Ben K.

Here’s a mop frog on a size 1 b10s. About as big of a hook as I’d go for this pattern. This has been a killer fly for me the last couple years. Dead drifted, long pops, or worked fast. The mono loop helps with the legs fouling, 

Got my first topwater bass Friday on blockhead mop frog. It’s like ringing the dinner bell. Stock up people!
 

What sized hook are you using? Looks like you could go a little bigger, there’s plenty of foam to balance it out. 

Fun stuff. Let’s see a teaser or something! Gotta logo or a tie to show off? This post is a tease. 

Those big slimy bastards keep things interesting, especially on the fly rod. Hope to see you on the water this year. 

Hey I tick all those boxes… I might have been at that breakfast in cherry valley too. Only hit the turtle once but I caught a real nice smallmouth, I’d like to go back. 

 

Jude will always be missed, dude was great company and a great fisherman. 

You’ve come to the right place, we’ve got a bunch of deranged smallmouth addicts here. Kish is some fantastic water too. It’s the river that got me hooked. How do you do with pike? 

Nice to see some familiar faces and chat smallmouth. Gordon was a great host. 

I’ll be joining. 

I’ve come across some stations like these up in the driftless. It’s really cool, haven’t seen an empty one yet. 

That’s tragic, Hate to hear it. Sounds like he left behind his mark on the club. 

About to watch my myself! Happy to see he’s using those pr378 hooks. I’m digging them. It’s gonna be another cold night in the garage. 

Looks like you’re in good shape. Those  recommendations are money. I’ll suggest learning to spin or pack deer hair heads for divers and muddlers and stuff. Not gonna lie it’s kind of a pain, and it is really messy. Looks damn good though and can give lots of action to streamers. 

I’m really interested in this too. Probably going with wire since I like the toothy guys.

Thanks Terry, really helps when these winters set in. 

A well named fly!  It takes a while to adjust to the rhythms of fly fishing. Especially casting and line management once you’ve fished traditional gear for a while. Sounds like you’re off to a good start! 

The first of many I’m sure. Congrats. 

Please put me down for 8/6-8/8 as well. Thanks for organizing this Scott. 

Those both look like they would catch anything. Nice work. I might order some of those jig hooks myself.  

I’ve worked on some variations of the mop frog over the past couple years and here’s what I’ve found. They absolutely benefit from a mono loop for keeping legs out of the hook. I crimp the mono at the back in middle like a heart to widen it. A shorter shank hook will also help with fouling as well as balance in the water. It will sit at a slight angle legs just under the surface. The drag from the legs really helps with poppers and divers. I tie them pretty big and use size 2 or 1 hooks fished on 7 or 8 weights. 

Lost my favorite one but here’s some others. 

Oh it will.  Nice fly! 

I tie a frog variation of this with two mops and a mono loop to keep them sorted. Hackle wraps and a blockhead body with some rubber legs. It does well. I think the mops absorb water and create some drag to give off the real nice deep pop instead of skittering on the surface.
Works well on the dead dead drift too. 

Good call 

Gordon nailed it. 
 

That’s really awesome. 

Hate to hear that Joe. prespawn on the North Branch was already looking low but not stagnant. I really enjoy the mix of bronze and teeth in that stretch. Hope we get some rain so the big ones can hold out.