Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Maybe it says something about my age, but in my opinion there are no shows any funnier than Looney Tunes and The Muppet Show. Come to think of it, maybe it says something about my warped sense of humor?
Anywho, if you watched any of the old Muppet Show, you know that Miss Piggy had a big crush on Kermit the frog. Let me tell you, that is also true of big bass in Nebraska waters!
Largemouth bass thrive in habitats that offer relatively clean water and an abundance of shallow water cover especially aquatic vegetation. In Nebraska, that means our best bass habitats and best bass fisheries tend to be smaller bodies of water–pits, ponds, small- to medium-size reservoirs. Our sandhill lakes are great bass habitats as well.
Something else that thrives in those habitats would be frogs. Bullfrogs and leopard frogs can be found across the state. Wherever they are present, you better believe the “Miss Piggies” in those waters crush on ’em. I believe this is most true mid- to late-summer into early fall.
One of the best things about the bass/frog predator/prey relationship is that topwater presentations are best. Find some shallow water cover near shore, toss a scum frog, buzzbait, or the old Jitterbugs and Hula Poppers and chances are you will get bit.
I mentioned that this particular fishing pattern especially applies to Nebraska pits, ponds and sandhill lakes. Most of the state’s large reservoirs are irrigation reservoirs that experience summer drawdowns of several feet. The water level fluctuations make those waterbodies less ideal for shallow water species like black bass. However, largemouths are present in many of those waters. Especially early and late in the day those bass often cruise shorelines looking for any frogs that are present. They may not be classic places to throw frog imitations, but the bass know that the few frogs that are there are very exposed.
Also let me say that largemouth bass are NOT the only predator fish that love frogs! We have found that in small waters smallmouth bass can be very successful as long as they do not have to compete with largemouths. In those waters the smallies love Kermie just as much as the green bass do.
Many of the pits and ponds in Nebraska also have some big channel cats present. Once again I will tell you that in late summer those catfish also love frogs. In fact during feeding windows, the channel cats will also cruise shallow water cover stalking frogs.
Yes, this can be a challenging time of year to scratch a few fish. On the other hand, the fish are always biting and there are some opportunities of which you can take advantage. Do not cuss the shallow water “weeds” and “moss”! There are frogs in that cover and there are some piggies willing to eat ’em. Take advantage of it!