we aren't chasing fish on FFS with a jighead minnow.
I love frog fishing, but where I fish, it doesn’t even make sense to own a frog and I’ve still got 3 of em. For literally no reason. I’ve never tied any of them on, because it just doesn’t make sense to throw a frog in clear mountain lakes with zero vegetation in the water or on the shore line. If I had more places to use one, I would have a frog specific rod set up. As it is now, I’ll just use one of my jig rods as a frog rod on the one time it makes sense to fish a frog that I end up on once every 5 years lol
Todd, I am a top water junkie and the frog is what I throw everyday out here on the Washington coast. There is nothing better than seeing a fish blow up on your frog or other top water baits and landing them. I also seem to catch bigger fish on the frogs. Tight lines and good luck.
To me fun fishing is multi-species ultralight with a Rooster Tail or tiny Rat-L-Trap. I love that I can pull up a sunfish, warmouth, Rio Grande cichlid, crappie, smallmouth, or largemouth. If I get a medium sized bass, then it's really a fight. I have no confidence in topwater baits. The only way to fix that is to fish it more. However my fishing time is very limited,
I will fish more old school first. But I’m 60. I will get ffs because I think it will be fun see what fish are doing throughout the year. But most the time I’m still junk fishing first. I believe the answer is specific. New generation is going to ffs first, absolutely I believe that. Weekenders and local tournaments on up to pro tourneys are probably going to 50/50 unless there new generation. “Pro’s” have to do whatever it takes to compete. Since FFS is newish, all most the pros are talking and showing FFS baits. Watch any of their RUclips channels. Wheeler, DC, Daniel Jr., B-lat, John Crew, Scott Martin, and any other the Asian anglers. They are all showing FFS stuff and I think the next generation are watching and learning to fish that way to start with so they will do that first and probably not do well if it doesn’t work out. For sure!!!
I’m always going start with the Popping Perch or the Sexy Dawg. I personally will never start with the ZToo. Just something about that top water bite. I only scope if I can’t catch’em any other way. I’d rather drag a Crig all day than scope.
FFS can be used 7 days a week by the guys who are good at it to catch a bass. Frog is simply not that dependable for 7 days a week. I 100 percent prefer the frog/popper. Prefer the popper wit 6 hooks over 2 if it is around hard cover.
Todd, My fishing partner fished LBJ with y'all. I unfortunately couldn't make it. I kept telling him to throw the frog up there because it shows out this time of year. He didn't and finished right behind y'all. He threw a worm to catch his. He did have the 3rd largest fish weighed. But if he threw the frog. He may have gotten fewer bites, but the fish that hit the frog consistently are bigger. See if I would have come, those other fish would have been bigger!! 😆
![OhGeesy x Lefty Gunplay - What It Iz [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/L0yzW9t2ixk/mqdefault.jpg)
Even though I'm technically more of a younger angler, I've still been diehard bass fishing for 11 years now and I generally don't fish tournaments other than jackpots. For me, I will throw whatever catches the most fish, I do have livescope, but I find myself using it like you Todd (when it's needed). However for me and I can speak for my other buddy who just recently got into bass fishing, and for us both we just want to catch fish, neither of our parents bass fished so we don't have nostalgia for certain techniques we just want to catch fish. And we'll both throw whatever works best at the moment. My very favorite way to catch them is a combination of deep cranking and flutter spooning, both of which I've caught way more fish without livescope than with (so far). By no means am I reliant on LS. But I just wanna catch fish weather it's a topwater spook, or a jerkbait + a blip on the screen. 👍
Gonna throw the traditional style baits before a small soft plastic.
Top water bites are so much fun to watch as well as feel!
Fluke and fluke style baits are always a part of my arsenal. I love and fish a frog as much as the next guy but the "fluke" is a much more versatile bait and can be just as fun as a frog bite IMHO!
I was catching. Smallmouths and some walleye all day from the bank. Maga bass jerkbaits. Good day. Love jerkbaits. When ghee hitting them. 😎
frog definetly! it is cool seeing a fish come up from 8ft down to grab a crappie jig though
Froggin' + Flippin' = Fishing. Need to put that on a T-shirt.
this morning i had only 2 bait casters on the deck of my boat with 4 fairy wands. you want to know what i started with? my frog set up. dod not catch any thing on the setup. tried that finesse stuff but what caught them form me today was a lipless being ripped through the grass. oh and i did catch one on the hybrid hunter shallow.
