I love throwing large, hard or soft bodied frog poppers for big bass. I’ll try to fish them at all times of the day, and under a wide variety of other fishing conditions where many anglers would think they wouldn’t work.

The profile of these frogs makes them easy to cast, unlike deer hair poppers and divers that seem to be incredibly air resistant. They still have the feathers and flash in the back of the fly, and the soft rubber legs kicking along the side of the frog. There is also a high lb test nylon weed guard that helps prevent some weeds.

The newest version of Rainy’s Foam Frogs feature a built-in rattle. When your basic presentation isn’t working, or you are trying to find fish, the built-in rattle is going to help you get them to come to you. Once you have the attention of the fish you can start working your presentation of the fly to entice a strike. If the fish don’t know you’re there, though, you never get the chance to give a lifelike presentation.

Rainy’s Frogs used to be built out of balsa wood. Now, Rainy’s use a soft foam that contains the rattle, and seems to help fish hold onto it long enough for you to set the hook. I think that a fish biting down on the harder balsa wood baits would probably spit it back out quickly, knowing that it is not a real piece of forage. The softer foam baits squish between the lips of the fish, giving you, what I believe to be, extra seconds to set the hook.

You can get them in 3 basic colors. Either natural frog, black, or chartreuse. All 3 colors have their own place and time where they excel. For instance, the black frog is going to be primarily a low light situation, either overcast days, or in the morning and before the sun sets. The chartreuse color is going to work great for smallmouth bass, and in muddy or heavily stained waters. The rest of your fishing can be done with the natural color.

It all comes down to your presentation with Rainy’s Foam Frogs.

Not all fly lines are created equal. A lot of newcomers get confused on the wide variety of line types, weights, tapers, and sizes available when they are trying to put together a good bass combo. If you are one of these people you don’t have to worry about taking time to learn all the specifics about each type of line yet. There are a few labels that you will need to learn, though, to make sure that you are going to give yourself an advantage when you are casting large flies, and not going to end up throwing out your shoulder or getting a wrist injury from trying to lob big bass flies through the air.

Some work better than others, but as long as you remember that you want a weight forward, floating fly line that either matches your fly rod’s weight, or one weight above what your fly rod is, you will be able to find a good fly line. If you are fishing with a 7-weight rod and want to load the rod for better casting you can get an 8-weight fly line.

Lefty Kreh Signature Series Fly Line

Lefty Kreh knows fly fishing. He is one of the most well-known fly fishing writers, and has caught more than 100 different species using Scientific Anglers fly lines. Lefty and SA teamed up to put together his own signature series fly line.

”These new lines practice what I preach – they make fly fishing easy and fun” – Lefty Kreh

This fly line is the perfect balance between functionality and price. At the time of this writing it’s been rated 4.6 out of 5.0 by Bass Pro customers. It is touted as being easy to cast for both beginners and experienced fly anglers, and a high floating line that is slick enough to shoot it for precise fast casting.

Orvis Hydros Bass/Warmwater Line

This is one of those lines that I want to try some day. I have to admit that I want to get a higher end rod so that I can tell the subtle differences between the lines, but until that happens I am stuck dreaming. I love the Orvis products that I have had, and you can tell that the quality is there, but you have to have some rich blood to be able to afford to buy their gear. When you do get it, you have to take a lot better care of it than you would with your $100-$200 combo that was put together for you.

Maybe one day when I have access to a bigger variety of fishing on a more regular basis, it would be worth it to try out. When I do, I’ll let you guys know about it! Until then, this is what Orvis has to say about their Hydros bass line:

Fishing for bass requires the ability to get big flies in tight places. This line has a compact head and short front taper to turn over the big deer hair poppers and sliders with ease. Drive flies into tight, heavy cover, under branches and back in holes where large bass lurk. Cast into the wind with less effort. Works great with heavy nymph rigs at short to medium distances.

Someday. So, anyway, What fly lines are you guys using? Let me know! ‘Til next time, tight lines!