Best Gear & Strategies For Hunting, Killing & Cleaning BullFrogs For Food, Survival Or Doomsday PreppersTopSurvivalPreps.com is reader-supported. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more.
Best Gear & Strategies For Hunting BullfrogsFrog legs taste really good, even when you are not starving to death. Whether you just like to hunt and eat bullfrogs today, or you're on a budget and can't afford chicken or beef often enough, or you are in a Doomsday survival situation and are trying to stay alive, learning how to hunt, catch, cook, and eat bullfrogs is a valuable skill. If you're a prepper, just having a simple Frog Gig in your Bug-Out bag would be very helpful for capturing food, whether that be frogs, snakes, or other small critters.
1. Learn how to Locate & Stalk Bullfrogs. A critical skill is to learn how to locate and stalk the frogs. If you know where ponds, swamps, ditches, lakes, or other bodies of water are that are within bullfrog territory, drive to where there might be frogs and turn the car off and listen. Swampy, algae and snake infested looking areas are a bullfrogs favorite territory, but you are going to use your ears to locate them no matter how snaky or not snaky the habitat is. If you are on foot then walk and listen, but if it is a large swampy area that is not too far from a road, you can find them faster with your car. Once you hear them, then go that way and just let them guide you to them. You'll be surprised at how far away you can hear the frogs if it's a still and quiet night. If you hear frogs on private property, then go back the next day and ask for permission. We've never had much problem getting permission to gig at a pond as long as you can find the land owners. The early summer is best as the frogs are looking for their love partner and are singing their tunes to court them. When you get to the bank, shine the light around and look for shiny frog eyes. Every now and then turn the light off and sit and listen. If you hear one and can't find it, move towards the frog, and stop and sit and listen again. If its hiding in a grassy/weedy area, you will eventually be able to narrow the area in the weeds where it's at down to a foot or two. Often times when they are hiding in such an area, they will let you move the weeds around them with the gig so you can uncover them. On a creek bank, sometimes we have a buddy on each side to help spot across the creek and gig the ones on that side. We basically locate the frogs for each other. If you are walking along a "clean" bank, another good method is to have a buddy with one of you doing the gigging and the other shining the light. Be quiet and walk very softly. When walking the bank, the frogs sitting on the bank often times can feel the vibrations or hear you, and a lot of them will jump in the water just before you get a chance to gig them.
Probably the most successful gigging is done from a flat jon boat or canoe. If you use a jon boat, you can use a trolling motor. If you are paddling, just be sure to move quietly and not let the paddles bump into the canoe or boat. The paddles banging on the side of the boat will definitely spook the frogs away. When you gig from a boat, the frogs seem to stay put longer. This is probably because they know the danger is in the water and they don't want to move away from the water. It's the opposite when you and they are both on the bank. They'll jump in the water and swim away at the slightest bit of being spooked.
2. Use a Powerful Light. A powerful light is your greatest tool in your quest to catch frogs. Most frog hunting is done at night with the aid of a powerful light. Experienced frog hunters know its best to shine a light around a pond bank or swamp and see what eyes start shining back at you. You will soon be able to distinguish little frogs from eating sized frogs and bigger creatures like alligators. A powerful light is the most important tool for frogging so that you can blind the frogs. Flashlights are great, but if you are frog hunting alone, powerful headlamps are even better to keep your hands free. The one below made by InnoGear is a really nice one, but there are a slew of good headlamps to choose from. Just check out headlamps and flashlights on Amazon, eBay, etc., and get the one that's right for you. Once you have your target in site, never take the light beam away from being dead in their eyes. Keep the beam in their eyes as you move closer. If the light comes off their eyes or is disrupted by anything in the light beam between you and the frog, then that will likely spook the frog.
