Froggin’ in the Heat: How to Fish the Rattle Toad Pro

August can be a brutal month for froggin’. The sun is high, the air feels heavy, and by mid-morning the water looks more like a mirror than a lake. A lot of anglers call it quits early this time of year, but bass don’t stop eating just because it’s hot, and usually just move into spots that most folks don’t take the time to check out. That’s exactly where the all-new FishLab Rattle Toad Pro comes into play.

This isn’t just another topwater bait. The Rattle Toad Pro is built for summer combat. Thick mats, shady docks, laydowns, anywhere you’d usually hang up a crank or spinner. When the bite gets tough, this frog is your ticket to some of the most violent blow-ups you’ll see all year.

Hot water means low oxygen, and low oxygen pushes bass into cover where things stay cooler and more comfortable. That’s lily pads, grass mats, shady banks, and anything else that blocks the sun. A frog is one of the few lures you can throw right into the thick of it and expect to pull out clean.

The Rattle Toad Pro has an edge with its rear-mounted external rattle (the loudest on the market) and a skirt that stays on the surface even when you stop moving it. That little bit of sound and motion is often all it takes to convince a lethargic summer bass to swing.

If you want to up your odds, focus on these area with your Rattle Toad Pro:

• Pads and mats:

  Bass love to set up under vegetation roofs. Slide that frog across the canopy and hang on.

• Shady docks and overhangs:

  Midday sun will push fish tight against these shadows. Skip the frog under and walk it back out.

• Wood and laydowns:

  Ambush points all summer long. The snag-resistant body of the Rattle Toad lets you fish wood without fear.

Dialing in the Retrieve

One of the biggest mistakes with frogs in summer is moving them too fast. The fish aren’t always in chase mode, so let the bait do the work.

• Walking:

   Short rod twitches with some slack will get the frog gliding side to side. Perfect for those open lanes between pads.

• Pausing:

   Let it sit in a pocket of shade. The skirt still breathes, the rattle still clicks, and that’s often when the strike happens.

• Popping:

  A sharp rod snap makes the frog spit and dart. When fish are aggressive, this can trigger that instinctive kill shot.

The real trick is mixing these retrieves until you figure out what the fish want that day.

Color Confidence

In summer, bass aren’t studying the details, they’re keying on silhouette. Dark colors like our Black/Red or Bone stand out against glare and heavy weeds. Natural tones like Bluegill or Green work better at dawn, dusk, or when fish are pressured. When in doubt, go dark.

Hookset Timing

If you fish frogs, you know the hardest part: waiting to set the hook. The blow-up is instant, but if you swing right away you’ll miss more than you hit. Count to one, feel the weight, then sweep hard. The Rattle Toad Pro’s reinforced body and heavy-gauge double hook are built for this moment.

Summer frog fishing isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s sweaty, messy, and you’ll spend a lot of time pulling weeds off your line. But when a five-pound bass detonates on that Rattle Toad Pro in the middle of a glassy afternoon, there’s nothing else like it. The Rattle Toad Pro was made for these conditions, loud enough to call fish from cover, tough enough to work through the nastiest mats, and subtle enough to tempt the laziest summer bass. Tie one on, throw it where nobody else dares, and don’t be surprised if the quietest stretch of the day turns into the loudest strike you’ve heard all season.