I'll take power fishing every time as long as it working. I'm not really a tournament guy, I just want to catch them. When it comes to tough bites and finesse fishing, the biwa rig (mid strolling) is the first place I start. I've been doing it, specifically the midstrolling, for the last 10 years as my go to finesse approach way before livescope. As for finesse, I start with the biwa in and around cover. 90% of the time it works and I stick with it, but will alternate in a wheel head, underspin and/or regular jighead with a small swimbait or very specific minnow bait. As for the hover strolling, it's super niche but probably the most fun slow non bottom oriented finesse techniques. Pretty much because hover strolling is mostly a visible/sight oriented bite. I put damiki rigging/moping and ned rigging at the very bottom of my finesse go to approaches and will most likely end up crappie fishing or breaking out the 10"+ swimbaits. All of that said, I'm super picky about the specific jighead/hook and minnow bait I use for each "jighead minnow" technique because they're all very, very , very different in what you want the bait to do for each. For example, biwa rigging/mid strolling, you want the bait to rock side to side as much as possible, getting past 90 degrees on each side is the difference maker. To get the most out of it, a specific shape of the bait is needed along with the right kind of round ball jighead (getting the right weight position that still has enough line tie to hook point clearance and a good hook is crucial for action). Whereas with hover rigging, is pretty an iMotion deal. The baby and regular z-too/Z-man version (I think Z-man makes the z-too's for Strike King, right?), don't work well for biwa rigging/mid strolling because they don't want to rock the just kinda jump around. But they're solid at hover strolling/imotion stuff and great at damiki rigging/moping. All of that said, outside of money on the line, if I can catch 10 on a frog or 30 on a biwa, I'll take the frog everytime.
I'm trying to get back into fishing. I watch a lot of videos to learn the new st
The new stuff, but a lot of the new stuff is so electronics based. It's here, and at competitive levels, you need to stay competitive. At a regular fishing level, it's not necessary if you do your research before you go to a new lake. If you're going to a lake, you're already familiar with I think people would want to be fishing instead of trying to "video game" fish. Give me the frog, swimbait, crankbait, etc, any day!
Full combat fishing!!!
Todd love your vids always makes me think. By the way I raise Vizslas. They are hunting dogs that make great companions and house dogs. I would enjoy giving your family one.
Im 26. I fish plenty each week. I start with my other baits but have recently had the jighead minnow almost on me pre-rigged. Im here to learn it. I dont fish tournaments but its a goal once i get my own boat or tournament partner. Ill stick to the power fishing and free rig
I'm from the land of the pencil popper so that or a variation is my top water then I like a chatter bait style bait but my go to all year is a carolina rig ( confidence bait).
Plus I finally got some hybrid hunters so I'm trying to learn them too. Not the jig head minnow
Topwater, spinnerbait, swim Jig. I make sure they aren’t biting on those 3 before I use anything else. Ha. And sometimes even when they don’t bite it I still don’t put it down. 🤣 Did it the other day for hours. And finally right before I quit I started flippin a Texas rig and immediately started getting bit. I’m like “hmm. Maybe I should have tried that sooner”…. Nah
If the bites there. I'd rather throw big swimbaits 100% but frog is right too! I love a frog bite, who doesn't? My favorite frog last few years has been zmans poppin frogz. It's a weightless elastech Texas rig that floats. Really good hookup, comes through & over cover very well. Plus it gets me ton of bites! I keep a zman popin frog tied on spring through fall. I wanna throw something different than everyone else! Which is what got me into big swimbaits. Jig head minnow isn't my cup of tea. I don't fish tournaments so I don't need #'s. I want quality fish & to enjoy mother nature & have a good time fishing in the kayak...
I'm old school. First lure in the water is the old trusty spinnerbait!!! After that its' all search style baits. Gotta be moving all the time.
I fun fish only, rarely is my choice a small swimbait on a "baby" hook. Crankbait, Chatterbait, Lipless crank, etc. are my choices. I don't fish like a tourney angler.
Anyone that has a “day” with any lure they want to throw that lure because it’s catching not fishing. Now having a big bass flush a frog is hard to beat!
I want to put a pitching rod in my hand and flip grass and docks all day. Change the weight and bait for time of year and presentation
I love throwing frogs swim baits and finesse fishing all are fun for me. I’d rather throw the frog and swim bait over the damiki rig and wacky but the spinning gear is a close 3rd and 4th I always love fighting them on light line
I agree . My routine i go to the bank w a trap and hybrid Hunter 1 2 punch then pick up the xd 5 and6 frog sexy dawg here and there stay a swinghead and last if i just haven't got a single strike I dig out the spinning reel
I've never been a frog guy but I'd throw a frog all day instead of a minnow. I wouldn't even throw a minnow lure as a last resort. Before I did that I'd just lock a spinnerbait in my hand.
