frogflogger

black furbit white furbit natural furbit tru tungsten spro popper

go without food or beer and buy costas you'll never regret it

For myself braid for backing isn't a good idea - I use mono for backing if I don't expect a fish to get into it with a long run.

yes on the cranks and spinner/chatterbaits and an original rapala or other small jerk bait and topwater all can work really well at times.

plain black trick worm works anywhere in the country

going to try my newly built float and fly rigs with some jigs I tied - I'll take one other rig - not sure which yet

I think you'll find that tungsten jigs are very effective -

30# sufix on a med action rod has been my go to combo

zoom super hog

I use lines that I 'think' help in a specific situation - usually to do with not impeding action or presentation - not sure bass care but I do know really big bass are a different ball game altogether.

just rewrapped a fiberglass fenwick from the 60's my best spook rod

stik - o's - I have hundreds - they work - I stay away from store brand hard baits - not interested in trying a store brand when I know the action of the name brand

40-44 - jerkbait 45> - square bill on protected northern banks

great color

bandits are great little baits and reasonably priced - usually don't need tuning

I found the daiwa light and tough frog rod - 7'4" - to suit me better than any of the others I tried - at the time it was given to me frog fishing was what I did every day - 250-300 days a year - don't know if they still market them.

great reels - my only complaint was mine got stolen - other good reels right beside them but they went for the curados

I've never fished upstate ny but my partner from florida goes there once or twice a summer to visit family and has had good results using a couple of topwater techniques - spooks which I'm sure you have and a white furbit with legs trimmed short - middle of day with a breeze - clear water - these two have accounted for some pretty good bass for him up there - one a 7lber - it was in a lake with a housing development or vacation homes around it so it may have been private - not sure - but he had the years biggest bass a couple of years in a row.

Shallow running Hawaiian wigglers still catch fish for me particularly around stumps - very difficult to find them

For sure, when fishing a johnson spoon or horny toad type I fish with a high tip and wait on the weight but with hollow bodies the low rod tip position has been very efficient for me - but as you say what works for a person is their correct choice. It's great to get different approaches to a common goal - more bass on frogs!

The rod I use has a moderate action - it flexes down through the blank, not just the tip or upper part - with braided line you can take away the bait with a fast tip rod and when fighting a big fish in close quarters something has to give. Fishing 250 - 300 days a year and fishing frogs most of the time I came to believe the mod. action let the fish eat the frog, most fish "choked" the frog, very seldom hooked them in the lips mostly deep in the roof of the mouth usually with both hooks in them. I was fortunate to be in the everglades which is frog fishing heaven - but even in the clear deep lakes without vegetation I now fish the same technique is still effective. It's bass fishing so everyone has their own take on it but this worked very well for me and it was a long journey to come to the mod. action which goes against the accepted stuff out there - I have several fast action frog rods that are now used for other things but not frog fishing. The key to our hookset was to begin reeling immediately with the rod sweep to the side -- give it a try if you have a low hookup percentage it will surprise you - hopefully in a good way.

I agree with McAlpine - went through many many rods looking for the perfect frog rod (for myself of course) I ended up using the Daiwa light and tough frog rod - it has a moderate action, casts frogs a mile and is forgiving in close quarters combat with the braided line. The idea that you must drag in the fish and the giant weed ball will cost you fish - if the bass buries up go to the fish - I like a 6.3 gearing - at the strike start cranking and swing paralell to the water - this leaves the bait on the water - the same hookset I use with swimbaits - this has worked for me and it took a lot of missed fish to arrive at this technique. It might not be for everyone but I taught this technique to a lot of of satisfied clients.

I've fished an ardent 1000s since they came out - guided or fished 250 days a year with it for two years - still have it - works good, casts good - sorry they're moving

Good luck with the furbit Mike; In your area if you are in clear open water try white with the legs trimmed short (1 1/2")- black, white and natural were our mainstays - still are. Sometimes we'd subsitute a willow leaf blade for the colorado. They are a great windy day topwater.

I fell in love with the Furbit while guiding in the everglades ---1st yr it came out -- 208 bass over 5# in 90 days - 28 1/2 lbs in three casts with 1/2 hr to go in a tournament. Clients who had never caught a bass over 5lbs got to break their record several times in a half day trip. I retired to the north and caught a 3lb spot in 18' of water with a white one. They are too fragile and require attention and sometimes modification but if there is wind they are in a class by themselves. we used super glue and tiny tie wraps and carried rabbit strips from a fly fishing shop to replace the legs. Just tie wrapped them to the stubs.. I carried over 120 frogs in my boat - furbits accounted for 15 to 20% of all my frogs and 85% of my catches. They are more than a frog, when windy we fished them very aggressively - without wind a conventional frog could sometimes out fish them - but it was my go to money bait from the time it came out until I retired and moved back to deep clear lakes in appalachia (where they still catch better than avg. fish). I use a daiwa light and tough frog rod coupled with an Ardent 1000 reel (after I sent it back to Ardent and they put in a heavier drag) 50# sufix braid. The windier the better within reason - good open water bait as well as in heavy vegetation or cover. I lost several huge bass when I first started throwing them due to rods that were too stiff - the light and tough was the best we found after spending a small fortune on other rods. Give them a try on a breezy day when the water warms up.