I just found this out about FLW Professional Angler Ray Scheide.  He loves frogs.  Yep, that’s right.  He loves frogs.  He loves frogs so much that you will always find one on the deck of his bass boat and if you dig around you would find them stashed away in his rod locker or other storage compartments.  Now Scheide isn’t keeping them around as lucky charms.  No, Scheide is using them as lures for catching bass, big bass!

Scheide (www.rayscheide.com) is not your typical weekend tournament angler; in fact, he is unique among professional bass anglers.  His resume reads like the “who’s, who” of bass fishing.  Scheide has qualified for 5 out of the last 7 FLW Cup Championships, Red Man All-American, Stren Championship, Euro Cup, and has 2 FLW Tour Wins.  His list of sponsors includes the City of Russellville, Arkansas, Denali Custom Fishing Rods (denalirods.com), Phil Wright Autoplex of Russellville, Nech Wilderness (www.nechwilderness.com), BlackKatCreations.com, Flying Fishermen Eyewear, and Mossback Fish Rack (www.mossbackrack.com).  It’s a list of sponsors that any touring professional angler would love to have.  But it’s his skill of fishing a frog that most other anglers are envious over.  The truth is that a lot of his success over the years has come with catching bass on frogs.  Those little green frogs have put some big checks in Scheide’s bank account.

Scheide’s success with fishing a frog comes from knowing when and where to fish it.  He broke it down to five seasons.  “The first season would be in the spring right close to the spawn; prespawn, when the bass are getting ready to spawn and moving into the bedding areas.  Bass will find hard bottom areas early and lily pad stems can be an awesome place to catch bass.  The second season is after the spawn, post spawn, when the bass have moved off the spawning areas to suspend and recuperate after the spawn.  This is a fantastic time to catch fish on topwater lures like frogs.  Bass will be protecting fry before moving back to deepwater.  The third season is summer.  During the summer frogs can be casted in and around the thickest cover or around structure on the shady side.  Another overlooked time to fish frogs during the summer is if there is a mayfly hatch.  Bass just go nuts over topwater baits like a frog and this pattern is normally overlooked by most anglers.  The fourth season would be in the fall, once the water temperatures drop to the mid to lower 80’s; of course temperatures in the 70’s are better.  Normally, you start getting some rain and the bass will be active in the thick cover.  The fifth season is winter.  In the winter, I have had only limited success so it’s not really a factor.” 

Scheide knows when to fish it, but also what retrieves work best and when.  “During the spawn, I walk the frog side to side slowing the pace over top the bed.  This drives bass crazy.  Otherwise, I like to work it back in the side to side movement quickly.  The key is to work the lure back where the fish are located.  When mat fishing, I look to points; some of these points are very subtle which can be very productive.”  Frog fishing can be extremely frustrating at times.  Bass will come up through the thickest cover to crush a frog only to miss it.  Knowing this Scheide gave this advice for anglers fishing a frog.  “Fatigue plays a major part in frog fishing.  You have to commit to fishing it all day long to come in with a big stringer.  So it’s important to have a reel that picks up line fast and having a rod with a super strong backbone to get the bass out of the cover before they can bury themselves in it,” explained Scheide. 

 
Once you know when and where to fish a frog, Scheide believes that an anglers has to have the right combination to catch bass from heavy cover on a frog.  For Scheide it starts with having the right rod.  “I use the Denali Rosewood Shadow Series Frog Rod.  It has all the features I look for in a frog rod like ALPS Light XN Stainless Steel recessed ring guides, lightweight Grade A Portuguese Cork, extremely lightweight, and sensitive,” explained Scheide.  The model that Scheide uses is the Denali Shadow Series 6-foot, 10-inches Heavy Casting Frog Rod built from a Hi-Modulus BSTI-10 Blank and features an ergonomic split-grip handle.  “The Denali Frog Rod is ideal when using braid or monofilament lines fishing a hollow belly frog like the SPRO Frog,” added Scheide.  As for a reel, Scheide like to use a reel with a 6.3:1 or 6.4:1 high speed retrieve, but also looks for a reel that can wrench them out of thick cover.  For fishing line when fishing a frog, Scheide prefers 50-pound braid.  “I like a flexible line that has the strength you need to get the bass out of thick cover quickly,” said Scheide.

Well, the secret is out.  Scheide loves fishing with frogs and his success over the years is proof of that.  It’s enough to make some anglers a little green with envy.