I must say just the opposite. If I see fish chasing bait and hitting the top, I’ll put on a top water. If they’re hitting top waters, I love catching them on top. But the good old Texas rig is definitely my comfort rig, especially when the fishare not out super deep.
Using the word traditional fishing goes over a little better. From what I've seen in other videos
Frog, buzzbait, cranking all day when fun fishing. Tournament day different story. Start power fishing then finesse if need be.
Always top water
If you take tournaments out, where pressure exists to catch limits, I don't see any reason to throw a jig head minnow, unless you are dropping on Crappie. If it's "just fishing"...I'm trying to catch one big one (5lber or bigger)over 15 - 2lbers...when I get a bite on the stuff I throw "just fishing" my chances of it being a bigger one increases. If I ever started fishing tournaments again,I would adjust that a little bit to be more consistent...although I've never been scared of the ZERO in pursuit of a bag of bigs
Shaking a minnow is gonna be my last resort, I’ll try everything in the tackle bag before I pick up the damn sissy stick and a jig head minnow.
I'll drive across the state to get a frog bite or cranking bite. I will not drive 20 minutes up the road to use a spinning rod. I'm not throwing a spinning rod in a tournament unless I absolutely have to. 90 % of the time, I'll miss the jig head bite cause it's miserable fishing. Fun fishing, I will never have a spinning rod in my boat.
I would much rather catch em scoping than any others style of fishing. Im a 20 year old college fisherman. Ik most college anglers prefer scoping over normal fishing also.
Frog all day long... I'm addicted
Todd
When I go to your older videos and try and order off your Tackle Warehouse it’s saying service unavailable. Do the older videos not let you order after a while?
Not sure which video. It won’t matter you can use any link and it will still be the same for me
Ok. It was the the video titled this one lure keeps catching fish. Thanks
Can I put that z too thing on my chatterbait??! LOL
I rather catch 1 on a frog all day than 10, shaking a minnow.
If there are no points on the line, this still goes if I am in a tournament.
With that being said the more fish you have to catch the more the minnow will shine. Meaning 4 day tournament and/or every fish counts.
If there are no points on the line I will go down power fishing frog, jig under dock, sight fishing ect. I will go down with the ship because I know I can win in the last hour.
How long do you give the frog before you punt
power fish first keep moving, then slow down & finesse if I have to
Rather throw a frog. Coming from a Co-angler this time of the year in east TN if we are shallow, I will throw a frog because my boaters don't, wacky rig stick bait. This is the one-time of the year I will use the pink OCHO and the bass love it. If I get caught behind a guy live scoping, I will throw a topwater, Hybrid Hunter and if he isn't doing circles a Carolina rig. Unfortunately, I can't find my favorite Supa Fry color cause some dude in Texas has them all in his Garage. LOL
Frog and a swim Jig
Frogging by far for me. Much more fun
For some reason (for me) the frog bite has slowed in the last few years.
How do you feel about you pretty much designing the popping perch all those years ago and it has KVD all over it
I was all for it
You’re forgetting a spook or sexy dawg. Top water has been on fire the last two months near me. All on walking hard baits.
Frog, spook, whatever topwater gets bit. Kaboom!
I'd never throw anything but a frog if hook up ratio was as good as a chatterbait
buzzbait is always on
People will always go back to what they are comfortable doing
If I'm out fun fishing I generally like to grind it out shallow with a swim jig Texas rig or frog and other topwater baits this time of year or fishing points and humps with crankbaits and Carolina rigs or even football jigs even if it means I'm not going to catch as many fish as I would livescoping fish with a minnow and a fairy wand... That said even when I'm fishing local tournaments I really try to make other things work before I go livescoping. I just have way more confidence in catching fish that way and I know how to adjust much faster when things start changing. But if I have to livescope to catchem then that's what I'm gonna do if I have money on the line. Luckily for me fishing local tournaments on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn I can almost always put something together the way I want to fish and I've learned to work livescope into the way I like to catch them.
Gimme that 🐸 🐸 all day. If I’m throwing that baby Z 2 or fluke, it’s gonna. Be weightless in the same place I’m throwing the frog, looking for the same fish 😂
I’ll stick to my chatterbait, swim jig, buzzbait or frog and catch less fish sometimes but have fun every bit no matter the size
Why can’t I find that black popping perch with chartreuse back??
I just looked at tackle warehouse and they are out. Let me look into it
@@toddcastledinefishing5924 thank you I appreciate it, it’s been off the tackle warehouse for a minute
Maybe you don’t see more of the Z too fishing in you area, because it isn’t as prominent as it is here in the Midwest or north. We fish the Z too more than the frog type baits.
