[gentle orchestral fanfare] - [Bryan] I saw him shoot off the bank and get that thing, Kevin.

- [Kevin] Coming at me.

- [Bryan] That is perfect.

Bam!

- It looked like there was two of 'em there, didn't it?

- [Bryan] It did, there was two.

There certainly was.

- Probably the male and a female.

- And you caught the female.

- [Announcer] The production of Carolina Outdoor Journal is made possible in part by: - [Female Announcer] Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.

ncwildlife.org/winc.

- [Male Announcer] And by EZ Bait and Tackle, family owned and operated.

We've been fishing since 2003.

Come see the crew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and we can hook you up for all your fishing needs.

[light instrumental music] ♪ - Hello, and welcome to the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Well today's program's about bass fishing, topwater bass fishing, and Joe, we're gonna be using a special bait, we're gonna be using frogs.

- That's right.

Artificial frogs, rubber frogs on the surface, using heavy tackle.

Braid, heavy braids, long rods, we're fishing heavy cover so you've got... Once you set the hook, you gotta get these fish out of that cover.

And you'll see, we're gonna see in the cover we were fishing today but, very productive way to catch bass.

And as you gonna find out year round, we're fishing in May on this show but, as our guys will talk about, this method can be used most of the year, except maybe dead winter time but, they'll explain that.

But, lots of fun and some pretty fish.

- We're gonna have an interesting Gear Time today, too.

- They'll go over the frogs they used today.

One's got a concave mouth on it, it gives you a little more popping action on the surface.

But there are two different types.

They come in different colors, they are weedless, which you gotta have to fish in this cover and they'll go over that too.

- And our recipe today dealing with shrimp.

- [Joe] Right.

Real tasty shrimp recipe from Donna today using polenta and she'll explain how it's done.

- Well we got a lot going on.

Let's go to work on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- Kevin, I've been looking forward to this for a long time.

We've been talking about it, you told me about this combat fishing, and we're gonna be throwing frogs this morning.

We're about a month behind on the weather.

- That's right.

- But we've been so busy, it's been hard to get together.

But you telling me, I got to throw that in there?

- Yeah, well it's a different style fishing.

It's a bait you would throw no other bait and be able to bring it out and catch fish.

It's fun.

- Heavy drags, heavy line.

- Yeah.

Heavy line.

It's gonna be good.

- Alright, man.

Let's get at it.

- [Kevin] Alright.

- [Bryan] Perfect.

Now I got to throw it up in those bushes like that?

- [Kevin] Yeah, you can just skip it.

It's a little different, something you gotta get used to but it's a, it's a walk the dog motion.

You know, slight line, little rod tip, and hold on.

- [Bryan] Hold on.

I see the stru-- the water's clear in here, isn't it?

- [Kevin] Yeah, it is.

It's cleared up a little bit.

- [Bryan] Fish on the banks?

- Fish on the banks.

They wanna be on the banks right now anyway.

Some are doing it, some have done it, spawn-wise and I think some are protecting fry so, we might see a little bit of everything.

- I can't wait, man.

This is wild.

- Yeah.

- Looks like a lotta backlashes to me today coming.

[laughs] - You'll have some.

- Get 'em, boy!

Oh, you mama!

Man!

We been looking for that bite.

You stuck him pretty good too, didn't ya?

- [Kevin] Yeah.

- [Bryan] Look, I'll catch one right there.

They like a pretty good fish?

- [Kevin] Like, about a pound and a half, two pound fish.

- [Bryan] That'll work.

- [Kevin] Got a frog full of, full of water.

- [Bryan] Say you do?

- [Kevin] Yeah.

- [Bryan] That's funny.

This is a trip, man.

He was way up there, wasn't he?

- [Kevin] Yeah.

You see how I hit it?

- [Bryan] Yeah, just pffft.

Just sucked it right under.

I mean it's not an explosion.

- [Kevin] It can be.

I swear I'm gonna call it out right now.

- There's fish right there.

You got it, you got it!

Pow!

Ooooh!

- [Kevin] You see it wake out?

- I saw it waking, yeah, man.

That was...

I love it when they do that.

- [Kevin] I kept looking, I said, "I swear that ain't no..." - [Bryan] No, I could see him coming.

- [Kevin] Wake back at it.

- [Bryan] I could see him coming.

[laughs] It was not even a sound.

- [Kevin] Did you see it just disappear?

- He just disappeared, man.

Let's see what you got over here.

