Frogs, Floats, and Fish!

If you’re not chasing catfish on interior rivers right now, what are you waiting for!? The annual catfish bonanza is on and the middle of July means frogs, floats, and fish! July is my favorite time to fish for both size and number of channel catfish, and it all starts with two words- leopard frogs.

After a soggy April, West Central Iowa was blessed with timely rains without major flooding. This moisture provided ideal conditions for leopard frog breeding. Fast forward to now, and the mother lode of juvenile frogs are now invading low areas, pastures, and even residential yards. As of this writing, my father in law and I have collected more than 2 dozen “leopards” by simply walking around my acreage. Armed with extended swatters, we stalk the lithe, camouflaged, explosive amphibians along fence lines, around buildings, and in shaded areas. When a frog is spotted, the race is on to “swat” them before they escape into grassy areas and brush piles. Attempting to herd the long jumping track stars can be challenging to say the least.

Start your search for frogs early on dewy mornings in areas with mowed grass close to road ditches or swampy areas. The frogs actively hunt for insects and warm their bodies in the short grass, never straying too far from the taller escape cover. While it’s possible to catch them by hand, the most efficient way is to build a frog swatter, which is indeed very similar to a fly swatter. First you need 3-4 feet of flexible material for the handle. I’ve seen guys use doubled up pieces of lathe, PVC pipe, and other materials, but my personal favorite is an old golf club shaft. On the business end of the “switch” you’ll want to attach a 6-8 inch rectangular piece of rubber, plywood, or wire mesh. When a frog is spotted, reach out and slap them with the swatter set to “stun”.

Pro tip: try to anticipate where the frog is going and lead them a little when swatting, this increases the odds of hits and puts more frogs in the bucket. Remember that the little frogs are fragile, and ideally the contact only dazes them, making them easy to pick up and feed into the mouth of a plastic bottle. With the proper strike, the frogs become extremely lively and active again in just a few moments. If you’re too rough with them, its best to freeze the dead and dying for use later. Plastic soda bottles work great for storing frogs and always use ones with the standard size mouth. Avoid the sports drink bottles as they usually have wide mouths. This will allow you to shake one frog out at a time head first without risk of others escaping.

There are a few keys to properly presenting a leopard frog under a slip bobber. First, make sure the float you use is buoyant enough for the weight of the frog and a couple split shots. However, you don’t need one of those beach-ball sized corks I see some guys use. Instead, pick up a couple cheap 3 packs of cigar-sized foam bobbers for this application and leave the expensive balsas at home. After you slip on the bobber stop and float, add just enough weight to guarantee your bobber stays vertical in the current. This will help you differentiate between strikes and hang ups.

When fishing floats and frogs, switch out the Triple Threats and tie on a number 2 long shank Aberdeen hook. Shake a frog to the mouth of your bottle, and while securing it with thumb and forefinger give it a quick thwack on the head with your other hand to stun it. Afterwards you won’t have any trouble baiting the hook.  

Fine wire hooks allow you to thread the frog onto your hook through the mouth and body with the point exiting its rear end. This presentation gives the frog an extremely natural look, allows the legs to kick, and enables the bait to slide up your hook and line so it can be used again after a catfish is caught. The gold hooks also straighten easily when you snag up, saving you the time and frustration of re-rigging your set. When this happens, just bend them back into shape with your pliers and you’re back in business.  

The ideal cast when fishing floats and frogs lands your bait on the edge of the water below a steep cut bank. With a slight twitch of your rod you can then plop the bait in the water with a small splash. When executed properly, this mimics the action of a frog jumping in the water, and when the cats are biting it won’t take long for your float to vanish. This isn’t panfishing so don’t expect your bobber to get pecked around. Channel cats hit leopard frogs with extreme prejudice! I’ve seen floats yanked down so hard they actually made a splash and “plop” sound as the bobber dove under the surface. Reel up your slack before setting the hook with a long sweeping motion and hold on tight!  

The Middle Raccoon and its tributaries are running a little higher than normal right now, and this can make fishing with floats more difficult. The current is stronger, the water is deeper, and clarity is reduced, and these combine to reduce anglers' control of the presentation. It also gives the catfish more room to roam and reduces their concentrations in traditional holes and cuts. As a result, it's important that you fish the “whole” river in these conditions, probing straight channels, rocky riffles, and inside bends that wouldn’t typically have enough depth to hold fish. When I was in college in Northeast Iowa, I was always amazed by a local that used a long surf rod and float to catch hordes of catfish in fast rocky shoals below a dam. While me and others used traditional slip sinker methods in the deep water immediately below, this gentleman outfished us 5:1 with his simple slip bobber presentation in non-traditional sections of water.  

If you’ve never walked or waded a stretch of river with a float and frog you don’t know what you’re missing. When the catfish are biting frogs on the right section of river, it’s common for two anglers to catch their limit in a few hours. If you’re like me and swim like a heavy rock, make sure to always wade upstream to avoid tripping into steep dropoffs and deep water as well as sucking mud and quicksand. If summer rains temporarily turn the water to chocolate milk, go with the flow and adapt. Switch back to the slip sinker rig with a frog on the bottom until the waters clear and you will keep catching fish. Good luck and tight lines!