Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Frog Management

anyone ever tried to manage a pond for frogs and grow some big toads for frog gigging?

No but we used to have a lot of frogs around here then the birds came and ate most of them. They are starting to make a comeback now. We have a few shallow ponds with a fair amount of frogs in them

CJ, is this pond close to other ponds or waterways? If so, the frogs should find it just fine. If it's shallow and is devoid of predators they should overwhelm it pretty good.

my pond only has bluegills and cnbg and the big bullfrogs are everywhere. they will find the body of water and make it home.

Somebody must, but I've never heard of it. How do the large restaraunt chains get frog legs?

I've got a settlement pond above my main pond that has some huge green frogs and huge bull frogs. It is only about 25-foot in diameter. I think I could pretty quickly wipe out my edible size frogs if I were to go gigging some weekend evening.

Only a few frogs make it to gigging size in my main pond. The fish seem to get all the smaller ones.

It is a very interesting idea. If you find that it is possible, we'd sure like to hear a lot more about it.

Ken

All I can see is millions of frogs with tiny crutches.-Kermit the frog.

Bullfrogs are predators. They eat lot of frogs and most anything alive that will fit into their mouth. I've watched as many young bfrogs become lunch for an adult frog. Frog density is often related to amount of shoreline and near-shore cover. Dense cover being better. LMB strongly reduce the number of frogs. Mink and heron love frogs too.

Ken's Hatchery and Fish Farm (home of the Georgia Giants), Alapaha GA, will gladly sell you a "system" to be a 'frog farmer'. Buyer beware.

Seems like it isn't easy to obtain such frog pond for you in USA.
It's a bit easier to me. Actually I do NOTHING to get frogs (Rana esculenta) - they will appear anyway whether I need them or not. As I haven't got much large predators in my pond (perch doesn't count - it has got too small mouth), these frog don't have much enemies that could reduce their population.

The only "frog management" strategy we use is that any time DH finds a big old bullfrog, he brings it home and releases it into the pond.

I wish we had more "visible" bullfrogs. I say that because I do occasionally see one and they are HUGE. We hear them all the time. I know they are there - I just wanna see 'em.

At my father-in-law's place, there is very little cover around his ponds and I see the bullfrogs all the time. Big difference is that he has no bass -- only catfish. I think that is a key factor. Where the bass are, I notice the frogs tend to "go under cover."

Will gig any frog or do only bull frogs get enough??

Here are the tadpoles we have, the picture was taken on the 29th of Jul 2011. They are at the edge of the deep end of the pond. We have hundreds all along the water front, I think the bass will be very happy as they grow!