Hey, man.

- He liked it, didn't he?

- That is a frog fish.

He was up in there tight.

- You think he chugged it?

- [Bryan] Dang right.

- [Kevin] Yeah, he swallowed it.

He choked on it.

You see, if you look on that bank, there's a, there's a bed right there.

- [Bryan] Oh, I gotcha, okay.

- [Kevin] He's probably guarding fry or something.

- [Bryan] Guarding the bed.

And I mean, it just disappeared.

It was not a, an explosive type water bait, it just... Gone.

- He just sucked it.

And that's the best place to hook 'em 'cause they got a hard rooftop, you know, and you can stick it right in there.

- That was awesome.

- Not a giant, but a fun one.

- Hey, man.

I'll take the other guys.

Pretty fish.

Dark, real dark.

- Yeah, it's real dark.

Real dark, so.

Maybe we'll turn on for us.

- Good job, buddy.

We were due, we were due.

So you knew where the bed was?

- I caught one there the other day.

- Uh-huh, you didn't tell me.

Alright, tell me the next time you know where a bed is...

Sorry, Rosco.

- You know, I didn't see that bed the other day 'cause the wind was blowing on it.

- Typical bass fisherman.

[laughs] - Gotta try it first, then til you get it.

Remember that?

- Yep, I see how you do me.

Wouldn't that be a classic bite right there?

Look at that log way off the front of that thing.

This water's clear, man.

- [Kevin] It's like, it's like bath water.

That's why you kinda need to work a little faster.

- [Bryan] Check him out, coming up.

- [Kevin] Yep.

- Wow.

That the deal?

Fish it a little faster?

- [Kevin] Yeah.

That's what I'm gonna try.

Don't hesitate to throw it back in that little spot right here.

[yelling] - That was a good fish.

That was a fish I probably moved.

You better get ready to duck 'cause that looked like a good fish.

- That did look like a good fish.

- [Bryan] That was a bite right there, man.

Now that's the first one that actually just annihilated it.

That is awesome.

There, you thought he was three times that size.

- He hit like he was a five pounder, didn't he?

- Yeah.

That's the best bite so, them other ones just... Ah, got to have some of that.

Other fish just moved right ahead of us too, Kevin.

Yeah, pretty work, man.

Pretty work.

Another fish, there must be some more.

Oh, I see the log you're fishing on now, you're keeping that stuff to yourself.

- [Kevin] Yeah, there's gonna be some stunts I'm gonna pull.

- [Bryan] Let me tell ya, there's another fish right there 'cause I just saw him move.

That was cool.

- Ya know, the good thing about this is everybody loves to topwater, and the topwater bite, typically summertime, spring, spring a little long, where summertime shut off by nine o'clock, this is a topwater bait you can throw all day long.

You know, you look over here, you see shade lines, and the sun, when it gets up high like this positions those fish up underneath that, that structure.

And you know, you put it where he lives and he'll eat it.

- [Bryan] It's a function of location.

- [Kevin] That's exactly right.

- [Bryan] There's a reason they'll eat it.

Yeah, that's cool.

- [Kevin] Yeah.

- You're putting it where they live, ain't no question about it.

I'm just putting it.

Oh, check him out!

Ah!

You got him?

- [Kevin] Got him.

- Little better fish, ain't it?

- Yeah.

- Dang, right little spot on him.

Yeah, looks like he got a... Or something grabbed him.

- Yeah, sure does, doesn't it?

- [Bryan] You tell him what lives in this creek, man.

- No.

- That's good for ya, that was a good bite, too.

- Top of the head, keeps 'em... - The last two bites have been more aggressive bites and the first ones were just... [makes suction noise] - Kinda sucked him down.

- These last two, killing it.

- Didn't like it at all.

- Pretty work, man.

Hey, I'm gonna tell you something in just a minute.

That thing up there ain't catching 'em, that one is.

[laughs] You holding out on me?

Or something, but I'ma find me a new frog in a minute.

- We got some in the box we'll pull out.

- [Bryan] 'Cause I know it don't have a fact to do with you're making all the good casts and I'm missing everything by four feet.

[upbeat theme music] - [Kevin] This should be a good little pocket back here in this shade.

- [Bryan] Wow.

Shoulda been one.

I saw him shoot off the bank and get that thing, Kevin!

- [Kevin] Coming at me.

- [Bryan] That is perfect.

Bam!

- It looked like there was two of 'em there, didn't it?

