Bullfrogs article

[TubeDude]

Snagged this article on bullfrogs on Yahoo this morning.  Though it might be of interest to some.  I have been nibbling on frog legs for many decades and there are now a few places in Utah where you might get the fixin's.


See the attachment.

[Therapist]

Frogs are a great indicator of the health of the aquatic environment. Utah Lake "used" to have a very large population of frogs. Several old timers that I knew, talked about the frog migration in the Spring to the lake from surrounding areas. This was their signal that the walleye were going to be moving in to the shorelines to spawn and feed on the frogs. Unfortunately in all my time on Utah Lake I have never seen a frog. Only place I have ever seen one was in the ponds by Goshen ( also where you can see Lightening bugs !!). So having bullfrogs around the marshes is interesting. Not going to spend a lot of time pursuing them however. By they way, a headlamp and gig are the best ways to catch them !!

[SkunkedAgain]

Last summer I had hundreds of the leopard frogs in my irrigation pond. Haven't seen frogs like that since I was a kid... Too bad my pond mostly went dry over the summer... wonder if any will return this year? I'm thinking with all this snow, my pond may fill this year for the first time in 3 years... Hope it does... Later Jeff

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I tend to agree with the therapist, use the gig and forget the fishing pole if you're after the frogs and you'll probably have to go out at night to find them...

[TubeDude]

Hard to beat nighttime giggin' for bullfrogs.  But it depends on where you are fishing and your skill level.  In both Arizona and California there were lakes that had large populations of aggressive bullfrogs.  Wasn't uncommon to have one ambush the popper or shallow diver lure you were fishing for bass.

I like to sight fish them with a flyrod during the daytime.  Big frogs eat lots of little frogs, so a good lure was a foam or hair froglet...rigged weedless with a mono loop.  The big boys would often lie partially submerged near the shoreline, with just their nose and eyes above the water...waiting to pounce on potential prey.  It was a hoot to splat down one of my fillet-o-froglet flies near one of these ambushers and watch the reaction.  Often they would launch, fly through the air and come down on the lure mouth first...and then stuff the fly in their mouths with both front feet.  Never could translate the sounds that came out of them when I set the hook but I'm sure it was some kind of froggy profanity.  There were some trips when it only took a dozen short casts to harvest a dozen big frogs.

[dubob]

Had me some legs for dinner just a couple weeks ago in Mississippi.  Thems some fine eatin' vittles.  

[gmwahl]

If anyone really wants frog legs, you can buy them at the fish counter at Winco.

Mike

[wiperhunter2]

If anyone really wants frog legs, you can buy them at the fish counter at Winco.

Mike

It's been a while since I checked for them but I too have seen them on the shelf at Winco. If anyone has never had them, you should give them a try, pretty good from what I remember.

[Therapist]

Fly rod is a good way also, however, we used to use a #2 or4 hook with a piece of red fabric on it. Dangle it in front of them and they grabit, you grab them !! pretty easy to unhook with long nose pliers. Good hunting to those who go after them !!

[BURLEY]

I remember the last time that I went frog gigging  was 1960 in Arkansas with my dad and brother. We were spot lighting from a small john boat. We attracted a large Cotton-mouth water-moccasin to the light. It kept coming even as we paddled away. Dad had to end up gigging it.  Snakes were a common thing to see since they were hunting frogs also. In the summer of 1961, we moved from Arkansas to Promontory. There were 3 small farm ponds there that had bullfrogs where my brother and I ( age 11 & 10) harvested many with bow & arrow. We did a big Southern fish and frog fry for the neighbors. Two of the ponds had rainbow trout, but my family didn't like the flavor, so we served bluegill from Twin Lakes.

[TubeDude]

I remember the last time that I went frog gigging  was 1960 in Arkansas with my dad and brother. We were spot lighting from a small john boat. We attracted a large Cotton-mouth water-moccasin to the light. It kept coming even as we paddled away. Dad had to end up gigging it.  Snakes were a common thing to see since they were hunting frogs also. In the summer of 1961, we moved from Arkansas to Promontory. There were 3 small farm ponds there that had bullfrogs where my brother and I ( age 11 & 10) harvested many with bow & arrow. We did a big Southern fish and frog fry for the neighbors. Two of the ponds had rainbow trout, but my family didn't like the flavor, so we served bluegill from Twin Lakes.

Hate those cottonmouths.  Bad enough they try to crawl in a boat with ya.  I've had to throw up a roostertail with my fins a few times to get away from them in my float tube.  I've fished from my float tube a lot in Florida, Louisiana and Texas and I got plenty of snake and gator stories.  Oh yeah, I've even fished for froggies from my tube.  Don't matter how you get 'em.  They are always fine on the table.

