TOPWATER FROG BAITS r e m m u for S BASS by Jeff Woleslagle photos by the author I eased the kayak into the water, anxious for the coolness that early evening brings and was pleased with the opportunity to fish until dark. The air had that special summer stillness, and the lake was as calm as a sheet of glass. Paddling as quietly as I could, I took the vessel into a back bay that was lined with cattails and weed-choked with lily pads and other emergent vegetation. Making a long cast to the very back of the cove, my lure landed near a hole in the lily pads, and I let the 36 Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * July/August 2018 water's surface calm before giving it a few twitches to start the retrieve. It was on the second twitch that the lure disappeared in a violent explosion of weeds and water. I waited just long enough to feel weight on the line and reared back hard to set the hook. The rod bowed and I had no doubt I was into a very solid fish. The bass made several surges into the thick aquatic plant growth, and I applied pressure each time to keep it from burying itself. Eventually working it along the side of the kayak, I reached down to unhook the nearly 4-pound Largemouth Bass that would be the first of about six that evening. That is the magic of fishing topwater frogs for bass. Strikes are often heart-stopping affairs that frequently come when an angler least expects it. The great thing about frog baits is that you can fish it where many other lures simply can't go. You www.gonefishingpa.comhttp://www.gonefishingpa.com