When fishing heavy grass in midsummer, it’s a good idea to keep both a frog and punching rig handy on your deck. If you have a bass blow up on a frog in a mat of milfoil or other grass, but it fails to connect, a lot of times a punching rig will catch it. My favorite punching rig is a 1- or 11/2-ounce Reins tungsten weight with a 4/0 Cobra straight-shank flipping hook and either a Gambler Ugly Otter or a BB Cricket.
When bass hit at a frog and miss it, usually they’ll leave a hole in the mat about the size of a coffee can. As fast as I can, I’ll throw the frog back to the same vicinity and work it back. If the bass doesn’t respond, I’ll cast the punching rig a few feet beyond and to one side or the other of the hole where the bass blew up and then work it back. There’s just something about it bumping around down there that makes an aggressive bass come after it. I’ve also seen the times where bass will go after a frog in practice on a lake like Champlain, but then they’ll switch over almost completely to a punching rig in the tournament.
Whatever the case, a frog and a punching rig are a good combination to use when bass are in the grass.
—- Straight Talk Wireless pro J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla.