Like hollow body frogs, hollow body bluegill-imitating baits offer bass an easy topwater meal that can be fished through the thickest of cover. Still, some distinct differences give hollow body bluegills an edge depending on the situation. Professional bass angler Brandon Coulter lays out 3 unique attributes that dictate the use of hollow body bluegill baits over the conventional topwater frogs.
TACKLE LISTING:
- Savage Gear DC Slide Gill
- Savage Gear Battletek Casting Rod 7’4″ Hvy
- 13 Fishing Concept Boss Casting Reel, 8.1:1:
- Wide and erratic “walk the dog” action: few baits can be fished clean through heavy cover while also “walking the dog” with wide and unpredictable glides. The Savage Gear DC Slide Gill can be worked with a wide to short sashay in place better than hollow body frogs, allowing it to be maneuvered into and out of cover in ways bass haven’t seen.
- Ultra-realism: the sunfish family of fishes exists nearly everywhere in the US, so it’s perhaps the most universally available forage. The profile and color patterns of the Slide Gill are photo-real, so you’re presenting bass an ultra-realistic representation of the real thing. It silhouettes like a gill in dark or dingy water but also comes in a range of color patterns that mimic various sunfish species to fool wary and educated bass in clear water alike. This realism gives Coulter the confidence to fish the bait with extended pauses in pockets and open water, something he doesn’t do with most frog baits.
- Fishes equally well in heavy cover or open water. Given the weedless attributes, realism, and walking bait action, Coulter is similarly apt to fish hollow body bluegills in cover and open water.
