My 9 year old daughter is infatuated with going frog gigging or trying to catch bullfrogs with her hands. Ive probably done everything else but frog gigging is not one of them.
Question can anyone give me some advice on where to start. also if anyone has a place conducive for a 9 yr old I would be willing to pay for the experience.
If you have a small boat, twin ponds behind the rifle range on Stead Creek Road ought to have plenty of bullfrogs in the lilly pads. I tried frog gigging before, but the gig did not work out well because the lillies were in too deep of water. So, I held a bright spotlight in their eyes until I got close enough to just grab them off the lillies…cuaght bunch of frogs that way–big ones too. Hope this helps.
2012 Skeeter ZX22 Bay
Yamaha 250 hp SHO
Minnkota Riptide 101
I was introduced to my girlfriends (now wife) family in the backwoods of North Carolina and they immediately set out to take me frog gigging. Donnie-Wayne (yes…everyone called him that) had the gas lantern with a piece of foil on one side to shield his eyes and it threw out one hell of a bright light and the frogs eyes would glow like diamonds.
I had a cheap flashlight with almost dead batteries.
Our method was to walk around the edge of ponds while wearing hip waders, but I don’t remember me having waders…I think all I had was topsiders. When we’d see a frog, we’d shine the lights in his eyes and hit him with the gig. We’d then cut the legs off the frog and stomp the body down into the mud (“turtles gotta eat”).
A fair amount of Jack Daniels was consumed. It was dark and I could not tell you if I stepped on any snakes, but I did get a nasty snake smell at one time. I kept up and Donnie-Wayne could not get me lost in the woods. He tried.
I guess I passed the family outing, no one got bit by anything other than mosquitoes or stabbed in the foot by a gig. Those legs were pretty tasty the next morning with some scrambled eggs.
So…bright light of some kind, a gig on a wooden stick, a sharp knife, something to put the legs in after you remove them from the “hopper” and a lot of bug spray. Since it’s your 9 year old daughter, you can probably skip the Jack Daniels. It gives you hangovers anyway.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 19 year old (boy of leisure)
1 - 1 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)
The most fun in gigging is to use a small treble hook at the end of a long pole. Shine light in their eyes and drop the hook under his chin and snag him. Your daughter will love it ad they jump around on the end of the rod. Great fun and very effective
Hunting, fishing, and poker are my sports. Work when necessary.
Thanks for the responses. so now I just need boat,water, lots of bug spray, one crazy in-law, bottle of jack daniels. Lucky for me I have all those things oh and a gig which i’ll make
Thanks for the responses. so now I just need boat,water, lots of bug spray, one crazy in-law, bottle of jack daniels. Lucky for me I have all those things oh and a gig which i’ll make
Everybody should go frog gigging at least once.
One thing I didn’t have to worry about was alligators, so gigging from a jon boat with a trolling motor would be very spiffy.
We’ll look forward to some pictures of your adventure.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 19 year old (boy of leisure)
1 - 1 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)
My grandmother used to have a farm pond that was full of them, big ones. As a kid we would get grandpa’s single shot 22 and pop them in the head. I used to love that. Spent many nights paddling around that pond.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Frog gig alot with my Dad, Grandpa, and Uncles. We use pistols with rat-shot in them or a stick an warp them on the head…(Give them a sporting chance) Had several creeks that we broke down the beaver dams to drain the water out of in Iva S.C. Oh yeah one other thing we was true redneck countryboys had on nothing but shorts, old tennis shoes,Tee shirt. What was waders in the 70s.? We caught snapping turtles, fish during the day as the water drain out of the pond and frogs at night. Great child hood memories I got. All the ones I did this with gone to the big frog gigging pond in the sky. But I got to share this with them as a child and learn alot from them. Still have the stories to tell… Yes your daughter will have a blast to tell everyone…
Wolfman
Yesterday was good.
Today is great.
But living for tomorrow.
since I used a fishing rod with a treble hook, they were alive. I would tie their legs to a line as I waded along the shoreline. One day, when I put about 8 that were all tied together in my trunk., they somehow got loose. When I opened the trunk, it was quite a surprise. I had my future wife with me (breaking her in) and we laughed like crazy.
That night, as I was cleaning them in the kitchen sink, my future wife would say it was cruel that I was cutting them in half. Then her next sentence would be “When will they be done.”
She loved eating them:smiley:
Interesting how great the memories are about the simplest things in life.
Hunting, fishing, and poker are my sports. Work when necessary.