3. Different Methods Of Catching Frogs. There's more than one way to catch a mess of frogs.
Typical Bullfrog Smile!
c. Catch em with a fishing net. You get the picture, Just sneak up on one and get the net on them quickly. Get a deep dip net at least 6" in diameter, attach it to a pole 6 to 10 feet long. Lay the net over the frog and pull, when he jumps, he goes to the end of the net. Then, flip it over and you have him. The best part of this method is if you are hunting at night and don't get home until the wee hours in the morning, you don't have to clean a bunch of dead frogs. Go in, get cleaned up, go to bed and deal with the frogs once you wake up. To keep the frogs alive you'll need:
Instructions:
4. What to Wear. Darker clothes seem to be best and less moonlight is better. Definitely do not wear anything reflective. If you are going to be walking a bank and will be walking in some mud and muck, be sure to wear some water proof boots. You don't want your feet all water logged. Boots can also protect against a possible snake bite. If you are going to be wading in the water then you are going to need some hip waders or fishing waders. We already mentioned fish handling gloves. Oh yeah, don't forget to apply plenty of mosquito repellent and watch for snakes.
A No Float Wire Basket With Spring Top & Bottom Is Great For Toting Your Frogs!
6. Be legal. As always, check your local and state hunting regulations before hunting any animals. If you do hunt frogs with a firearm or bow, particularly at night, note that it is not legal in every state. Some areas do not allow gigging.
7. How to Clean Your Frogs. Frogs are really easy to clean. There are multiple methods to skin a frog. Some people use a knife or scissors and with or without pliers. If you cut the legs off from the abdomen or cut the skin around the frogs abdomen before skinning the legs, then its a little harder to hold the frog legs and remove the skin. But its still not too hard no matter what method you use. You can use a knife to clean a frog but we prefer a heavy set of scissors. It only takes about thirty seconds to clean a frog with scissors. Watch the second video below to learn how most people clean a frog with a large knife and get it ready for cooking. Try that method and the scissor method and see which you prefer.
Get A Good Pair Of Heavy Duty Kitchen Shears - Multi-Purpose Utility Scissors for Chicken, Poultry, Fish, Meat
This is a Nice Eating Size Bullfrog!
9. Identifying the American Bullfrog and knowing its range. Bullfrogs are typically olive green or greenish brown, and can be a light or dark shade. The back and sides may be plain, spotted, or blotched with brownish markings and a whitish belly spotted with yellow or grey. The arms and legs are usually spotted or barred with dark markings. Their upper lip is often bright green and males often have yellow throats. Underparts are white, distinctly or obscurely spotted and mottled. The iris of the eye is either golden or reddish bronze. Both male and female bullfrogs can reach a body length (not counting the leg length) of 6 to 8 inches. Females are typically larger than males. Bullfrogs weigh up to 1.7 lbs. A bullfrog's head is broad and flat, with a large mouth. The common bullfrog has long back legs that may measure from seven to ten inches and having very large webbed feet. The Bullfrog likes to inhabit large, permanent water bodies, such as swamps, ponds, bogs, rivers and lakes, where it is usually found along the water's edge either in or out of the water. The male bullfrog defends a territory during the breeding season. His call will remind you of the roar of a bull, which gives the frog its common name. This frog is native to southern and eastern parts of the United States (except Florida) and is also located in Canada. The American Bullfrog's natural range extends from the Atlantic Coast to as far west as Oklahoma and Kansas. It is largely absent from Florida, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota. It has been introduced into Nantucket island, Arizona, Utah, other parts of Colorado and Nebraska, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii. In these states, it is considered to be an invasive species. It is very common in California, where it is believed to pose a threat to the California red-legged frog. Bullfrogs are, for the most part, nocturnal animals, although not exclusively so. Bullfrogs that reside in colder environments spend their winters in hibernation when the weather reaches the freezing point or colder. When it comes to hibernation, bullfrogs usually set up camp in the mud. They carve out tiny underground lairs where they can rest until the temperatures come back up. Although many do, not all bullfrogs retreat to the mud during the winter months. Some opt for more aquatic hibernating environments such as the floors of ponds or pools, for example. When bullfrogs hibernate in these underwater settings, they typically do so in the midst of debris. Although frogs are capable of breathing both via their lungs and their skin, they do so exclusively via their skin when hibernating in the water or mud.
YouTube VideosThe following YouTube video demonstrates how to use frog gigs (Warning: Graphic Video).
The following YouTube video demonstrates how to clean bullfrogs after frog gigging (Warning: Graphic Video).
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