I’m guessing you’ve never seen an albino frog on the banks of your favorite pond or lake – I know I haven’t. But a white topwater frog is one of the first lures I tie on in October.
There are tons of more natural looking topwater frog lures to tie on than white – but at this time of the year, bass are really focused on hammering shad midway to the very back of creeks around shallow habitat. And because shad are white/silver – and a white plastic topwater frog can be cast around laydowns, shallow vegetation, and shallow boat docks without getting snagged – a white frog makes perfect sense in October – and trust me – the bass agree.
The biggest bass I ever hooked – and lost – in my life – ate a white plastic frog on Pickwick Lake. I’m guessing it weighed around 12 pounds. It was so big, that as it moved to eat my frog, the wake was so huge this Louisiana boy thought it was an alligator. And I’m pretty sure there aren’t many gators in Tennessee.
It took a couple of hard dives as I fought it – and when it came unhooked – I’ll admit, I literally started to cry.
There are two white frogs I turn to most in the fall, and they’re very different. One is a Spro Baby Popper Frog which is a more standard hollow-bodied frog for twitching slowly around thicker cover.
The second is a flat soft plastic ‘buzz frog’ style lure made by Creme called the Du-Dad that I retrieve at faster speeds than the popper frog, much like you would a buzzbait, if there’s less habitat in the creeks where I see shad present. It’s best rigged with a 1/8-ounce Owner Weighted Beast Hook.
I tie both styles of frogs to 50-pound braided line, and use a 7’ 3” heavy action rod from Mud Hole because you want plenty of backbone to get fish out of thicker habitat.
While a white frog may not be the most natural looking lure you’ve ever tied on – at this time of year – I feel confident in telling you it’ll be one of the best.