All i can say is thanks Todd....caught 3 quality keepers today on the Hybrid Hunter...to put it in perspective, it was a tough day on the water...those were the only bites i got all day....
Poppin perch,the medium size .Thank you brother.
Unfortunately in the Ozarks region we have to have the minnow on at all times. We pray for frog bites. 😀 I’m jealous of your upcoming trip. Good luck!!
I'd rather catch 10 on a frog, than, 30 on finesse
I buy them because they're new!
Going to gross savanne?
I got an even better one. There's a few guys down in okeechobee. That are wacking big fish on a frog and then everybody knows it, but other anglers they'll still go out and try to throw a worm. Not comfortable tthrowing a frog i guess. Blows my mind. I know worms will have there day too.. just baffling it's constantly a big fish frog story amongst the top finishers
I would rather do hand to hand combat with fish than anything else. Give me a frog and a swim jig any day forever and id be happy
Todd, I've completely changed as a fisherman from my early 20s( which I used to throw a frog...don't get me wrong, if I do go top water, it will be a frog). Now in my 40s, I almost always throw a jig with craw trailer. Almost every single big bass I've ever caught was on a jig. When I was a kid, I tried everything and absolutely loved the top water bite and crankbaits. But, in the past 10 years, no matter the season, I catch more on jigs ( yes, Ned's, Nikko, bucktails as well) . But I will agree, nothing is more exciting than a frog bite.
Dude! when the water hits 50deg, the FROG is always tied on. Those big girls are up sunning, getting warm, they will EAT that FROG! Done it too many times, my buddies think im crazy, until the weigh in. Great Show Bud!
Definitely power fishing for me, but like you said, I’ll do anything to win!
Hands down, I'm throwing the frog.
If I fished the level of tournaments that you do then I also would probably throw what had to throw to win. Thankfully I don’t fish that level. The tournaments I fish. Yr to find a bite where I can fish how I want. Which is mostly either flipping cover of finessing around cover. If I prefish for a tournament and find that it’s just not feasible for me to draw a check without throwing something like that in open water for schooling fish then I simply just do fish that tournament. I loath fishing that way and if I have the choice of winning $1500 with THAT style of fishing or just going somewhere else and fishing how I want then I’m just going fun fishing. I hate it that much. 🤷🏼♂️. And I LOVE catching the river small mouth here. Thankfully the river is high current and I don’t have to fish that way because they’ll be structure oriented 90% of the time
When I go fun fishing, I’m still trying to learn something, maybe I have a pre conceived plan for the day and it doesn’t work, I’m always trying to figure out what is working. The most fun days I have are those days when I figure out a key piece of the puzzle and catch ‘em a certain way. That being said I love a frog bite, swim jig bite and all that stuff when it’s working. I also love a punching bite mainly because I don’t get the chance to do it very often. There’s nothing like dropping that big weight through a mat and one nails it, unfortunately for me where I live it’s a rare opportunity most of the time.
Caught 10 keepers on conroe the other day, all on swim jig and frog, biggest one was on HH junior shallow. Thanks to your content.
Todd, people are buying those jighead minnows because in many tournaments, you have to couple that with FFS to have much chance to win. No way most people would choose to fish that way for fun. I would MUCH rather fish the "traditional" way over scoping for them.
As for the frog, the 4 lakes I tournament fish in KY have zero vegetation. So while you might catch an occasional fish on a frog here, you arent gonna have a chance to win on a frog. If we had grass, I would probably fish a frog a ton.
Frog all day long when they are hitting it
🐸 all day long.
Give me the Frog 🐸 ... please
I thought it was interesting but not surprising to hear Cory Johnston say he was using his on perspective to locate beds in salt run everyday starting out because the water was dirty in the spring. What did surprise me is that Rodman reservoir didn’t play bigger in the St. John’s event. Biggest first place lead I’ve ever heard of on that river. But he leads on the St. John’s without it for some real perspective. Lol
I would rather fish my 🫏 off daylight to dark for 10 frog bites than catching 50 pinging a minner for 6 hours. Just who I am!
Frog or bust!
Love my frogs in northern ontario but hardly see guys throwing them anymore
I learned how to fish every bait under the sun! Pick up a crankbait, spinnerbait or jerkbait but will throw a top water or frog just to see what they'll hit. That was how you became a better angler! Use your senses and figure it out.
