Scum Frog

[Pikemaster101]

How well dose the scum frog work and where dose it work good ? Also what is a good color ?

[river rat316]

Just like the name says.... in the scum, its a real good fall lure when the frogs are migrating, fish it in pads and other likely bass/northern hangouts and you will get some viscous strikes real fun to watch em blow up on it (just like every topwater)dont limit it just to fall though it will produce as long as water temps are pretty decent, somebody else might be able to pinpoint an exact water temp that works but I dont know it, I think the main key is the frogs have to be out of the mud for it to work. Ohh and also dont set the hook the minute the fish blows up on it wait to feel the fish and your hooking % will go up well thats my 2 cents Im sure others will have more to say

[Mn Walleye 1976]

I like to use them all summer long.I also like the Moss Mouse. Black and chartruse(sp) are my favorite colors. Just hit the pockets in the thickest nastiest stuff you can find and hang on. Just like River Rat said make sure you feel the fish before you set the hook.

[bucketmouth64]

I like using the Rat in the scum, lily pads, or any other surface vegetation. Fun to watch the blow-ups on the surface . Remember to wait a couple of seconds as people have said earlier before you set the hook. Most of my hookups are deep in the mouth so you know they wanted it.

[SCUMFROG]

My favorite lure. I use them all summer in the pads, slop, milfoil, and some thing new open water, yes I said open water. I have had bass nail them in open water. Any time of the day works if the fish are there and feeding just like every other lure out there. Scum Frogs are my go to bait, I've put more fish in the boat with them then I have with any other lure. Just my 2-cents.

[gspman]

I love the snagproof tournament frog in the smaller size. The problem is I love it too much. I need to learn how to fish jig & pigs and carolina rigs and texas rigged worms but I'm so hooked on these I can't do it.

[walleyedude]

When i use one of these i throw it into a huge clump of lily pads and work it slowly through and you can catch some big bass and some northerns like that. Ive only used the popper type so i dont know if that makes a difference.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I love fishing scumfrogs. Work them in any thick vegatation. You gotta work them really slow so the fish can find and track them. Move them several inches and pause, and when you reach an opening dont be afraid to let it sit. Also like others said if you get one to attack dont set the hook immediatley lots of time the fish will be just trying to knock it off the pads or try disorient it, not actually bite.

[matthothand]

Scum Frogs are great lures and definately an exciting lure to fish. In Minnesota I'll start throwing scum frogs and related hollow plastic surface baits about the last week in June. I'm not sure what the water temperature generally is, but that week typically starts producing fish for me. I like to fish the frogs in smaller, more remote, bays that have a good amount of surface vegetation. My best spots are areas with cat tails lacing the shore and growing into water about 2 feet deep. I'll throw the frog RIGHT next to the cat tails and let it sit for a good three seconds (until the ripples disappear) and then twich it gently through the open water pocket, then use a steady retrieve once the bait reaches surface vegetation. I've caught a lot of fish without even moving the bait. The fish will just nail it while letting it come to rest after a cast. I prefer the steady retrieve over vegetation (pads, milfoil, etc.) because I think the fish can track the bait better while it's moving over pads at a constant speed and not touching water. I've had fish hit the bottom side of lilypads before and completely miss the bait and get nothing but a mouthful of green leaf. For color preferences I'll start throwing the "natural" scum frog which is mainly white with a bit of green and black and then I'll switch to either plain green or purple. These baits seeem to work best on spinning gear connected with 10 lb. superline. I prefer the braided lines for this type of fishing mainly for their abilities to slice through weeds that you may get tangled with. If I have a fish that keeps missing a bait on top I also like to have a throwback lure ready. Senkos are growing in popularity and I like to fish them in many of the same spot as scum frogs. They cast a mile and can be fished anywhere in the water column, snag free. The most important thing about fshing scum frogs is to have patience and wait for two to three seconds before you bury those hooks.

[Dan Brelje]

I am going to try fishing the slop more this summer and i was wondering if it would be wise to buy a set up more suitable for it. i.e med/heavy action with 30#.

[Wayne Ek]

Dan, my slop rod is a 6'10", heavy action and I use 65 pound braid. A med-heavy would be ok, but I feel 30# is to light for slop fishing.

[Beef46]

Quote:

---

I am going to try fishing the slop more this summer and i was wondering if it would be wise to buy a set up more suitable for it. i.e med/heavy action with 30#.

---

If you are planning on fishing slop you definately want to go heavy with both rod and line. If not, you will lose a lot of fish........and lures.

[guideman]

Heavy cover(Slop) is definately not the time for light tackle. I fish frogs on a medium heavy 7ft rod with a baitcaster and 50lb fireline. Topwater fishing in the slop, isn't a finess presentation.

You can get by with heavy mono however the strech

will really hurt your hooksets. Heavy cover means heavy tackle, you're better off using the correct tools for the job.

"Ace"

[Chris Haley]

You want a mouse!! Try a phelps Marsh Mouse!!! They are made out of platex covered foam, that always lands upright and casts a country mile even in the wind!!! Because they are solid(foam) they have the weight for casting. This is my favorite mouse style lure. Also very hard to beat a Northland Tackle "Jawbreaker Spoon" for slop fishing!!

[river rat316]

Ive been trying to find information on the jawbreaker can someone post a pic of what they look like?

[fishin789]

try the jawbreaker spoon.I usually add a twin tail grub to these when I fish the slop.

[Deitz Dittrich]

River rat they are on thenorthland tackle site.. another lure that is very similar that I use is the Mepps Timberdoodle!.. also on the mepps site!

[goose pit]

The setup I use for fishin scum frogs is a 7' 6" G Loomis GL2 Heavy Mod Fast rod with a Pinnacle Extant reel spooled with 6-30 Spiderwire. This rod is pretty much a crankbait rod but is the best I have found for fishin scummies.

[Ed Carlson]

Well call me nuts....but this season I plan to try them on big cats..on a 9 wt fly rod.

That should be a hoot..Eh.

[EBass]

I love scum frogs for bass and pike to. Heck even a musky make take a whack at it. Catfish Ed? I suppose those are sumo kitties up there.

[Deitz Dittrich]

O.K. ed but you asked for it.. "YOUR NUTS"

I actually caught my largest pike last summer on a scum frog.. on Knife lake.. fish was about 17 lbs... Fun stuff!

[Wayne Ek]

Chris, I like the mouse, but boy do toothy critters make a mess of them. With jawbreakers or timber spoons I've been adding 3x trailers from Strike King, since these plastics float very high, they let you work the spoon a little slower, not much, but a little.

[Ed Carlson]

I do sumo cats on 9' hard and soft Muskie baits so a ScumFrog should make for a nice appetizer for Miss Piggy.

Cats on cranks can happen although it is most certainly a presentation of opportunity. On one cranky cat escapade I did 40 #20 class cats in 2 1/2 hours...and the guys watching could not figure out what the heck I was up too at all(EH--look at the crazy Yank with the big cranks..Eh). A few slipped by and laughed at me flinging these big Salmo plugs but once they seen how busy my net man was....they kinda stopped snickering.

I have been eager to test the Phelps Scum Frogs on the Fly Rod, or on heavy saltwater spinning gear. You might not want to volunteer to be in the boat with me while I try to figure the fly rod thing out though...just to be safe. I know a few top fly guys on the Canadian end who do well on cats and man does it look like fun. Again, this would be a presentation of opportunity yet I am certain they will go for it given past experiences on top and sup-surface baits for big channel cats.