Hollow Body Frog Fishing on Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain · Vermont / New York · Northeast
Lake Champlain stretches roughly 120 miles from the New York-Canada border south to Whitehall, covering approximately 490 square miles and reaching depths of 400 feet in its main lake sections. The fishery splits cleanly between the shallow, weedy bays — Missisquoi, Mallets, South Bay — that hold largemouth in timber and aquatic vegetation, and the hard rocky points, shoals, and chunk-rock flats of the main basin that produce exceptional smallmouth. Water clarity trends toward stained in the northern bays and increasingly clear through the main lake, shaping bait selection and approach at nearly every time of year.
A soft, hollow body with two upturned hooks that rides over surface vegetation completely weedless. Work it across mats, let it fall into pockets, and work it around pad edges. When a bass grabs it from below, the soft body collapses and the hooks drive home. Big-fish technique — frog fishing consistently produces 4+ pound fish.
Hollow Body Frog Setup for Lake Champlain
| Rod | 7'3"–7'6" heavy casting rod, fast action |
| Reel | 7.1:1–8.1:1 baitcaster |
| Line | 50–65 lb braid (no stretch, cuts through grass, positive hooksets) |
| Weight | 1/2–5/8 oz (BOOYAH Pad Crasher, Livetarget Frog, Spro Bronze Eye) |
Seasonal Tactics on Lake Champlain
Lake: Pre-spawn smallmouth push onto chunk-rock flats and gravel points in 6–12 ft of water as temperatures climb through the low 50s in late April and May; largemouth stage in emerging milfoil and reed-grass edges in the back bays, with jerkbaits and tube jigs drawing the most consistent reaction from both species during this window.
Hollow Body Frog: Fish the edges of sparse early grass and around pads as water warms above 60°F.
Lake: Smallmouth settle into main-lake rocky structure and offshore humps in the 18–28 ft range once surface temps push past 72 degrees, while largemouth lock into the dense milfoil and water chestnut mats of the northern bays and respond well to punching and hollow-body frogs in low-light conditions.
Hollow Body Frog: Prime season. Work across matted grass and punch into pockets. Midday bite can be excellent under mats.
Lake: October through early November is peak trophy smallmouth season as fish fatten on crayfish ahead of turnover, stacking on rocky points and windswept rip-rap banks in 8–15 ft; the shad and alewife migration in the main lake also draws surface-busting action that rewards topwater and swimbait presentations.
Hollow Body Frog: Fish open pockets in dying grass. Work slowly as fish become less aggressive.
Lake: Below-freezing surface temps push most bass into a near-dormant state in the deeper main-lake basin, but anglers targeting the 30–45 ft rock-pile transitions with slow-rolled tube jigs and ned rigs can still produce bites on warmer afternoons, particularly on calm, sunny days when water temps momentarily stabilize.
Hollow Body Frog: Not applicable — bass leave shallow vegetation in cold water.
Best Conditions
Thick grass mats, lily pads, surface vegetation, shallow water in summer, post-spawn through fall, morning and evening
Wait on the hookset. After the explosion, lower the rod tip slightly and wait until you feel pressure before sweeping hard. Premature hooksets cost half your fish.
More Techniques for Lake Champlain
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