Fishing for bullfrogs
American bullfrog provides unusual fishing fun and a tasty treat
Brandon Flack’s day job is regional wildlife biologist and he manages the C.J. Strike Wildlife Management Area in southern Idaho. In his free time he’s hunting or fishing, and packs the family freezer with elk, deer, bear, waterfowl and all kinds of fish. Recently he added a new fare to the family dinner table – the American bullfrog.
The American bullfrog is not native to Idaho. Its home turf is the eastern half of the U.S., but has expanded its territory into the western states. Here, it has come to dominate wetlands and threaten native species. By Idaho rules, it is considered an introduced, unprotected species. By Brandon’s rules, it is fun fishing and good eating.
In Idaho, there are several ways to harvest bullfrogs: by hand, archery equipment, spearing and fishing. Brandon prefers fishing and in honor of the southern tradition of ‘gigging’ he jokingly calls fishing for frogs, ‘frigging.’
To learn how to fish for American bullfrogs, join Brandon Flack on an early morning frigging adventure to a small slough in southern Idaho.
