Was 25 when I went frog gigging for the first & only time of my life. Glad I did it. First of 3 pools was freaky. I fished there often in the daytime and knew it to be laden with snakes. The night gigging involved blindly following the guy with the light not really being able to see anything. I was fortified with beer. We got 6.

Fun stuff. If you've never been frog gigging, you don't have a clue how many snakes are around the water. Usually see about 10 at night for every one in the day. Fortunately the majority are non-venemous water snakes. Great fun with a 410 though.

410 for frogs or snakes?

Mas89 said:

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410 for frogs or snakes?

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Snakes. Im not a snake hater but I do kinda hate big nastitude water snakes. And they can choke down an eating size frog.

Had some great frog ponds but I think the otters have really taken a toll on the population the last couple years. Never thought about snakes.

A 410 can be a wee bit harsh on frog meat.

Agreed. Prefer a 22. But 410 would be better for snakes. Saving 410 shells for kids dove hunting. They have been hard to find and expensive.

Paul Dirac said:

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A 410 can be a wee bit harsh on frog meat.

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He meant using the .410 on snakes(water moccasins).

I'd use a 12 gauge with 00 buckshot for a cottonmouth!

I've never gigged frogs but one of my favorite memories was my cousin and I going out to the big pond and shooting bull frogs with a .22. Even if you barely missed, it would stun them on the edge of the water to where you could grab them and finish them off. We would cut the legs off and take them back to Grandma's, where she would cook them up for us. It was also fun catching the big frogs with small fishing lures.

Paul Dirac said:

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I'd use a 12 gauge with 00 buckshot for a cottonmouth!

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You would have a better chance of hitting the moccasin with bird shot.

Frog gigging is one of the most entertaining things on earth!

I, too, was 24 or 25 the first time and only time I went frog gigging. It was out of this world, fantastic. Lake Caddo at night with a guy that knew it like he knew the back of his hand. 90 frogs, some were huge, others were even bigger - made a monster impression on a Florida kid. Red eyes looking at you! Sometimes two pairs. The best barbequed frog legs I've ever eaten to this day.

Wooahhhh said:

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I, too, was 24 or 25 the first time and only time I went frog gigging. It was out of this world, fantastic. Lake Caddo at night with a guy that knew it like he knew the back of his hand. 90 frogs, some were huge, others were even bigger - made a monster impression on a Florida kid. Red eyes looking at you! Sometimes two pairs. The best barbequed frog legs I've ever eaten to this day.

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I wonder if anyone guides frog gigging trips. My kids would just love this!

Otter eating a water snake at Limestone

I've been frogging all my life (and that is a looong time). If in a larger body of water (lake, river, etc.) with boat and some kind of motor, a gig (or gun) is not needed. Just a bright spot light, and lean over the bow of the boat and gab them by hand and place in a sack. The advantage of not having to kill the frogs (with gig or gun) is that it is quicker and quieter, but also you don't have to clean the frog that night. Just toss in an ice chest or cool spot and clean the next morning. Especially appealing if you have 30 or 40, or 90 frogs!

Catching a frog on a fishing lure is quite an experience. Talk about a fight.

I gigged all of my younger years. Used everything from a spring loaded gig, barbed gig, two buck knives wired to a tree branch, and even whittled sticks from tree branches. Life growing up outdoors allowed you to figure lots of things out in life! I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Some of the most fun times we had were in the jon boat on the lake, walking river bottoms, or wading any and all tanks that we could find.

Fried, grilled, BBQ'd, or the best was boiled and steamed in a beer can over the campfire.

Went a few times with a friend until we nearly stepped on a huge Cotton Mouth...funny thing is we swam in that same tank the day before. Not after that.

gigem70 said:

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Catching a frog on a fishing lure is quite an experience. Talk about a fight.

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My kid tried to fish at our pond yesterday but only the channels have water. Middle is dry which it hasn't been in years. The moss is so thick it's impossible for the trolling motor to run. But he said there were lots of bullfrogs. One was hooked after biting a top water frog but it got off at the boat. Need to take a smaller aluminum flat bottom boat and see what's there one night soon.
Trapped dozens of otters and beavers there last winter so hopefully the frog numbers are improved. With our duck blind sitting on dry land, really need some rains.

If you have a kid and the opportunity to go frogging do it!

I was about 11 when I first went. I carried a Tow sack and Pop carried a hissing Coleman lantern.
We caught them by hand, no gigs.

The old oxbow slough we went on was prehistoric at night to an eleven year old kid.

One of my very best outdoor memories.

Started going frog gigging when I was 8 or years old. We did not use the spear type gigs, but clamp gigs that snap shut around the frog. Those come with somewhat rounded "points" which we filed to be quite sharp. Also filed them such that those points will overlap (brand new they have quite a gap between them and frogs can escape the clamp). Someone told me you cannot alter those gigs any more but I never found anything that says that. You do have to have a hunting license though.

Still go a couple of times a year on private property.

A few years ago in our old neighborhood, right in the Houston suburbs, I saw an Asian man prowling around one of the detention ponds with a gig. I wondered if he got any.

Haven't been in decades, but used to go in my teens a lot. Two pole gigs, tow sack, two sets of waders, headlights, and a cooler of beer back at the truck. We'd go for two nights and have a fish/frog fry for two families. We'd stay out til nearly dawn and take a nap the next day.

Snakes everywhere. Some holes had more than others. Nothing like that sound of hundreds of bullfrogs groanin away. I learned a lot about life too out there on the water at night as a kid.

Didn't know you had to have a license.

rwtxag83 said:

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Didn't know you had to have a license.

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You serious, Clark? This, along with the fresh water fee, the salt water fee( in addition to a fishing license) AND the archery fee (in addition to a hunting license).............TPWD can kindly take a long walk on a short pier.

Next are we gonna see a spear fee? A lasso fee? A wading fee? A noodling fee? A trot line fee? A stringer fee? A cleaning fee? A artificial lure fee? A live bait fee? You are becoming pathetic!

Tell you what TPWD........ you stop burying your head in the sand and bowing down to the lobbying from breeders and remedy the CWD problem and we "may" start to trust you Ftards again!

Current win streak against frogs.

24, from 1973 -present.

Anyone willing to share a decent place to go within 2-3 hours of Houston? My friend and I have never been before, but we'd really like to give it a shot. We've considered going to dam B, but we went on an alligator hunt there and only saw alligators and snakes.

Hopefully asking for frog gigging spots isn't as taboo as asking for other hunting spots!

In a lot of areas, frog spots are closely guarded. Rightfully so because it's really easy to wipe a hole clean for the year in one night.

One thing I've learned over the years is you don't have to be in a swamp or shallow marshy pond to do well. Flowing creeks and rivers can be a lot better than you might expect. Im sure the houston bayous are probably full of them but id be mindful of the water they're coming from before eating them.

Not knowing anything of the area but just looking at google earth, things like spring creek might be worth a look.

Absolutely right on both issues -- frogging spots are highly revered and guarded, and various size flowing (or non-flowing) waterways, such as rivers and bayous, often contain bullfrogs. Another less known fact is wherever there is an abundance of crawfish, there will be an abundance of bullfrogs -- unless someone has beat you to it!