Foam Frog

     This is more of a concept than a fly, and the maximum size that you can afford to make will generally depend on the weight of your line. For a four weight rod, a size 12 would be the max, while on a nine weight, a 4/0 is managable. One thing I can say, though, regardless of size, these babies stir up the bass into a serious mood.

Hook: 16>4/0 2XL, 2XH
Body: Flat layer close cell foam, white and green.
Legs: Living rubber strands, white
Eyes: (Optional) Melted monofilament
Thread: kevlar, white

     This is a rather simple fly to make, almost all rubber and foam. The biggest trick is the body profile and aerodynamics. This frog should be built to first: lift from the water quickly, and second: not create a lot of air drag. After than, it should be shaped to resemble the rough profile of a frog sitting atop the water, ignoring the front legs. Suggestive will do if you get the back legs correct. Obviously, the larger the line and hook, the more and longer rubber legs that you want on the fly. They should never be so short as to not bend under their own weight (for smaller flies, go to a lighter guage rubber strand), nor so long as to hang straight down when the nose is pointed upward.

     First, cut the rubber legs and tie to the shaft at where the rear section of foam body is to sit, atop a short foundationWrap the legs together toward the bend, then lace the legs separately outward to about a 60š flair for each. Looking down from above, it should, with the hook shaft, make an equal angle tri-pointed star, 120š to an angle. Glue down and apply the foam body to complete. The body has a slight channel removed for where the legs were tied to the shank, hiding it without a bump. Tying scissors does this chore well enough. Don't over cut. The eyes are best attached by burrowing through the foam with a heavy needle, then feeding the monofilament through the hole The ends are lit and melted toward the body and are extinguished as the bead reaches the foam. They're inexpesive and as durable as anything else made. Just don't set the foam afire. You want them to bulge without weighing down the nose too much and adding to lift difficulty on the pick-up.

     That's it. It's another simple but very effective fly. This is guaranteed to wake up the big ones and your adrenaline. Retrieve in a short series of twitches, then let it sit until your nerves fray, then wait a little longer. This is a patience fly that pays off big with patience. On the other hand, if the bass are actively feeding, it's all right to have a nervous fly. Any self-respecting frog is skittish when the bass are on the prowl. But if it feels at all slow on the water, even a hint, fish it SLOW. This is a great surface fly for moving water, because the body shape and leg angle allow it to have a scooting pulse of a rhythm as it floats downstream that drives the fish into very aggressive response. It's very versitile, quite rugged if properly constructed, and very good at teasing the bass into striking up top, where it's the most exhilarating. This is a favorite fly rod lure when I'm looking for some real wild action up on top.