SubmittedFormer Mississippi State University Quarterback Tyler Russell displays lunker bass caught at Ross Barnett on frogs. The former State Champion QB stays busy casting frogs and catching lunker bass on the tournament trail these days as he pursues his dream of competing against the best anglers in the world.

Tyler Russell scanned the vegetation and quickly sailed a Snagproof Phat Frog to a small opening in the pads and a lunker bass exploded on it. The talented angler snapped the rod back and drove the steel home and quickly jerked the bass from the thick cover. Russell, a former Meridian High and Mississippi State Quarterback, knows a few things about passing footballs and casting lures and he’s better than average at both.

Though it may surprise many to learn that he’s an avid angler, Russell’s been fishing since he could walk. His earliest recollections of fishing precede his football career.

“I can remember going to the lake and spending all day with my dad and enjoying every minute of it,” Russell said. “In fact, I believe the constant casting, sometimes up to eight hours a day helped me build arm strength and develop my passing motion that later came in handy on the football field.”

These days Russell is a tournament angler who has set his sights on competing against the best anglers in the world. He enjoys fishing and catching bass almost everywhere he goes. Frog fishing is also a favorite technique that he utilizes during the summer.

“I’ve been fortunate to live in Brandon the last year and a half and have really enjoyed catching bass on Ross Barnett Reservoir,” Russell said. “Barnett is my number one favorite lake to fish frogs on due to the vast amount of vegetation on the lake. There’s plenty of lily pads, and assorted grasses and vegetation growing almost everywhere in shallow water and that makes for some outstanding shallow water fishing almost year-round.”

“I like to fish any type vegetation but particularly where you have a couple types of vegetation, such as lily pads and grass,” said Russell. “When you have different types of vegetation meeting in one area that transition zone is usually a good area to target also.”

“I’ll key on vegetation, but you can’t overlook stumps, and docks either,” Russell said. “I’ve had success fishing frogs around docks, and shaded areas in also. I’ll take that Phat Frog and use it like a topwater bait searching for bass also. You can twitch it once or twice and it will stay in the strike zone a little longer too.”

“My go to color really doesn’t depend on the time of day or conditions but I’ll always start out with a white frog,” said Russell. “I’ll fish that color all day long if they hit it and I’m not afraid to use it at any time.”

“If the bream are bedding I’ll use a brown colored frog as well, “Russell said. “The brown color mimics the bream and they really key on that color under certain conditions.”

Quality bites

“You’re going to catch a lot of quality bass in the 3- to 5-pound range when you’re fishing frogs and that’s the size you’ve got to have when your competing in tournaments these days,” said Russell. “On Barnett you’re fishing for five bites in a tournament and they have to be quality fish if you want to get a check or win.”

“A lot of people think frogs are only good to fish early and late, but I like to fish them all day if they’re biting them,” Russell said. “Cloudy, overcast days when you have a little drizzle or rain are very good days to catch bass on frogs all day long. If you’re looking for a big fish bite you might even catch them on sunny days right up during the middle of the day between 11 and 2. You might not get as many bites but the ones you do catch will usually be quality bass too.”

“Most of the time I like to fish the frogs fast and cover a lot of water,” Russell said. “If you find an aggressive bass, they may strike it even if they’re not actively feeding and then you might slow it down and walk the dog, or they might hit a follow up bait.”

Soft plastics like floating lizards, Sencos or trick worms are good follow up baits that are deadly on the bass when they’re striking short. If you know where they are and can put that trick worm or Senco on them they’ll usually eat it and your back in the game.

Whether you’re using the frog as a search bait or as your primary fish catcher, they are a hot ticket when the topwater bite is on and Russell has caught more than his share of lunker bass. If you’re looking to catch a lunker bass then take a tip from Tyler Russell and try a frog in the salad patch and you might catch a lunker bass!

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.