Spro Bronzeye

[rodnreel]

Just picked up a Black Bronzeye to try out. There are a few ponds around my area that have some good lily pads and weeds that should produce some fish on this bait. The lake I usually fish though really doesn't have any of that cover around, but it's filled with boat docks. I've never really used a topwater frog before, does it have any uses around those docks?

[Bassboss]

If the lake you're at does not have much cover, than the fish should really be oriented to the docks and structure.

I like to approch docks with 5 easy steps

1) The way I'd go after the boat docks if first set the troll motor on high. 2) Get on a shallow crankbait, spinnerbait, jerkbait, or what ever you favorite reaction or fast moving bait. Find a good stretch of docks and troll around making casts under, beside, all the angles you can get on the dock make a cast there, you should be able to pick up active fish that way and get a limit quick. Also fish the shadow line much like you would a weed line, bass react the them much as the do weedlines! 3) Once you go over the docks like that, than go back to the docks you started at. 4) Put on a jig & pig, worm, creature, or what ever your favorite bottom bouncing bait is. Set the troll motor on low, and go along the docks, pitching to the shady pillions. Fish the shadow line too. 5) If you don't get bit like that, do finesse, use a worm like zoom trick worm and skip under there with a spinning rod, I'd use 10lb flouro or mono. Slowly fish the worm around the dock, slow is the way to go.

So....

1) Find a good long stretch or docks.

2) Put on a fast moving bait, spinnerbait, crankbait etc.
- shadow lines
- Shady side
- get a limit

3) Go back to the beginning of the docks

4) Slow down; fish them with a jig, worm, or any bottom bouncing bait
- go for quality fish

5) If you still don't get bit like this than go finesse
- Weight less/light worms
- skip them under the dock

You could also try the frog and skip it under the docks, I'd probably work well too. And it should work great around the pads in your ponds

[Kevin]

I fish frogs more than most and docks are one of my favorite places to fish frogs. I fish them a bit differently than I do around vegetation though. At docks, I'll just pop them non-stop back to the boat.. maybe pausing the frog 1 or 2 times during the retrieve, since a lot of followers will hit on the pause. Experiment with your retrieve around docks and see what works for you though. Bottom line, frogs are great around docks!

Just FYI, I've become less and less a fan of the Spro Bronzeye when dealing with anything other than grass. The frog fills up too quickly in open water and just becomes a major annoyance. You can cure that buy adding some glue to the nose of the bait, but that's annoying too if you go through hundreds of frogs a year like me. Snag Proof makes some good ones, so does Optimum (Furbit), etc. I'll be trying out the Mad Maxx in a day or so to see how that does too.

[rodnreel]

Bassboss, that sure was a lot more information than I was expecting! Great tips though for fishing those docks. I usually try to follow that same pattern, but more times than not I find myself starting with the finesse approach first, mainly because it's usually the most productive for me. So I may be missing fish that I could be catching with those cranks/spinners.

Kevin, so what you're saying is I shouldn't have bought the Spro, lol !! Being new to frog fishing, I went with something I had heard of before and in a color that seems to do universally well. But it's great to hear that they have their uses around docks. I was under the impression that they were only slop baits. Is there a better color for dock use than what would typically be used when fishing in the thick stuff?

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by rodnreel

Kevin, so what you're saying is I shouldn't have bought the Spro, lol !! Being new to frog fishing, I went with something I had heard of before and in a color that seems to do universally well. But it's great to hear that they have their uses around docks. I was under the impression that they were only slop baits. Is there a better color for dock use than what would typically be used when fishing in the thick stuff?

Well I really like the Bronzeye... it's just that it is annoying to constantly have to squeeze a gallon of water out of it after every cast. When fishing matted grass, the frogs don't fill up with water as quickly because they aren't exposed to the water as much.. so the Bronzeye can start sinking halfway back to the boat if you're in open water. Some other baits, (like the furbit) will not do that.

If you're targeting shade around the docks on a sunny day, I'd try a darker color, like black. If there isn't much shade, then try yellow or white. Anything will work though... those are just my most productive colors as a whole here in my region.

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by rodnreel

Bassboss, that sure was a lot more information than I was expecting! Great tips though for fishing those docks. I usually try to follow that same pattern, but more times than not I find myself starting with the finesse approach first, mainly because it's usually the most productive for me. So I may be missing fish that I could be catching with those cranks/spinners.
typically be used when fishing in the thick stuff?

Yes, you may be, but the reason I say use a fast bait, is because you'll find the fish that way. And once you pick off all the active one (normally the smaller ones 1-3lb range), and after you pick off those active fish, than go and get the more sluggish fish (normally bigger ones in the 3-10+lb range a like this).

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I fish frogs more than most and docks are one of my favorite places to fish frogs. I fish them a bit differently than I do around vegetation though. At docks, I'll just pop them non-stop back to the boat.. maybe pausing the frog 1 or 2 times during the retrieve, since a lot of followers will hit on the pause. Experiment with your retrieve around docks and see what works for you though. Bottom line, frogs are great around docks!

Just FYI, I've become less and less a fan of the Spro Bronzeye when dealing with anything other than grass. The frog fills up too quickly in open water and just becomes a major annoyance. You can cure that buy adding some glue to the nose of the bait, but that's annoying too if you go through hundreds of frogs a year like me. Snag Proof makes some good ones, so does Optimum (Furbit), etc. I'll be trying out the Mad Maxx in a day or so to see how that does too.

Yep, Love the black Bobby's Perfect Frog. The Mad Maxx frogs arent bad either. They don't fill up with water and you can cast 'em a mile