FrogFreak

Well, I fish in Minnesota and I have tons of options but we also have tons of anglers so I still go out in my kayak from time to time and hit the little lakes that don't have boat access. I just spent Saturday morning in a little lake with 4 homes on it and I was the only one fishing. Now that's paradise. The cold front kept the morning from producing loads of fish (caught 4) but it was still peaceful. There's a lake closer to my home that is long and narrow with great bass in it but it gets so busy with boaters and jetskis that you can hardly stay upright in your boat on the weekend. We do sneak out during the week and catch lots of bass that are hiding under the numerous docks.

I love salmon, trout and walleye. I suppose Id eat any fish that was done well. I agree that fresh fish are the best by far. I don't eat fish from a restaurant to often but a freshly caught and grilled salmon is to die for!

Yep, that's what I thought. I over prepare. I'll tell my wife that she was right. I do like the yoga/meditate idea.

Skoal...yep stupid habit that I've tried quitting but haven't.

I have a question. Up here in Minnesota, it's been unseasonably cool. I'm talking into the 40s at night and only into the upper sixties, low seventies during the day. The water temp was at 78 in the lake I fish and now it's down to 68-72 depending on. How would you go about tackling this situation? This is a natural lake that has 2 creeks that feed the lake and one creek that exits the lake. Plenty of weed growth and 2 major points. Maximum depth of 25 feet. Any help would be appreciated!

I was watching a video on this site and the biologist (can't remember his name) was saying that a Bass's memory is 15 minutes long. That got me wondering if bass can get conditioned to baits or presentations or if they simply have moved or turned off and we say they are used to seeing a bait when they really just aren't there anymore or just aren't turned on due to some other factor. In the pond scenario you described, I agree with some of the other guys here, I think they've moved or turned off and a slow presentation should work. I love a t-rigged worm or brush hog when I slow down.

Alive: OK, Gerald Swindle has to be up there. I'd just ask him a bunch of personal questions and try to figure out that dude. I'm sure I'd laugh plenty. But Ish or Dean Rojas would be fun so I could fine tune my frogging. Deceased: I'd love to fish with Doug Hannon just so I can pick his brain on Bass behavior.

Let's not forget the ole frog. I've caught lots of fish over 3lb way up north on a hollow body frog. I do agree with the other posts, big baits, jigs, long worms, weird colors but for my money, the hollow body frog is a go to for larger bass. Try the Koppers Live Target frog in the 65 size. They cast well, are virtually snagless, and the hook up % is better than the other popular brands I've tried (spro, kvd, booyah, scumfrog). If you don't like the price tag on the Koppers, go with a good ole Scumfrog Trophy series. They work as well. I personally would stay away from Booyah Pad Crasher, they are cheap but I've had troubles with the weight breaking off and then they just fill up with water. Just remember if you do try a frog, use 50-65 lb braid and a MH or H rod. If you try and use mono, you'll have a tougher time with hook sets. Also, when the bass hits the frog, count to 3 then set the hook. Some people say to wait until you feel the fish but I've had times where the bass was coming at me and I couldn't feel him. Some say to count to 2 or take a deep breath. I say count to 3 because I'm pretty sure you'll be pumped up and you'll count way faster than you normally would. If while counting the frog pops back up to the surface. Wait a bit and twitch again. That bass may very well be staring at the frog he just tried to eat. One more thing.....the longer you can keep that frog still between twitches, the more you'll tick off the bass!

I'm curious, how much time do you spend thinking about your upcoming weekend fishing excursion? Do you have a strategy before you hit the water? How do you go about selecting what you'll do, where you'll go etc? I work a Mon-Fri desk job and I know I start thinking about the next weekend at the lake as soon as I wake up on Monday. If I had some difficulty or have a question about what I saw the previous weekend, I hit the internet (mostly on this site) and do some research. I then review my fishing log to see what I did this time last year and I get all my gear set up for Saturday and Sunday. Then I plan out what I'm going to try and where I'm going to go on my local lake. I think my wife of 2 years is finally getting that this isn't a passing fancy. She married a bass freak. I even take her to the local tackle store on date night from time to time. Oh, another thing the usually happens on Monday is I hit the internet and buy new equipment (lures, line etc) so they arrive before the following Friday. When I get to my lake place Friday night, I start organizing tackle, make sure all my rods and reels are good to go etc.

Colton, We're up on Third Crow Wing by Park Rapids. If you want to come up and fish, pm me and we can figure it out! I wish I had known about bassresource.com back when I was fishing from shore. This is a great way to meet other fishing freaks! There's a great little canoe/kayak only access lake up here that is pretty stacked up with bass.

I thought PETA was just a bunch of freaks until I met a PETA person that actually wasn't a nut case. This person was against people being cruel to animals but also seemed to understand the recreational angler and hunter. I think any group is unfortunately defined by the vocal folks that get the most attention. I don't feel fishing is cruel but I do know that there are anglers out there that are less than ethical and couldn't care less about the sport and the true spirit of the pursuit. Most folks I want to hunt and fish with revere the animals we are pursuing. This is a spiritual thing to me. We eat what we kill. We handle the fish with care. We hone our craft so we don't gut hook fish. We pick up after ourselves and make sure we leave nature better than we found it etc. etc. My point here is no matter which group you belong to here, there are some crazy idiots in your camp. I'm not sure we should judge all PETA folks the same just like I hope they don't judge all anglers by the stupidity of a few.

