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The E-Z Frog:
An easy-to-build largemouth bass fly |
COMPONENTS:
Heads. Any commercial or homemade slider-type head will work for this pattern. Foam heads are economical, durable, easy to cast and easy to color. They can be purchased either with a hook embedded in the head or separately and assembled at home. Use heads with a blunt or squared-off face. I like to buy all-white heads. They can be colored with permanent waterproof markers. When the fly is stripped through the water, the eddy produced by the blunt rear face will cause the rabbit-strip legs to draw up toward the head when the fly stops. This exaggerated leg movement is the trigger that causes bass to attack the lure.
Hooks. Kayle bend (wide-gap specialty hook) in sizes #2 to #2/0. The wide bend will ensure efficient hook setting.
Legs. Thin zonker strips. Generally, use 2-inch long strips for #2 hooks and 3-inch strips for #2/0 hooks. I prefer to cut my own strips; they are from between 1/16" and 1/8" wide.
TYING TIPS:
Securing the hook to the head can be a problem. If not done well, the head will spin on the hook shank or even separate from the hook. I prefer to use wire weed guards. I tie these on the hook shank with the butt end of the wires extending from the eye to the bend. This provides an irregular surface on the shank that will help keep the head secure. The wire also provides additional weight on the bottom of the fly that will keep it from riding on it's back. Use .011" stainless-steel wire. Saw-cut a slot in the bottom of the head just deep enough to insert the hook. Fill the slot with epoxy, insert the hook and wipe off the excess glue. After the epoxy sets, color the head.
To attach the rabbit strips to the head, drill two 1/8" holes 1/4" deep, one on each side and close to the rear of the head. Shave the hair from the last 1/8" of the strip. Place a drop of epoxy in each hole, then push the shaved end of the rabbit strip into the hole with your bodkin. Make sure that the hair side of the strips faces outward from the center axis of the fly.
FISHING TIPS:
Fishing the E-Z Frog may be a little foolhardy, but I prefer to toss this pattern as far back into the weeds and brush as I can. Use short, quick strips to coax the fly through the thickest cover. When it reaches an open pocket, swim it with one-foot strips with a long pause at the near side of the pocket. Expect strikes when the lure is lying still in the water. You will find that the legs will continue to undulate for up to a minute after the lure has stopped moving. Largemouth sometimes will not strike until the lure has been motionless for up to three minutes This can be nerve-wracking, but you may be surprised at how many bass will come to the E-Z Frog.
Dan Johnson writes regularly for Midwest Fly Fishing on tying flies for warmwater gamefish.
By Dan Johnson
Everything eats frogs. They're tasty tidbits--otters and ospreys agree, so do herons, humans, brook trout and bass. Here in the Midwest, the prolific little leopard frog will attract the attention of any predator that has fur, fins, feathers or a fly rod. It is no wonder fly tiers strive to imitate this little amphibious critter.
Serious anglers know that there are frog flies and then there are frog flies. If you tour any fly shop that carries even a small supply of warmwater flies, you will always come across some kind of frog imitation. Most have elaborately spun or stacked deer-hair bodies with leg construction that, in some cases, would impress a structural engineer.
For the tier, these patterns can be a challenge to reproduce or even modify to his or her own specifications. They can also be quite intricate to tie. If you are an expert tier, this may not be a problem but if you tie like I do, you will spend many hours tying a few flies that you may be reluctant to donate to the lake monsters. Because of this, I decided to create a pattern that would be easy to tie with low-cost materials and one that I could cast right into the thick salad where big bass hang out with no fear of losing my work of art.
The E-Z Frog fulfills all of these criteria and catches fish. Building the fly involves attaching rabbit strips to a hard-body diver head so that the fly, when fished with quick one-foot strips, will look to a bass like a swimming frog.
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copyright Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine 2001
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