Fishermen addicted to the thrill of a topwater bite — everything from a blasting blowup or a subtle “suck it under” bite — will absolutely love what bass pro Brett Preuett of Monroe ties on in June.
“If you only gave me one bait, it’d probably have to be a frog, I’ve had a lot of success with it all day, daylight to dark. I’m a topwater guy,” said Brett Preuett, a former Louisiana-Monroe college fishing star now in his fourth year as a Bassmaster Elite Series pro.
SPRO Poppin’ Bronzeye Frog
Preuett relies on a frog, for sure, and more than one: a Creme Du-Dad or a SPRO Poppin’ Bronzeye Frog.
“There are a lot of good frogs out there. Those are my two favorites,” said Preuett, who was a boy when he got hooked on hooking bass on plastic frogs.
“I started liking frog when I grew up fishing a cypress tree lake. When I was 10 years old I caught my first one. I haven’t put it down since … as soon as the water gets 58 degrees,” he said.
Creme Du-Dad
Preuett throws the Du-Dad where vegetation — grass, lily pads, coontail and such — is sparse, with plenty of holes. The bait, with a typical frog-shaped design, a baitfish paint job and paddletail feet, is murder during the shad spawn, he said, and his go-to choice when he needs to cover water. He uses a steady retrieve across the surface, like a buzzbait, and waits for the strike.
When he’s targeting heavier cover and cypress trees, he goes for the SPRO frog; he likes to skip the bogus amphibian. He leaves slack in the line while he uses a “walk-the-dog” retrieve with the SPRO bait, which has a cupped-mouth, designed by bass pro Dean Rojas.
Preuett has the two frogs tied on different rods, but he fishes the same line and reel: 60-pound Sunline Fx2 braid on a Shimano Mitanium DC with an 8:1 retrieve.
For the Du-Dad, he prefers a 7-foot-5 Shimano Zodias EH baitcasting rod. His choice for the Poppin’ Frog is a 7-foot-2, heavy action Shimano rod.
He uses a 1/8-ounce Gamakatsu Superline Offset extra wide gap hook on the Du-Dad.
When bass hit either plastic frog, he’s learned over the years to be disciplined on the hookset.
“I try to do ‘Two-Mississippi’ and let that fish have it,” he said, noting he likes to bend the twin-hook setup up slightly on the SPRO Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog.