On a somewhat related note, I was fishing between a swimming platform and some docks by a resort early one morning and the resort owner informed me that he considered the water between the docks and the swim platform his. He said he had guests coming and he didn't want me to fish between them. He went on to say something about it being illegal to fish where I was fishing. He said the swimming platform was like a buoy. Just to clarify here, this was early morning and there wasn't a soul on the docks, swimming etc. I just smiled and told him I wouldn't be there long. As far as advice on this goes, I personally would find another spot if you could or discuss this situation with the landowner if that is a possibility. Even if what you're doing is perfectly fine and legal, do you really need to run the risk of some crazy landowner doing something stupid for a mediocre fishing spot?

One day this ole boy was out duck hunting and he'd had a great day. He was walking back to his truck and here comes the game warden. The warden asks to see one of the ducks. The ole boy hands him a duck and the warden sticks his finger up the ducks butt and tastes his finger and says, "that's a North Dakota duck, do you have a North Dakota duck license?" Well the ole boy pulls out a ND license. The warden then asks to see another duck. He once again sticks his finger in the ducks butt, tastes his finger and says, "This here is a Minnesota duck, do you have a Minnesota duck license?" The ole boy pulls out his MN license. This happens several more times and the ole boy had all the licenses. Finally the warden said, "d**n son, you sure have a bunch of licenses, where are you from?" The ole boy drops his drawers, turns around, bends over and says, "I don't know warden, why don't you tell me!"

I started with a Zebco 33 then went to spinners. Now I use bc and spinners. What really feels awkward in my hand is an empty beer can, can't stand the feel.

How deep was the fish caught? 3-4 foot of water Did the lure contain rattles or have hinges? Nope, scumfrog Was the lure a natural color (brown, green) or was it an unnatural color (chartreuse, orange)? Natural, Black If possible, what moon phase was your PB caught during? Not sure on that one.

What about the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota. If you're truly trying to get away from the crowds, this place is awesome. We may not have 10 pound fish but our 5 pounders think they're 10 pounds. The only downside is the winter but if you like ice fishing, you're set.

I had a conversation like this with some friends who I play music with recently. They thought I was nuts to spend $400 on a rod/reel combo. They said they can catch fish with an old crappy rod/reel. I said sure and we can play music with old crappy equipment but isn't it more fun when you don't have to worry about your equipment failing or when your equipment actually enhances your performance. Well, that got them thinking. I mean these guys have Harleys and they spend a ton of money on accessories. The thing is, if you work hard your time for enjoyment is so precious, I say get what you can afford and enjoy the crap out of yourself.

Oh, they're there, just not sitting on beds waiting for me to throw my frog. It's just back to your basic find the pattern find the bass scenario. Early mornings are still good for the top water bite for sure! Just not 40 plus bass days like the spawn. The spawn this year made me feel like KVD or something.

I find if I hold the fish really close to the camera, they seem like their 6 pounds!

Well starting in mid June, I get up early fish until 1pm or so, then go hang out with the wife, get some lunch, play cards or whatever and I go out again around 6pm until dark. I like both times but I suppose I have to give a slight nod to dawn because of the beauty. I will say that up north where I fish, I don't worry about fishing early until around the middle of June. Early in the summer, I fish from about 10am until my arm falls off.

Quick report here from around the Park Rapids area. Last couple weeks have been a bit slower for me personally. I've averaged about 4-6 bass per outing. Great size on some. Mostly throwing frogs to weed edges and structure. i have recently started slowing down and have been throwing trig worms. I know where they are, I just love throwing frogs.

Yah, another up north frogging freak! Welcome Johnny!

Hello all, I've been on Bassresource now for about 2-3 weeks and I love it. My friends and family are sick of talking bass fishing with me so I'm sure they're happy too! I live in Grand Forks, ND and fish in North Central Minnesota. We have an RV on a lake called Third Crow Wing and I recently purchased a 2013 Crestliner VT17 with a 60 HP Merc and a beautiful 75# thrust Motorguide trolling motor that d**n near knocks me out of the boat if I'm not paying attention. I've been fishing since I can remember. When I was a kid growing up in Oregon, my dad and I would fish the high cascade lakes for trout and Coho Salmon. My grandfather and I would fish the Pacific for Silver and Chinook Salmon and my friends and I would fish for anything that was biting. Later in life, I joined the Air Force and was stationed up here in North Dakota. One of my fellow Airman was from Alabama and he introduced me to bass fishing. I'll never forget the first time I caught a bass.....on a Hula Popper in a local reservoir. Well, I've been hooked ever since. I live up here in Walleye country so the bass just aren't that pressured and I have many lakes to choose from. I fished from shore for years, then went to a Kayak before buying my boat. I waited until I could afford what I wanted and I'm sure glad I did. I have buddies who gave me a lot of good advice about boat buying. As far as how I fish, I am first and foremost a topwater freak, specifically frogs. Although I will say I always have a swimbait and a worm rigged up at the very least. That's about it for now. Thanks for having me on bassresource!

Sea Bass in 30 Fathom

Reminds me of an old tale of a guy who died and when he arrived in the afterlife, he saw a beautiful river and this guy was fishing. Well, he started watching and every cast, this ole fella caught a beautiful 10 lb plus bass. The newly arrived fella exclaimed, "I must be in heaven!" and the other fella who was fishing looked up and said, "Nope this is hell, everyday every cast I catch a fish!" When I get skunked it makes me think about how I'm going to get em next time. If the results were preordained, I'd find something else to do. I will say when I bring someone else, I do feel extra pressure to find the fish so they can have a good time. My grown boys are the exception to that rule, they always out fish me.