[SkunkedAgain]

So, I assume you have to skin the frog legs, is that hard to get the skin off of them? Man I'd think if there were cottonmouth around , there's no way I'd take a toon in those ponds to fish... pretty sure the snake would be quicker than me paddling to get away... But then again fear does some incredible things, it might be a wake behind my toon... Later J

[BURLEY]

Yes, you skin them and keep the hind legs. It is also true that they will kick when put in hot oil if you don't cut the ligament behind the leg knee joint.

[TubeDude]

Once you get the hang of it, skinning them is easy.  Pulling the skin down over the legs is just like pulling off a glove.  There are a bunch of videos on YouTube that demo the process.

It's easy to create a lot of drama and danger about snakes and gators.  But the truth is that in most cases they try to get away from you....even in a float tube.  There were only a very few that seemed to want to get up close and personal.  For these, I was armed with a ski pole tethered to the side of my tube...for splashing to scare or for whacking to otherwise deter.  Plus...for that and other safety reasons...I always carried a revolver with both hollow point and snake loads.  Thankfully never had to use firearms.

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Hugh and Pat, someday I need to try those frog legs... I liked gator when I was in Florida, so I expect I'll like frog legs as well... As far as having snakes and gators coming at me in a tube, it still kind of freaks me out, what if they attack underwater??? Good argument for the toon over the tube for scardy cats like me... I have found a love for bird shot in a pistol, range is pretty short, but they are effective on rats and snakes when your within 10'.... At least that's what I found with the .22 caliber ones that I had... For snakes I'd take them over a solid lead any day... Too hard to hit a small head while moving with a pistol sight... Now gators, I'll bet the hollow points would be more effective if you could hit them.. Getting to be so many people everywhere, I'm not sure I'd dare shoot anything that has much range anymore, in the heat of the moment of being attacked it's hard to look for down range folks that might get hit... Still think they need to make a sawed off double barrel 20 ga. legal for such things... Too bad they are such nasty guns for criminals, because they'd sure be handy for a farmer/outdoorsman utility gun... Later J

[TubeDude]

Hey Jeff, you been watchin' too many horror flicks.  For the most part, snakes and gators try to avoid humans.  Especially if they have been harassed or shot at before.  So most of the ones you see are moving away...not toward.  And they typically attack above water...not below. 

Also, in areas where there is now a regulated hunting season and permits to harvest gators most of what you are likely to see are going to be less than 6' long.  Yeah, they could cause some damage to you or your craft, but are mostly conditioned to get away from anything bigger than they are.  Adult gators eat smaller gators all the time so the smaller ones are pretty wary.  I have had a few smaller ones eyeball be from a distance while in my tube but they never came closer than within a few yards.  And most of the bigger gators are harvested for their meat an hides by licensed gator hunters.   Not all, but the survivors are more likely to be in remote areas and very cautious.
Most of the stories you see on the news about gator attacks come from along the waterways of parks and retirement communities in Florida.  Those gators become accustomed to people...and pets...and often turn to snacking on unwary passersby.

Still, if I planned to launch in any particular area I would look around a bit first to try to determine whether or not I might have unwanted company.  Without going into detail, I had more "bad encounters" with local people down there than I did with wildlife...especially in the back country down below New Orleans.  I had to show my weapon a couple of times to get back to my vehicle safely.

[MrShane]

Thanks Hugh and Pat, someday I need to try those frog legs... I liked gator when I was in Florida, so I expect I'll like frog legs as well... As far as  having snakes and gators coming at me in a tube, it still kind of freaks me out, what if they attack underwater???  Good argument for the toon over the tube for scardy cats like me... I have found a love for bird shot in a pistol, range is pretty short, but they are effective on rats and snakes when your within 10'.... At least that's what I found with the .22 caliber ones that I had... For snakes I'd take them over a solid lead any day... Too hard to hit a small head while moving with a pistol sight...  Now gators, I'll bet the hollow points would be more effective if you could hit them.. Getting to be so many people everywhere, I'm not sure I'd dare shoot anything that has much range anymore, in the heat of the moment of being attacked it's hard to look for down range folks that might get hit... Still think they need to make a sawed off double barrel 20 ga. legal for such things... Too bad they are such nasty guns for criminals, because they'd sure be handy for a farmer/outdoorsman utility gun... Later J

Jeff, I think this is about the closest thing you will get.
20” bbl, overall length of appx. 36”.

[SkunkedAgain]

Pat, I guess if I was there and that was my regular option, I 'd figure out how to deal with them... but being here and just thinking about it, it's probably more worrisome that it would be in actuality... I know those massive rattle snakes in Florida were pretty spooky when you seen one ran over on the road, but we never did run onto one in the wild... Probably the same thing with attacking cottonmouths... Odds are you won't run into trouble if you're prepared to deal with it, should it happen...

