# Frog Gigging



## azsixshooter (Nov 15, 2009)

I went out tonight looking to stab Kermit and his buddies but didn't have much luck. We have a giant pond out back with a swamp on the north end. Just about the whole pond is very thick with lily pads and I hear frogs down there every night. I went out in my kayak with a 7ft gig and paddled around gliding into promising areas with my gig ready. I seemed to hear some big ones splashing around but all I saw was little dinky ones about the size of my thumb or so. There was one I saw right before I hit shore that was a lot bigger than the others, but still not very big. 

I've heard there's no such thing as too small a frog, but I was hoping for at least hand-sized bullfrogs. Not little tiny things! You'd need a hundred of those to make a meal, it would be ridiculous. 

Maybe I need to stay out longer or something. I don't know. I'll probably try again just since it was really nice being out there in the swamp/pond around sunset. The clouds got all red, there was a light mist hanging low, the giant willow trees looked majestic and the crescent moon was bright and high in the sky. And there was that same excitement of the "hunt" that I always feel whether I'm hunting bull elk in AZ or squirrels or deer or whatever here in MI.

I saw a muskrat swimming around, some ducks and some geese. I was bummed I didn't get any good-sized frogs though. I used to eat frog legs from "Christopher's" up in Indian River and was hoping to get some of my own. We got quite a few blackberrys out back so I was thinking a frog leg fry followed up with a blackberry custard torte would be pretty good. I might just have to hit the Country Pub in Gregory. I guess they have frog legs, but I'm not sure where they come from. 

If anyone has any tips about getting some big frogs I'd like to hear them. I don't know if I have to just keep at it or move to a different location or what. This pond is really big and with all the reeds and woods and lily pads it certainly looks like there would be some monster frogs living out there somewhere. I'll probably give it at least one more try. If I gig from the shore I think I'll get a longer pole. The brush is thick and when I've tried sneaking up on them I've scared them off before I could get close enough to see them. From the shore I usually just hear them splashing away when I approach.

Anyone out there do any gigging here in MI? Doesn't seem to be too much info on here about it.

Thanks, have a good one

-Steve

EDIT: I put this post in this particular forum just because I didn't see anywhere else that it fit in and the Huron River is very close to me here, so I'm in the watershed anyway. If any mods want to put this thread in a different spot that's fine by me.


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## Tule (Nov 13, 2011)

Found this site when I googled frog Gigging.

I am from northern California, which is about as alike to Los Angeles as Miami is to Billings, Montana. We are huntin, fishin, country folk up here. We hunt ducks, geese, quail, turkeys, deer, elk, cottontail, etc., catch crawdads and frog gig. At least some of us do. Frog gigging is a dying art!

My nephew lives up on the Oregon border in alfalfa country and it is full of ditches and loaded with frogs. Our one night record is 108 huge frogs and the most pissed off wives ever. Sorry! We drank a little whisky to keep warm for 12 hours straight and cooked a snack of about 30 frog legs for breakfast.

I have a couple of tips for the gigger. One is to drive into the area of the ditches and turn the pickup off and sit and listen. Especially in the early summer when they are courting some foxy babe frog. You can here them a mile away and they guide you to them with their love song. The second huge tip is to use a HTFB (High Tech Frog Bucket). This is one of those fish baskets with the spring loaded tops. There is nothing better to hold the frogs. Also, sharpen your gig every time so when you jab them when they are floating and not against something, so the gig penetrates easily. 

I love frog gigging. Matter of fact, I think I generally have an issue with wanting to stab things. My favorite stabbing hobby is spear fishing. I am 58 years old and I have had that hobby for 40 years. It is the best of two worlds  hunting and fishing. I dive mostly on the north coast of California and it aint for sissys! The water is rough and sometimes you can barely see your hand in front of your face. You cant spear fish when its that murky but you can still dive for abalone. It is weird diving 20 or 30 feet when you can only see gray until the bottom jumps into focus. You arent allowed to use scuba tanks for abalone and must hold your breath. We usually take a spear gun and spear fish at the same time if we have 10 or more feet of visibility. It is a fun sport once you get some experience under your belt and get comfortable with your equipment. I wrote an article on it that is for the beginners and folks that want to see what it is like. It is about 3,500 words so I aint going to re-write it here but if you want to read it, it is in the blogs at http://www.fishnfools.com. Did I mention the great white shark issue? They are there and they are 20 feet and can turn you into a turd pretty readily! The water is so murky, you wouldnt even see them coming. Their main food source once they are grown is seals and a person in a black wet suit, similar in shape and size, is often mistaken for one. I shouldnt say often because it is highly more likely that you will get killed in a car wreck on the way to the ocean to dive or get struck by lightening than to get bit by a shark and even then, most people survive. I have a defense for them. If I see one, I turn the water brown all around me!

Anyway, I dont know why I was thinking frogging at this time of year. Up there where we usually frog will be about 10 degrees this weekend. I might go duck hunting, but that is a pain in the **** when you have to wade in shin deep mud, in waist deep water and break 1 inch ice to go get your ducks! I am getting too old for that crap! Turkey and pheasant season opened so maybe I will road hunt those instead.


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