- [Bryan] It did, there was two.

There certainly was.

- Probably the male and a female.

- And you caught the female, I mean, the little male.

- The male coming off, maybe the female will stay there and let us see us.

He hit it, didn't he?

- He sure did.

And what was cool about it is I mean, the fish moved, you made a couple casts, and finally, you got it in the right spot.

And it was ka-wham.

- Pair of pliers time.

He won't go anywhere.

- No, that was awesome.

That was awesome, there's got to be a bed right there.

- Yeah, see where it's shallow.

- Yep.

I saw those fish a couple times coming down that bank.

- Yep.

- I mean, it was just a, a mud boil when it come off there to eat that bait.

- He sucked it, he didn't really hit it, did he?

- [Bryan] Yeah, no, he... - Just kinda lit it in.

- Wow, do that again.

- Let's see if we can find it.

See if the other one'll get excited.

- [Bryan] I don't give a flip who catches the fish.

I just like watching 'em eat that thing.

- [Kevin] Coming right down that...

Skip across that log, good grief, man.

- [Bryan] That might be the best, best cast I've made, other than ya'll was in it throwing it over a log.

I mean, a limb you don't see.

What's the best time, you know, seasonally for doing this?

- You know, just your typical topwater.

Early spring, all summer long.

And it really gets good again in the fall.

I've caught 'em to the, until Halloween.

- Good grief.

Doing this?

- Yeah, doing this right here.

If you can find 'em.

You know, obviously, you got to find the right kinda weather.

You know?

When it gets into below 60, it's gonna slow up a whole lot.

But if it stays between that 55 and 60 degree water and you can find some aggressive fish, they'll hit it.

- [Bryan] Golly, this is fun.

Oooh!

I knew there had to be one of these off the bank in a minute.

I mean, he was way out here.

Look at that thing in his mouth, you can see that thing four feet deep.

- [Kevin] He got clear of 'em to get to the mouth.

- [Bryan] Yeah.

Check him out.

First bass of the year.

- There ya go.

Look how dark he is.

- Yes, sir.

- That's a good fish.

That's one of the better fishes of the day.

- Yes, sir.

- He got a mouth full of it too, didn't he?

- He sure did.

And he thumped it, and I was moving it pretty quick 'cause I cast up in that little cut you told me to cast in, and... - [Kevin] He come off farther out.

- He was way out there when he finally ate it.

That bait's full of water.

Look at... hey, buddy.

I appreciate you coming to see me today.

- Good fish.

- Yes, sir.

Man, that was fun.

That was a heck of a bite, too.

- [Kevin] Good deal.

- Did you see as soon as you got the bite, I moved, 'cause I knew what was gonna happen?

That's a good fish, buddy.

- Here, that was a better fish.

[laughs] There you go.

- Yeah, check him out.

- We just said it two minutes ago, this is getting better.

[laughs] He nailed it, didn't he?

- [Bryan] Sure did, man.

- [Kevin] Top of the head.

Yeah, you made a good move, man, right away.

- It started going, "Look at that..." Pow!

- That's right.

- Nah, I knew what was getting ready to happen.

That's a nice fish.

That's just quality, quality fish.

- Good fish right here.

- Topwater, 11:19, and they're stroking it right now.

- And they're stro-- and it's got better as the day go along.

That's what I like.

- That is cool.

- That's what we like to see.

Good deal.

- Pretty work, man.

- Let's catch another one.

- I like it out here.

Finally brought me to some fish.

- There ya go.

[laughs] He hit it a little bit right there, didn't he?

- He did, he thumped it.

If it'd been one of those little sucks, I'da got hit in the face 'cause I wouldn't have heard it.

- [Kevin] You wouldn't heard it.

- As soon as it went down, I stepped back.

- I think you mighta helped me too 'cause I was getting ready to jerk and I had to pause for a second.

- Yep.

- [Kevin] Pause for clearance.

Did you see me go over top of your head?

- [Bryan] Yeah.

[laughs] That's why I was ducking.

- [Kevin] You were ducking and weaving.

- [Bryan] I saw the bite.

- [Kevin] Look at it.

He sucked it... - Yeah, look how clear the water is, man.

- Look how clear it is.

- Isn't that pretty?

- [Kevin] Yeah.

- [Bryan] Golly!

Wow, hey, little guy.

That's cool, man.

I didn't have time to move back.

[laughs] So I was ducking as you were snatching.

- Yeah.