Shane
I love those guns, but they'd be a little big to pack with you, unless it was duck season... Wonder about those Circuit Judge pistols in .410? Not sure if they would be big enough for a gator, but they'd take care of the snakes pretty well.. Maybe a slug or buck shot would deter a gator...at close range... Be my luck to drop it in the drink if I took one with me... Guess I'll be glad I live where I don't have such things to worry about... I know being in Alaska in Grizz country and not having a firearm, was a little unnerving at night when you'd hear things outside your tent. but we didn't want to deal with regulations taking guns on flights, so we went without protection... However, our friend we went with from Alaska had his .44 mag pistol and a lever gun, I think in .45-70... One night on the river we heard several shots up river from us, and our friend told us they were ringing the dinner bell for the bears.. He said a shot calls the bears in cause it usually means a gut pile for the bears to eat... Later Jeff

[TubeDude]

Sadly, man is far more dangerous to local wildlife than vice versa...in most cases.  Even though many species of snakes are on the endangered or at least protected list there are some folks who just say "a snake is a snake is a snake" and kill every one they see.  I have always had a fascination with snakekind and would rather study them than kill them.  I have gone out of my way in several states...with several poisonous snake species...to help the snake get away from me without harm.  And even though I carried a pistol with snake loads while tubing in some areas I never fired it.  Although I did have to use my "snake stick" to relocate a few curious cottonmouths in Louisiana and even some swimming rattlers in Arizona.

Also, being in a boat is no guarantee you will be free of reptilian interactions.  Have had a couple of cottonmouths drop into my boat while going under an overhanging tree branch.  That creates some excitement.  And have had to delay getting back in a beached bass boat when I found a 7 foot long eastern diamondback curled up under the console.  Didn't bring their own tackle and lunch so they got (gently) evicted.

[Tin-Can]

Frogs, gators, and snakes.   I  don't have anywhere near the experience that Tube Dude does. I started fishing as a young boy in central California, then in and around southern California, Arizona, and Nevada.  Gigged lots of frogs in the marsh areas at the edges of the Sacramento river.  Came across a few snakes (mostly rattlers) fortunately at a distance and avoided them. Dad taught me basic recognition and preventative actions to avoid getting bit. But it wasn't till I entered the Air Force and was stationed at my first duty assignment in central Georgia that I had to learn about gators and Cotton Mouths (water moccasins).
My first supervisor at Robins AFB (SSgt. George Pierce) had just bought a brand new Ranger Bass boat, and invited me to go fishing with him. I don't remember what body of water we were at, but it had lots of cypress stumps just below the water level and sticking up above the water a foot or so. Along the banks of the water were lots of tress that  hung over the water, providing shaded water that was yielding some good size  large mouth bass, and big Catfish off the bottom.  
In several places, my boss, since he was at the bow of the boat controlling the bow mount trolling motor, would slowly edge the boat under tree branches that were just barely above our heads when standing.  We had been doing that for an hour or so and had caught and released several nice bass, and had a live well half full of nice channel cats we planned to take to his place for a fish fry. At one particularly low hanging tree branch, he had to lift the branch to get the boat under it.  He warned me he was letting go of the branch so it wouldn't slap me (I was on the stern casting deck) and as that branch swung back over the center of the boat, something about 2 feet long, dark almost black, and about 2 inches in diameter, fell out of it. I initially thought it was a dead branch and was going to move it out of the boat. As I got ready to reach for it I saw it move, realized it was a snake, but didn't know what kind.  I yelled out to George, "Hey George, there's a snake just fell in the boat"  He turned around, saw the snake, picked up one of his spare rods, stuck it under the snakes belly and flipped it back off into the water. 
We  finished our fishing day and on our way to his home, I got an education about cotton mouths. I had grown up knowing that most snakes, even western diamond backs and other venomous and non venomous snakes for the most part would avoid contact with humans, but had never encountered a water moccasin and had never been educated about them. 
I learned that day from my boss, an older guy from Alabama, that UNLIKE rattlers, moccasins are aggressive and will attack towards things that get within their range, and they don't have rattles, so they can't warn. 

I spent 16 years during and after my military career living and fishing in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama. I saw and avoided numerous moccasins in those years. And killed a couple that had made it up from the creek into my back yard. Had a coworker and friend in Georgia bitten by one. Fortunately he was close to an emergency medical center and was able to quickly get anti-venom. 

[fast_randy]

I love frog legs. My friend was working at a big ranch in Texas for a couple years. In Ledbetter TX. Half way between Austen and Houston. They had a bunch of ponds on the ranch; they call them tanks in Texas. The bull frogs are huge there. Me and my brother spent a couple weeks there with Shane. We all got frog gigs and would gig the tanks at night. There were lots of cotton mouths and they do come at you. My brother had a big cotton mouth chase him on the bank and he gigged it with a four prong frog gig. That big snake rolled into a ball thrashing and totally ruined Kim's Frog gig.