Swimming a frog, natural look or un-natural?

[John J. 0]

I went down to my pond yesterday, the weather was perfect! Got up to 80 degrees but the wind was blowing a bit. I wanted to try out some plastic frogs that I had poured.

From what I understand, the common way to work a frog is for it to become a topwater and you twitch it on the surface (buzzing a frog, etc.). But what about letting the frog sink and swimming it much like a jerk-bait or spinner-bait?

Would this technique resemble a natural or un-natural look? I ask this because all the bass in the pond were just looking at it when it was on top of the water and slightly tapping my frog, but when I started to swim it, they were nailing it! And I mean comming out of nowhere and hammering it.

Could it be possible that the frog color I chose + the possibility of the natural look of a frog swimming = a natural presentation that the bass liked? or could it be because the bass in the pond never seen a swimming frog? (because I never fished a frog like that before).

Opinions?

[skillet 0]

 I  ;Dlike ;Dbrians' answer. Hits the nail on it's head...

                      As Ever,

                       skillet

[hawgchaser 1]

A lot of times I fish one on top and then let it drop for a few second and reel it back to the top. The fish hit it on the drop most of the time.

It sounds like you have it figured out!

[Marty 199]

Could it be possible that the frog color I chose + the possibility of the natural look of a frog swimming = a natural presentation that the bass liked? or could it be because the bass in the pond never seen a swimming frog? (because I never fished a frog like that before).

Could be none of those possibilities. All we know for sure is that they weren't willing to hit it as a topwater, but were interested in a subsurface presentation.

I buy into the theory that a bait doesn't need to look or act natural (natural is a people concept, not a fish's), but it does need to appeal to the bass's senses and stimulate it to strike.

[Sam 4,585]

John J, what type of frog are you throwing?

One that is designed to be pulled over grass and pads and slop?

One designed to be fished like a buzzbait?

One designed to be fished in open water along the shore or bulkheads?

One designed to be fished over the grass, like on the Pamunkey?

Fish it anyway you want as long as the bass will hit it.

I have caught bass in open water and over lilly pads using a Scum Frog. I have had catfish hit the Scum Frog, too.

I like the SPRO and the Barinsky (spelling) for their action.

The Horny Toad is a fun bait to use on the rivers over the grasses.

A Hula Popper (looks like a frog) is a killer on ponds and rivers in the early AM.

And what about the Chatterbait designed to look like a frog?

So just go ahead and throw that frog all you want, but under no conditions are you to date a frog.  Only date pretty girls.  

[88 Tim 0]

A frog will swim under water when you spook them off the bank, so yes I would say that it is natural. Never thought about swiming one under the surface. How deep was your frog running when the bass hit it?

[John J. 0]

Thanks for all the replies!

John J, what type of frog are you throwing?

I was throwing a frog that I made, the mould resembles a ZOOM Horny Toad but the batch I made were softer and more flexible than the horny toad.

88 Tim- I was swimming the frog about 1-2 feet under the water (because my pond is at 6' max) when the bass engulfed it.