- [Bryan] And he was way off the bank when you got hit.

- He came off the bank.

Up there, if you'll notice it, all that wood comes off the bank and makes it real flat so he's pulled off the bank on that flat stuff.

He wants to be flat.

Got him on top of the head.

- Yeah, man.

Every one of us had the same bite.

- That's where you want 'em, and if you can, you can get 'em there, you can really, you can see they're stuck, so.

Not a big one, but a fun one.

- Oh, yeah.

We'll take him.

- Yeah, man.

- We'll take him.

- That was a cool bite.

- Sure was.

- You made me wait 'cause if I didn't wait, I'd hit you across the forehead with that one, bud.

[laughs] - Joe, that's some pretty serious cover.

- Yeah, exactly.

And that's why they emphasize, you know, heavy tackle, you gotta get the fish out of the cover.

If you're gonna fish in cover with artificial lures, you need to be able to get the bass out once you hook 'em.

That day we had some fish they hit with some enthusiasm.

A lot of 'em just sucked the frog under and that's what Kevin was telling me earlier that it's a mixed bag, you never know how they gonna hit it but you gotta be ready to set the hook.

What a very effective way to catch bass and that's a natural bait, you know, in their world.

Frogs, they eat frogs I'm sure often so a very productive way to catch them.

- Alright, let's find out more about this.

Let's go to Gear Time.

[cheery guitar music] - Kevin, I had a ball today.

Most of the time, you know, I'm teaching people stuff, you know, from a guiding standpoint, today was all new and different for me.

We were throwing fogs, weedless, topwater frogs all day long in bright, blue sunshine, and we had to have 'em for throwing in that stuff we were throwing in.

- That's right.

These, you know, we got two different style of frogs.

This one's probably a little easier to work, you know, you used the walk the dog motion on it.

It's a popper style face on it, it does it's own thing.

It spits, it can do a lot.

But with these baits here, I mean, you can throw 'em in the jungle.

- We did.

- You can throw 'em in the jungle and as you can see, it's gonna come through pretty good and you have to really set the hook.

- Now you like that other one without the cup face.

- I do.

I like these a little better.

It's a walking style bait as well.

This is more of a frog style look in it, but really good bait.

Both of 'em good baits, both fair efficient, weedless is the same, so.

- Oh, yeah, man.

We had to have 'em.

We were throwing incredibly heavy tackle, to me, for bass fishing.

I mean, I showed up this morning with mono and it wasn't long we were putting 60 pound braid you know, on a bait caster with a real heavy action.

Seven foot six, seven foot 10 rod.

And high gear ratio, seven three to one.

- [Kevin] Seven three to one.

- You know, lotta power, lotta long cast, throwing up under stuff, and that was an incredibly fun day.

I learned a lot.

I didn't catch as many fish as you did, no fish were coming back and eating it, but man, when they ate it.

I missed a few 'cause I was getting used to it.

- [Kevin] That's right.

- [Bryan] It was pretty wild.

- It's a thing you gotta get used to, you know?

With a big, heavy, stiff seven foot 10 inch rod, it ain't the easiest thing to cast when you cast the first time.

Then you get to realizing, you start to skip it, put it under different places.

- Oh, you were making incredible casts.

That was a lotta fun.

- With that braid, you really, you know, where you're sticking it, you have to have that long rod with that heavy gear ratio action with that braid to get 'em out there quick.

So, it's awesome.

- Well I'll tell you what, man.

I had a ball, I appreciate you going with me, we've been trying to do this for a long time, and I gotta get back to the well and catch a few more rock fish.

- There ya go, there ya go.

Good deal, man.

- We hope you enjoyed that information.

So if you're gonna be fishing in that environment, well, maybe those tips will help you have a more productive day.

Now, let's catch you up with Donna, she's in the kitchen, she's got a recipe today using shrimp.

[cheery guitar music] - Hi, today in the kitchen, we're going to be making a Mediterranean polenta round, this is a great, fun, little appetizer.

And it goes together really quick and easy, you can go ahead and prep most of it ahead of time and just assemble it and have it in the fridge for when your guests come over or for when you want to go out on your back porch.

What we're gonna use is polenta.

And polenta is just a mixture of boiling water and yellow corn meal.

And you just mix it together while it's boiling, mix out the lumps, let it cook for about 20 minutes, and then turn off your heat, set it aside, and it will begin to firm up.