All I need is a frog, chatterbait, and Trig rage craw
Top water is king. Frog is my religion
I fish for fun-no tourneys. My home lake doesn’t have any grass, is usually 2+ visibility, and highly pressured. That limits what techniques will work and what I throw. If I see (think) topwater activity, I throw a spook over a frog because I am not fishing slop. 100% spook is number one favorite way to fish. If fish are 15 ft and less, I try a crank, a wobble head, free rig or jig. If deeper, spoon or Carolina rig. Yesterday, I fished a wacky rig. Hate it, but it caught almost all my fish. I fish hover strolling if nothing else seems to work. Catching fish is my end goal but no question some techniques are more fun than others. I can learn to love any technique (just about…) if I can catch 30 in 4 hours…
I will admit, I like watching how fish react on livescope. Ive learned a lot from it. I am guessing I catch probably 2x as many fish just because I will cycle through baits faster to try to find something that works.
👍👍👍👍👍
Frog and a jig and I could care less about anything else
I'm out there fun fishing I'm going to be throwing some kind of jig. Whether it's a swim jig or a structure jig in brush piles and lay downs
💯 I'll take 1 frog fish to every 10 jighead minnow fish. I think this is going to create a divide between tournament and fun fishing. When i take my kid out, we aren't chasing fish on FFS with a jighead minnow.
I love frog fishing, but where I fish, it doesn’t even make sense to own a frog and I’ve still got 3 of em. For literally no reason. I’ve never tied any of them on, because it just doesn’t make sense to throw a frog in clear mountain lakes with zero vegetation in the water or on the shore line. If I had more places to use one, I would have a frog specific rod set up. As it is now, I’ll just use one of my jig rods as a frog rod on the one time it makes sense to fish a frog that I end up on once every 5 years lol
Given a choice,frog. Because I'm a man.😂😂😂😂😂
Not even a fair question. 100% frog
Todd I can tell you most guys are going to do what everyone else is doing.
Definitely Froggin all day long!!
Todd, I am a top water junkie and the frog is what I throw everyday out here on the Washington coast. There is nothing better than seeing a fish blow up on your frog or other top water baits and landing them. I also seem to catch bigger fish on the frogs. Tight lines and good luck.
To me fun fishing is multi-species ultralight with a Rooster Tail or tiny Rat-L-Trap. I love that I can pull up a sunfish, warmouth, Rio Grande cichlid, crappie, smallmouth, or largemouth. If I get a medium sized bass, then it's really a fight.
I have no confidence in topwater baits. The only way to fix that is to fish it more. However my fishing time is very limited,
As a fun fisherman i fish the FROG All day for a few bites before I spend my time with the fairy wand and a jig head minnow !
Topwater….Frog, Spook, etc. All day Everyday. Great content as always. Keep it coming. Thanks
This past winter I bought 27 hybrid hunters and 16 poppin perch based on your opinions. I trust you
I will fish more old school first. But I’m 60. I will get ffs because I think it will be fun see what fish are doing throughout the year. But most the time I’m still junk fishing first. I believe the answer is specific. New generation is going to ffs first, absolutely I believe that. Weekenders and local tournaments on up to pro tourneys are probably going to 50/50 unless there new generation. “Pro’s” have to do whatever it takes to compete. Since FFS is newish, all most the pros are talking and showing FFS baits. Watch any of their RUclips channels. Wheeler, DC, Daniel Jr., B-lat, John Crew, Scott Martin, and any other the Asian anglers. They are all showing FFS stuff and I think the next generation are watching and learning to fish that way to start with so they will do that first and probably not do well if it doesn’t work out. For sure!!!
I’m always going start with the Popping Perch or the Sexy Dawg. I personally will never start with the ZToo. Just something about that top water bite. I only scope if I can’t catch’em any other way. I’d rather drag a Crig all day than scope.
I'm from the North, I'd rather do Top water, spinnerbait, square bill and a Texas rig. Don't like the new thing
FFS can be used 7 days a week by the guys who are good at it to catch a bass. Frog is simply not that dependable for 7 days a week.
I 100 percent prefer the frog/popper. Prefer the popper wit 6 hooks over 2 if it is around hard cover.
I’m 28 and yes I have livescope but I’m picking the frog all day long any day of the week
Frog and Square Bill, that's my jam!
Buzzbait
Todd,
My fishing partner fished LBJ with y'all. I unfortunately couldn't make it. I kept telling him to throw the frog up there because it shows out this time of year. He didn't and finished right behind y'all. He threw a worm to catch his. He did have the 3rd largest fish weighed. But if he threw the frog. He may have gotten fewer bites, but the fish that hit the frog consistently are bigger. See if I would have come, those other fish would have been bigger!! 😆