Bully'EMM
by John McKean
An olympic judge would have rated the vault at 9.7. "Darn! ," I thought, "Did I forget to tell Sandy about the 4' black snake that's been roaming through those bullrushes?!" Amidst a horrific scream, my son's pretty 26 year old girlfriend shot straight up the hillside yelling about a monster! Seems, though, that all the fuss was about the flopping critter on the end of her line - a big, bugeyed, leg kickin' bullfrog!
Frogs frequently attack virtually any surface-moving lure that is slowly worked through shallow, near- shoreline floating gunk. In fact, during late spring or early summer, there's usually so many big bullfrogs concentrated in swampy type lakes and ponds, that they can be specifically targetted.No matter whether you may be interested in a heaping platter of delicious fried frog legs, or just like to catch & harmlessly release the jumpy green creatures, this unusual sport can be a blast!
Of course, FUN is the name of the EMMROD game!! A short Packer with a spincast reel or a Mountaineer with an open face spinning reel adds a lot to the excitement of frog stalking, due to the pinpoint casting allowed only by a short pole; a vital aspect of this activity is to place your lure VERY close to motionless, but very focused, hungry amphibian. Frogs are not great fighters - the major thrill is watching the leaping take - so a "length-challenged" rod is almost a necessity to derive maximum feel of the initial wrestling match with these often bass sized predators. Another important aspect of acquiring your catch is setting the hook - the longer,limber rods won't do this well and often jettison the lure right out froggy's mouth, but an Emmrod will set with a very short stroke, sometimes subtly hauling in your catch without even stinging him with a hook point!
The word "lure" has been mentioned several times already. Don't Bullies have a reputation as bug eaters? Well, the aggressive larger specimens, the kind we're after, will attack and bite almost anything of any size that ambles by! Surprisingly, our most productive bait has proven to be a small plastic FROG !! In fact,years ago one of the major producers of soft hollow frogs received so much demand from sportsmen who accidentally hooked bullfrogs while bass fishing, that they actually produced a special frog hunting version! These days I have most success with the newer buzzin' frogs which kick & swim on a slow steady retreive.
Look around the shallows for a pair of dark protuding eyes -it's surprising when you actually search how many eyeballs will be out there waiting! Cast your fake frog slightly beyond, then slowly retreive it right at the lurking monster. If there's a lily pad or small log beside your prey, pull it right up onto the floating cover and wait ; the sudden leap won't be too long forthcoming! Other times a Bully will suddenly engulf your lure during the swim -by. Still more strikes will come from an actual hard charging frog -you'll thrill to the fast wake following the bait!
For a bit of "comedic relief" from regular fishing this spring , haul your Emmrod down to the bogs and tempt a few of these always hungry, big mouthed bullfrogs. Teach your kids, as there's something magical between youngsters and frogs that should be part of every little outdoorsman's upbringing! I can still recall showing this technique to my youngest son when he was 5 -nothing ever from all fishing in the 20 years since gave him the thrill of tricking, meeting, then releasing his own pet "Kermit"!!
