In my book, nothing in bass fishing tops the thrill of getting hammered on a frog. Berkley’s Swamp Lord hollow body frog is built to traverse the rough stuff, bring out the bully in bass and entice the big ones. Most important — as it proved throughout the 2024 season, most notably at General Tire Heavy Hitters on the Kissimmee Chain last May — it puts fish in the boat. Designed with heavy input from 2022 REDCREST champ Bobby Lane, the Swamp Lord is also available in a popping model, but I spent my time with the walking version.
First impressions
I’ve checked out a small army of toads over the years, and I could tell right away this one had plenty going for it. To wit:
– SOFT BODY: The body is made from durable plastic that collapses easily to expose the business ends of the sticky-sharp double frog hook. The material is soft to the touch (you can actually put a finger on it through the packaging) and is molded with a wide, keel-shaped belly and strategically placed butt weight to promote good balance, easy walking and an aggressive, butt-down stance. The silicone strand legs can be trimmed to an angler’s preferred length.
– STOUT HOOK: The heavy-wire Berkley Fusion19 frog hook is built to battle big ones. It’s sized perfectly to conform with the frog’s wide body, but you may need to tweak the points outward just a tad. If a bare finger catches when slid down the sides of frog, you’re good.
– WATER SEAL: Water intrusion can be a problem with some frogs because it can hamper the action or even cause the bait to sink. Berkley addressed the issue with a shrink-tube collar that fits snugly around the hook shank where it enters the body cavity.
The Swamp Lord isn’t just for grass mats. Keith Poche used it to sack up a 27-pound limit around pads in the Toyota Series Championship on Wheeler Lake. Photo by Rob Matsuura
In action
It’s always a pleasure to fish a brand-new bait that performs as advertised. The Swamp Lord didn’t disappoint. I took it to one of my home ponds and caught a few fish around pads, grass and brush. Here’s the skinny:
– CASTABILITY: Paired with a St. Croix Slop-N-Frog rod and Berkley X5 braid, it cast like a dream. It also landed upright every time.
– EASY TO WALK: Some frogs are much easier to walk than others. This is one that even a beginning angler can take to the dance and have some fun with. Walking the frog is simply a matter of developing the proper cadence, fast or slow. Use short, soft twitches, and the Swamp Lord will almost dance in one spot with limited forward movement. That technique can be deadly around holes in pads and grass mats or adjacent to isolated wood.
Keeping the water out
So, how well does the shrink-tube collar resist water intrusion?
It seems to do a really good job on the retrieve but won’t completely seal out water when a bass slams the frog and shakes things up beneath the surface.
The good news is the water can be pushed back through the shrink wrap by compressing the frog a few times. I found that squishing the body at the butt and belly simultaneously empties the body cavity pretty quick.
Brandon Coulter and Jordan Lee both put the Swamp Lord to work during Heavy Hitters on the Kissimmee Chain. Photo by Tyler Brinks
Other performance advice:
Try different speeds and cadences. The best retrieve is always the one the fish want on a given day.
Stay with the basics on color. Maverick (black) is good in low light, bone or honey shad in sunny conditions. When panfish are bedding, turn to chartreuse perch, MF bluegill or green pumpkin.
A heavy-action rod with a fast tip helps with horsing fish out of heavy cover and maximizes casting distance. Preferred rod lengths vary, with 7-foot to 7-6 representing the most common range. A longer rod might hamper a short angler from working the bait properly.
Braided line is heavily preferred in froggin’ arenas. Braid cuts vegetation, while fluorocarbon and mono tend to ball up. Line sizes ranging from 50- to 65-pound test work best in thick cover.
The 2.4-inch popping version of the Swamp Lord weighs in at 2/3 ounce and features a cupped nose that pops, gurgles and spits water when twitched. It’s a good choice for open-water situations but also can be deadly when twitched and paused around grass clumps, bream beds, voids in pads and stumps/laydowns or skipped beneath docks and overhanging bushes.
Details:
Colors: 12
Weight: 2/3 ounce
Length: 2.6 inches
Hook: Berkley Fusion 19
MSRP: $9.99
Applications:
> Walk it over grass mats, through pads, around hay grass or other shallow vegetation.
> Skip it beneath docks or overhanging branches.
> Work it around bream beds or in shad spawn situations.
Hits and Misses:
+ Easy to walk + Casts great + Durable + High quality hook + Flat belly helps with skipping + Resists water intrusion + Solid color selection + Good price point
– Hook may need tweaking out of the package
Final thoughts
The Swamp Lord may not be the last hollow body you will ever need, but it is certainly worthy of a spot in your frog fishing arsenal. The soft body collapses nicely around a high-quality hook that seems to sit just about right straight out of the package, while the shrink-tubing around the shank does a good job of keeping water out of the body cavity. The frog casts well, is simple to walk, keeps fish buttoned, and the color selection is on the money.
