By David A. Brown
Special to BassFan
If you had quizzed the field on likely bait use prior to Day 1 of mid-July’s Bassmaster Open at Lake St. Clair, answers might have included the usual players from dropshots to Ned rigs to tubes and small swimbaits.
A frog would not have been a common answer — unless you asked savvy veteran Ish Monroe. Playing a game with which he’s deeply familiar, the California stick sacked up a 5th-place, first-round limit of 23 pounds, 14 ounces.
Ultimately, that bite went away and Monroe slipped out of check range. Nevertheless, catching northern largemouth with a no-nonsense reaction bite deal on a lake dominated by smallmouth finesse baits demonstrated Monroe’s nationwide confidence in his signature technique.
“A frog catches what I call a 3-plus-pound class of fish on a regular basis,” he said. “Yes, you’ll catch smaller fish on it, but overall, if you’re catching fish on a frog, you’re fishing to win or to do well in a tournament.
“That’s how I fish and that’s why I’ve been so successful in bass fishing — I fish the baits to win. I don’t like to go out there and throw a dropshot on a spinning rod a lot.”
For the sake of accuracy, Monroe has scored big on finesse tactics. A spinning rod and shaky-head earned a $100,000 payday at the 2006 Busch Shootout on Grapevine Lake (Texas).
That being said, Monroe would rather play for keeps with a technique known for day-making potential. As he said, braided line, frog rod and he’s good to go.
An Underutilized Resource
Could you catch smallmouth on a frog? Not unheard of, but the habitats into which you’ll send the amphibian imposters clearly favor the green fish.
While a handful of northern fisheries, like the jewel of Vermont and Upstate New York known as Lake Champlain, give a fair species split, smallies are the undisputed darlings of most northern fisheries. That being said, largemouth populations may not necessarily be overlooked, but they’re often greatly underutilized.
Throughout the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway – including St. Clair – the abundance of goby-fattened smallmouth simply hold greater drawing power. Northern largemouth can definitely reach impressive dimensions, but smallmouth past the 4-pound range are just something special.
What’s interesting is that you talk to Canadian superstars Cory and Chris Johnston and they’ll tell of their younger years when bass fishing meant ignoring smallmouth in favor of the largemouth that once dominated Canadian and Northern U.S. waters. The gobies’ arrival changed that, but the Johnstons still speak of northern largemouth respectfully.
Because it's a Blast
Assessing the value associated with both species’ pursuits, Monroe argues that his largemouth frogging wins hands-down. No jabs at forward-facing sonar, but an honest comparison between the video-gaming and the heads-up surface-blasting frog drama – it’s an easy decision.
“If you’re going up north to fun-fish, to me, the way you get to fish for largemouth on Lake St. Clair is way more fun than fishing for smallmouth on that fishery,” Monroe said. “You can shallow-water power-fish and catch the crap out of them. You can catch 100 a day, if you really tried.
“To go out there and drag a tube, drag a dropshot, to catch them off Lowrance Active Target, to me, that’s a tournament. But for fun-fishing, going up there and catching them on a frog is the funnest thing in the world.”
Great thing is, the quality is there: “I weighed a 6 and a couple of 5s the first day (in the Open at St. Clair). A 24-pound bag of largemouth is impressive on any lake, anywhere in the country.”
Ish Monroe says that frog-fishing techniques remain the same not matter what part of the country you're in.
Now, the obvious question, “Can largemouth win on a smallmouth-dominated fishery?” With ideal smallie conditions – clear skies, light wind – it’s pretty hard to keep the largemouth deal going for a 3- to 4-day event.
However, the 2020 Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River saw Mississippi pro Brock Mosley forego the Lake Ontario smallmouth smash-fest, remain in the river and notch a 3rd-place finish almost exclusively with largemouth.
An Easy Sell
All this to say, Monroe puts a special emphasis on frogging northern fisheries because the largemouth require less convincing. Contrasting his California Delta home water or pretty much any southern state, where shallow largemouth see as many phony frogs as the real thing, those St. Clair green meanies were far less picky.
“Nobody fishes for them; they’re left completely alone,” Monroe said. “They have zero predators, except for pike or muskie, but the pike that are swimming around in the grass really aren’t going to mess with a 3- or 4-pound bass. The muskie don’t even swim up there because they have too many fish to eat out in the middle of the lake, so they’re in those deeper grass beds.”
As for table fare, largemouth bass are hardly inedible, but as long as walleye and yellow perch swim these waters, the green ones will remain a catch-and-release notion.
“It’s an untapped largemouth fishery,” Monroe said of St. Clair, in particular. “I would say it’s in my Top 5 of largemouth fisheries. Coming from (an angler who) fishes the California Delta, Clear Lake, Guntersville, Lake Fork; I’d put largemouth fishing at St. Clair above Toledo Bend, above Rayburn, because it’s that good – especially for a shallow-grass fisherman.”
What to Look For
Monroe said his St. Clair strategy centered on putting his bait anywhere a bass might be hiding. Grass, seawalls, reeds, wood – a lot of the same stuff he’d fish from California to Florida. The key – shallow cover. On St. Clair, he fished in 8-10 feet, but a northern lake’s backwater pockets with shallow eel grass and pads in 4-5 feet – that’s largemouth gold.
Monroe’s also looking for the less “Chamber of Commerce” days. Smallies are mostly sight-feeders, so they tend to chew best in pretty weather. Conversely, the ugly days – when offshore fishing is less-than-comfortable – the largemouth bite ignites.
“When it rains, or if it’s overcast and windy, those northern largemouth bite 10 times better,” Monroe said. “They already bite good, but the bad weather days make them bite better.”
Nothing Changes
Sincerity, authenticity – the most effective individuals are the same person no matter where they are. Appropriate adjustments for climate and culture, of course, but at their core, they remain true to their makings.
As Monroe points out, the same stout rod, heavy braid, crack ‘em appeal that delights him on western and southern largemouth hotspots remains consistent in northern latitudes. Biggest difference is the requisite stealth adjustment.
“I tell people, just because the water’s a lot more clear up north, you make longer casts and you do things a little bit differently,” he said. “Overall, you can power-fish just like you would if you’re fishing Lake Okeechobee, if you’re fishing Guntersville in the springtime, or Eufaula in Oklahoma – shallow bushes, shallow grass, shallow reeds.
"The retrieve is the same, the technique is the same. A bass is a bass, so it’s more about making longer casts. The fish will see you and by the time you see them, they’re a little harder to catch, but they’ll still eat.”
