Bass fishing has been the cornerstone of modern-day fishing. That will surely start folks talking about why I feel that way, so let me attempt to explain.

In the past 40 years, the sport of fishing has taken off and, most importantly, it all has to do with an organization called BASS. The bass angler sportsman society is the brainchild of an insurance salesman from Alabama named Ray Scott.

Bass tournaments have spawned walleye, crappie, muskie, off-shore and just about any sport fish swimming. Without bass tournaments back in the day, I am sure the fishing industry would just be a few guys trading tackle in their kitchen.

Ray had this idea of running bass tournaments. With that, he wanted one organization whose sole purpose was to promote bass and bass fishing. Along the wa BASS spawned magazines and TV shows. Today’s outdoor programming started with bass fishing shows.

Along with all exposure came the increase in the tackle industry. Many times it started as a garage business by bass fishermen. These items, just for bass anglers, spawn everything from special rods to reels to hooks to hard baits to spinners and the world’s number one selling lure of any kind — the plastic worm.

The boom in fishing boats all started with bass fishing. Today’s live wells in boats all started with Ray Scott wanted to keep bass alive and released them back into the body of water they were taken from. The key is conservation, which most, if not all, fishing organizations lay their cornerstone on.

The design of today’s boats stem from the first days of bass tournaments. From hull design to layout of the boat itself to motors, the bass boat has revolutionized the world of fishing boats. Hence the beginning of modern-day fishing, all started with the bass.

There are many different lures designed to catch just bass that can, on occasion, catch other species. Jig and pig have, and will, catch muskies and mature walleyes. We use the same crankbaits that catch smallies to boat walleyes, and the same small jigs in the spring that we catch crappie have netted their fair share of early season bass and the list goes on.

One lure that primarily catches bass is a plastic frog. Frogs have been used to catch bass for years, but todays’ plastic real-life frogs aren’t your grandpa’s plastic frogs.

With the special catch-and-release season New York State offers bass anglers, many of us use what is considered a summertime bait for catching bass — the plastic frog. I was first introduced to froggin’ many years ago and found it exciting and so very frustrating.

In recent years, we have found that froggin’ is a great fishing tool to use during the early part of the season as well. It all depends where you are finding bass. Traditionally in the early season there isn’t much vegetation, but this year will not be the norm, with early ice-off and little ice cover through the winter. That means that vegetation has gotten a jump-start on many local fisheries.

Wherever bass live, so too do multiple species of frogs, and there is nothing bass like more than a mouthful of fresh frog. Unfortunately for these amphibians, bass like to hang out in the same areas as they do, too, so they cross paths often and it typically doesn’t end well for the frog. But this is great for bass fishermen because using frog lures can provide some of the most exciting bass fishing there is, because it’s a top-water bite at the finest.

There are many different lures out there designed to mimic a frog, from top water poppers-style frogs to crankbait-style frogs. For today, let’s just discuss good old-fashion froggin.’ This is a style of bass fishing where you throw soft hollow-bodied frogs in and around structure.

That’s the biggest advantage of froggin.’ You can literally cast these lures anywhere. One of the first things noticeable about frog lures is that the hooks face upward and rest flush against the body. In addition, they float so the hooks never come close to the weeds under them. You can freely drag a frog across lily pads and other surface vegetation with no worries of getting hung up.

With an innocent little splash, the defenseless amphibian belly-flops into the drink. Powerful legs kick and recoil, scooting the frog forward. The critter pauses, resurfaces, bulging eyes betraying looming danger. Webbed feet dangle invitingly, soft white belly tantalizing, almost taunting. In one explosive instant, the water beneath the creature drops like an elevator; an unseen predator opens its jaws with the vacuum force of a plunging five-gallon bucket. With a big whoosh and a steel-door snap, poor little critter meets his maker. Circle of life.

In the bass’ world it eats whatever it wants to. It’s tough to be a frog. Even tougher, perhaps, for a new artificial amphibian, freshly metamorphosed and minted by the bass bait artists. Just about all soft plastic companies make frog baits.

Remember, too, that bass might not always interpret the bait as a frog. Actually, throw a black-bellied pattern around a shallow cover. In open water, when bass are keying on shad, a white-bellied bait excels. Switch it by throwing a bright chartreuse belly around sunfish schools.

When bass are really on fire with a large strike zone, I pick up the walking version and cover water with a faster retrieve. The walking frog is also the one you want for fishing over heavy veg mats.

At times, you want to work the bait with long pulls. Other times, bass prefer short little moves forward, almost like hops and stops. The key to activate the bait lies in the slackline you provide before and after each twitch of the rod tip. Many anglers think a frog only produces vegetation. Actually, a frog draws strikes from bass in open water.

For bass with smaller strike zones, the popping version of the frog bait works great. When trying to locate a big bass it is best to zone on a smaller area, so the popping frog works perfectly. The popping style bait walks and bubbles on top, stays in the strike zone longer and calls bass to the surface without too much forward motion. I will pull the frog trick on post frontal fish, in spring, around beds and near isolated clumps of anything casting to specific targets and catch bass by working it right on top of their head.

Froggin’ is a ton of fun and produces fish. If you don’t have frogs in your arsenal, take the time and pick up a few. With a little investment and time learning a new technique, they can and will produce fish.