Frogs Are Smart. Mice, Not So Much

There are some pretty wild new topwater baits poised to make their debuts on tackle shop shelves soon, one being the Live Target Mouse below. I have not done a lot of largemouth fishing with mouse lures, but I might start based on a conversation I had at ICAST this year. Derek Carr, owner of Evolve Lures, and I got to chatting about fishing topwaters in heavy cover or lily pads. I think few would argue that the frog lure reigns supreme in those situations, but Carr has a theory: bass often think frog lures are mice. Here's why.

Carr believes that since frogs are aquatic animals, they don't make many mistakes. Frogs are instinctually aware of water-dwelling predators like largemouth bass. Therefore, a frog is not as likely to go frantically skipping around the pads and making all sorts of racket.

A stray mouse that ends up in the water, on the other hand, is completely out of its element. It's going to clamber for pads and sticks to get itself out of the water, and try to work its way back to dry land quickly, thus triggering attacks.

It's an interesting idea, and though I can't say I'm completely sold, here's some food for thought: In the name of science, I once tossed a small live frog out into a cove in which I'd been catching bass on topwater lures. I was sure the frog would go nuts and get nailed. Instead, it just floated along without moving a muscle until the breeze blew it close enough to shore to quietly climb out of the water.