Field Guide
Frogs
Hollow-body topwater for pads, mats, and cover other baits can't touch.
Confidence
Strong Option
Belews · Summer
Gear
Rod
Heavy Cover — 7'3–7'6" H / Fast
Reel
Casting · 150–200-size · 7.1:1–8.3:1
Line
40–65 lb Braid → 20–25 lb Optional Fluorocarbon leader (Palomar)
60-Second Refresher
When to Throw
Good Water
Warm water with active shallow fish, clouds / low light / wind chop / shade, pads, mats, grass, bluegill activity, and dirty-to-stained water where fish track vibration and silhouette.
Bad Water
Cold fronts and falling water, dead-slick bright sun without shade or cover, sparse fish with no bait or bluegill present, and open water where treble-hook topwaters are cleaner choices.
Frog System
Walking · Popping · Mat · Prop · Kicker · Swim · Finesse
One frog per situation — match profile to cover and light
Pick walking for all-around pads/mats/grass/docks. Pick popping for holes, edges, and bluegill beds where sound helps. Pick a mat frog for thick pads and slop. Pick the prop/Sprinker to cover water on grass edges. Pick a kicker-leg frog (SPRO Flappin) when a straight ElaZtech buzz-and-pause draws the eat over sparse grass and slop edges. Pick a swim frog (Molix Supernato R) when you want a big-profile leg-thumping 3/4 oz body that displaces water on a steady wind. Drop to a finesse frog on pressured fish, calm water, post-fronts, and smaller forage.
SPRO Bronzeye Frog 65 (Walking)
Midnight Walker
Clouds, dirty water, shade, low light, heavy cover
Dark profile — fish track silhouette
SPRO Bronzeye Frog 65 (Walking)
Albino
Clear water, sun, open lanes, shad
Light profile — easy visual tracking
SPRO Bronzeye Poppin' Frog 60
Albino
Holes, dock lanes, shade pockets, cleaner water
Bright target frog with extra pop
SPRO Bronzeye Poppin' Frog 60
Green Pumpkin
Pads, docks, calm water, isolated cover
Natural bluegill-style target frog
Booyah Pad Crasher (Mat)
Albino Frog
Pads, mats, and slop when tracking matters
Visible heavy-cover frog
Booyah Pad Crasher (Mat)
Night Train
Mats, dirty water, low light, thick cover
Dark silhouette frog
Teckel USA Sprinker (Prop / Buzz)
Bone
Covering water — grass edges, pad lanes, active fish
Weedless buzz-style frog
Jackall Kaera (Finesse)
Glitter Hasu
Pressured fish, calm water, post-fronts, smaller forage
Compact subtle frog
SPRO Essential Flappin Frog 65 (Kicker / Buzz)
Black
Sparse grass, pad edges, slop lanes — steady wind with intermittent pauses
ElaZtech 2.5"5/8 oz hollow body with kicker paddle legs — buzzes on the reel, floats even when torn, weedless double hook
Molix Supernato Frog R (Swim)
Black Mamba
Open pads, grass lines, and heavy cover where a big leg-thumping profile calls fish up
4.5"3/4 oz hollow body with high-density inward-facing rubber legs · bismuth-weighted (lead-free) · OMTD double frog hook · spring-lock keeper accepts custom tails
SPRO Prop Frog 65 (Prop / Buzz)
Frog
Matted slop, pads, and grass edges where a hard prop bait can't run
2-1/2", 5/8 oz hollow-body frog with fore and aft willow-blade props on ball-bearing swivels — fishes like a buzz-frog with prop pitch and stays buoyant on the pause
Two-Bait Lily Pad System
Frog up top · follow-up underneath
Throw the hollow-body frog over the top of pads, mats, scum, and thick cover. Keep a follow-up bait (toad, soft jerkbait, weightless worm, or punch rig) ready to pitch into the blowup, hole, or lane if a fish shows itself and misses.
Where to Throw Each
Lily Pads
Work holes, lanes, pad edges, and irregular clumps.
Grass Mats / Cheese / Scum
Hollow-body frogs over cover other baits cannot reach.
Shallow Grass Lines
Parallel edges; target points, pockets, and transitions.
Wood / Laydowns / Shade
Skip or walk a frog beside cover and let it pause.
Docks / Overhangs
Shade and ambush lanes — especially in warm water.
Bluegill Beds
Shines when bass are guarding or feeding around shallow panfish.
Cheat Sheet
Thick pads and mats
Booyah Pad Crasher — Albino in clear, Night Train in dirty/low light.
Open holes and dock lanes
SPRO Poppin' Frog — Albino for visibility, Green Pumpkin around bluegill.
All-around walk over grass and wood
SPRO Bronzeye 65 — Midnight Walker dark, Albino light.
Cover water fast over grass edges
Teckel Sprinker (Bone) — buzz-style, weedless.
Pressured fish / post-front / calm
Jackall Kaera (Glitter Hasu) — smaller subtle profile.
Blowup but no hookup
Pitch a follow-up (toad, soft jerk, weightless worm) back to the splash before they leave.
Shop the recommended gear, lures, and trailers
8 hand-picked items for this technique