Bass fishing guide Jake Davis sets the hook with a weedless frog and drags a bragging-sized bass out of the grass on Guntersville Lake. (Photo: Richard Simms)
Chilly autumn mornings and vibrant foliage mark a magical season for area fishermen. And for a Tennessee River angler, a school of shallow-running shad can be as exhilarating as a throwing a Hail Mary pass into an end zone. In each case, there’s a potential for a big score.
Yes, it’s topwater time on the Tennessee - the wonderful fish-slamming window where amateur and professional anglers can dance topwater lures across the surface to take advantage of bass feeding frenzies.
The phenomenon occurs each year as cooler temperatures force baitfish into the shallows where the water is warmer. As gizzard shad and other minnows rise to the surface, hungry bass follow, ready to ambush their prey.
“Things are looking up, literally,” said John Justice, TVA Fisheries biologist. “When forage fish congregate and move up, predator fish come with them. The whole migration pattern congregates fish into a smaller area, and that makes them easier to catch.”
Chickamauga Lake bass fishing guide Capt. Ben Hayes says, however, that the traditional hot Fall bass bite hasn"t really kicked in yet. Winning weights on area bass tournaments have been much lower than normal. Capt. hayes is confident that will soon change as water temperatures drop.
"I really think the bite is about to kick in strong," he said. "The shad will start moving into the shallows. Our bass bite just went nuts in November liast year. Now the grass matts are starting to break up so we might be throwing spinner baits and flukes instead of weedless frogs."
For fishing a Tennessee River reservoir with grass or lily pads, a traditional topwater, weedless frog is always a tool in any serious bass angler"s arsenal. It is one of the most exciting techniques there is. Watching a huge bass smash a topwater frog will stop an angler"s heart. Guntersville, Nickajack and Chickamauga lakes are excellent lakes for frog fishing.
It"s a favorite pattern for Dayton, Tenn. professional angler Michael Neal. Neal says the most important tools for finding bass in the grass are his ears.
"I go along until I hear bream popping... it sounds like Rice Krispies cereal," said Neal. "What they"re doing is they"re up under than mat just eating little bugs or whatever else they can find that"s in there for them to eat."
Lot of bream means lots of bait for bass. Neal also looks for holes in matted vegetation. Those are called "blow holes" where bass have been coming up and eating something off the top.
The key for fishing frogs in the grass mats is heavy tackle. Neal prefers a 7 or 8 foot rod with heavy action loaded with 60 lb. test braided line.
The heavy tackle is an absolute necessity for dragging bass out of the heavy mats of grass. You really get very little "fight" from a fish because of the matted grass. But the blowups and strikes can be awe-inspiring.
Neal says it is critical to make as long a cast as possible to cover more area and the bass, especially the larger ones, don"t really relate to the edge of the grass.
Here"s a video from Neal with more tips for frog fishing the grass (Editor"s Note - Neal has announced that next season he is moving from the FLW circuit and will be fishing the MLF bass tournament tour instead.).
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