Leopard frogs for bait.

[korn_fish]

Come september, I will always try to have leopard frogs.

You would be surprised at the number of lunker eyes I catch with them when I am targeting cats.

I sometimes hook them through the lips, or through the back legs. Those pesky things will actually pull themselves off the hook with their feet. so somtimes I just knock them out before I put them on the hook.

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http://www.angelfire.com/mn/flatheadpride/index.html

[bmc]

If you guys use leopard frog's for cat bait, how do you use them? I've fished the St. Louis River in Floodwood, MN twice the last couple weeks with no cats yet. I've tried fresh cut redhorse, smelt, nightcrawlers, and leopard frogs. I've just been using a slip sinker and a #2 circle hook. I've been hooking the frog through the lips and using them that way. After I've fished for a while, I cut it's gut open and then use them that way. Any other suggestions?

bmc

[Fisher Dave]

They should work either way as long as the fish are large enough that your targeting to take the bait.

The spots you've been fishing, I dont think it will help if you rig them with explosives.. its been dead for some reason. The only cats that have been caught as of recent have been just upstream of the Floodwood adjecent to private property (need a boat).

I would highly recommend running up near the cty 29 access, or into Brookston the next time your around. I haven't had a chance to hit the river recently .. been fishing Prairie.. I'll get out on the river one of these nights and try to give you some up-to-the-min reports.

The rain has really made the fishing tricky on the river as of late .. lets hope for stable weather.

[Guest]

Ya, frogs can work kinda-sorta.

Day one. We were working on a pattern, it started to show promise, 40 big Kitty's.

Darn kitty [PoorWordUsage]ped on me Eh?

We were slipping frogs rigged on 5' leaders, a 7 O/T Gamakatsu barbless circle hook, a 3/8 bullet weight, and a float through fast water over rock reefs.

Day two, a tiny bit better today. Two clients fishing with me today, Steve & Steve, we caught 60 Sumo Channel Cats like these sumo's in 7 hours. We were pulling them in two at a time most of the day.

They kept me and the frogs hop'n all day.

Yup-Yup, Eddy & De kitty's likie Da Kermits!

Me just don't like kitty [PoorWordUsage] is all.

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Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"
701-281-2300

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[Steve Foss]

bmc:

Yep, definitely not a question of how you're using the bait when you've been skunked on that whole rundown of baits.

You said you'd gone with no fish, but not sure if that means without bites. I'm assuming you know how to set (actually, not set) a circle hook, so if you got bites, you'd get hookups.

Sounds like you're in the wrong places or the cats are on a funk. So much time has passed after the spawn that I don't buy the funk part, so I'd guess you're fishing where the fish aren't if you're not getting bites.

If so, examine the types of places you've been hitting, and hit different currents/depths, etc.

I always hooked frogs once just above the vent, and sometimes would hook them there, then thread each leg onto the hook so there's not so much frog not near a hook point. Cats don't seem to care one way or the other.

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
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[bear hunter]

i wood go fish in brookston the cat fishing has ben pritty good i havint ben out in the past week put my cuzin has ben and he says its prity good i might be out tomaro

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[bmc]

Thanks for the reply stcatfish. The first time, I fished with FisherDave. We fished where a small river flows into the St. Louis. I fished upstream of that location at another spot where a different smaller river flows into the St. Louis. If you go to the Duluth forum, you'll see my post. I'm just gonna keep after it, maybe grab a county map and see where that takes me. I'm strictly shore fishing and that maybe part of the problem too, not getting out into deep enough water? From what I've heard cats' hit pretty aggressively. I don't believe I've had any hits either, so it may well be the location thing. Oh well that's why it's called fishing and not catching! lol

bmc