And that's... Once it's cooled just a little bit, then to make the rounds, what you'll do is take a piece of wax paper or a piece of plastic wrap, put it in the middle of your plastic wrap, and roll it until it's like in a tube, like you would the slice and bake cookies.

And that's basically what we're gonna be doing with this is we're gonna be slicing and broiling ours.

So this is what it looks like when it comes out and it's chilled.

And this is something you can keep in your fridgerator too and just pull out when you'd like to use it.

What we're gonna do is we're just gonna slice this into about half inch slices.

And then we're gonna place this on a baking sheet, brush a little bit of olive oil on the top, and put it underneath the broiler.

You can also...

The great thing about polenta in this form is that it can be used in so many different ways.

You can deep fry these if you want, you can grill them, broil them, or use them just like they are, so.

Bake 'em, so there's lots of different things you can do with this one basic recipe, which is great.

It's fun to have something that you know works and then you can change out your toppings.

If you wanna do a spicy shrimp on this or a crap dip on this, you can do that as well.

So we're gonna brush ours with just a little bit of olive oil, put it underneath the broiler for five to 10 minutes just until it's nice and crispy on the top.

While that is broiling, we're going to make our topping for this.

And I've just chosen some little baby shrimp and some sun dried pesto that you find in the grocery store.

And it has a great flavor, it's very versatile too, you can use it for a lotta different things.

It goes great with pasta as well, so it's a good thing to have in your, just in your pantry or in your fridgerator.

We're just gonna toss that together.

And it has all the great flavors that you want.

And once that's tossed together, we're just gonna set that over here, we're going to slice some fresh basil.

And to do that, I just like to roll mine up a little bit, just makes 'em a little easier, and then we're just gonna slice it really thin with our knife.

And this'll make a great decorative as well as great taste on your plate.

So, we're just gonna bring that over here.

And then what we're gonna do is we're gonna top the rest of our polenta rounds with our shrimp mixture.

And you don't have to be real neat, it's okay 'cause it's just gonna be on one platter and it's gonna, you know, kinda be falling off anyway.

Your friends aren't gonna let it last too long.

So we're gonna top that.

And then, we're going to sprinkle some red bell peppers on this.

So it's gonna have lots of color, I'd use a white plate or a not a very busy plate.

And then some of the basil.

And you can smell it, already smells really great.

And then use some goat cheese on this as well and just sprinkle the goat cheese on the top and you're ready to go.

So I hope you enjoy the Mediterranean polenta rounds and I look forward to seeing you next time here on Simple Cooking.

- Thanks, Donna for that recipe.

That recipe and a whole lot more are waiting for you in the Carolina Outdoor Journal cookbook, it's available at CarolinaOutdoorJournal.com.

Joe, back to the fishing day.

We had a big time.

The frog's been around for a while and you've got one right there.

- Yeah, this is one made by the Spro Company that they were using today, S-P-R-O tackle company and they make a variety of frogs.

This one doesn't have the concave mouth like the the other one that we used.

And the one with the concave mouth actually gives you a little bit more surface action, popping sounds as it's going through the water.

Also, Kevin likes to, when he takes them out of the box, he likes to trim this tail a little bit just, he prefers it a little shorter but very weedless, that's very important when you're fishing this style of fishing.

As you can see with most everything we fished today was in heavy cover and that's why he can fish 10 months out of the year is the fish are this cover where it's cool lotta times in the summertime, in the shady areas, that's where they ambush their, their prey.

So it's a natural area to find these fish.

But he likes to...

He says up til the temperature drops below 60 degrees, he can fish this, this method effectively and catch fish.

As I said earlier, they come in different colors and actually different sizes, too.

But a very productive way to catch bass and all of our strangely, you can do this on ponds with cover, but just a lotta fun, lotta topwater action.

- Fishing with frogs has been around a long time, it's just now been refined a little more.

- Yeah, the companies are making 'em, like I said, many different colors and these come in different sizes too, so if you've never tried it, give it a try and enjoy.

- Another good day.

- Absolutely.

- For Joe Albea, I'm John Moore, we do thank you for joining us today on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [Announcer] Make sure to visit our website for more information.

- [Announcer] The production of Carolina Outdoor Journal is made possible in part by: - [Female Announcer] Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.

ncwildlife.org/winc.

- [Male Announcer] And by EZ Bait and Tackle, family owned and operated.

We've been fishing since 2003.

Come see the crew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and we can hook you up for all your fishing needs.

[light instrumental music] ♪