Unlike fish, which are caught using hooks or nets, catching a frog often requires the use of a frog spear. Frog spearing works best when the animal can be pinned to the ground and retrieved by hand. Make your own 4-pronged frog spear by following these 9 simple steps:
Step 1: Choose a green hardwood sapling no thicker than your thumb and about 5-7 feet in length. Limb the sapling with the exception
of a single fork near the top.
Step 2: Remove the bark toward the bottom end of the sapling. Leave some bark near the top to provide a secure textured grip.
Step 3: Carefully whip the sapling with synthetic or natural cordage approximately 9 inches from the bottom. This will prevent the four prongs from splitting too far down the shaft.
Step 4: Split the spearhead in half down the length of the head using a knife and baton. Be careful to tap the blade through the center pith of the wood to just in front of the whipping.
Step 5: Rotate the spearhead 90 degrees and split it down the length of the head again.
Step 6: Hold the four prongs together as a whole and sharpen them as one single point with your knife.
Step 7: Carefully insert green twigs down the splits in both directions to keep your spearhead open. You can tie these twigs in place.
Step 8: Barbs can be made expediently by notching the inside of the spearhead in the direction of the point.
Step 9: Get to spearing! This is a pinning spear. Approach the frog head on. Use the forked end to grip the spear for a stronger thrust. Pin the frog to the ground. Grab it with your hands around its waist.
Related Stories: Survival Fishing Techniques
This article originally published in AMERICAN FRONTIERSMAN® 2014-#158 issue. Print and Digital Subscriptions to AMERICAN FRONTIERSMAN® magazine are available here.
