Where did all the FROGS go??

I was having a conversation with my brother the other day when our leopard frog catching days came up. We would catch hundreds and supply the local bait store back in the late 80s. They were everywhere! Including the warm tar roadways at night it would be nothing to see hundreds during a nightime drive, hopping all over the place. SO, where did they go? Or am I just older now and not frequenting their habitat like I once did as a kid? (and no, we didnt kill the population) Anyone else notice that there’s something missing?

Found this,,,,and it makes some sense maybe..

Changing agricultural methods have led to pollution, something that amphibians are extremely sensitive to. They have permeable skins, making them vulnerable to toxins in the environment. Pesticides also kill off insects, leaving frogs without a food supply, and agricultural fertilizers contaminate bodies of water, which most amphibians need for the tadpole stage of the life cycle.

^ yup

Westren iowa is still loaded with frogs I’ve seen areas around Okaboji iowa great lakes are when it rains the roads are littlerly covered with frogs pretty neat site

Yesterday I had exhausted the fishing water around my dock. I caught fish but had them all down from beating the water for 10 minutes. Then I saw a leapard frog in the yard. I caught it, put it on the hook and casted. Immediate bass.

sure wish I had a bucket of frogs, going to lockport, MB and nothing but nothing beats frogs this time of year for channel cats. I also remember the days of seemingly hundreds of frogs on the roads. Now when I find them I am to slow to catch them, they are quick

We’ve got a bunch near a cool-water spring at our cabin. And we were out at Upper Sioux Agency State Park last week–I could not believe how many leopard frogs were there!!!

I didn’t read your link, but I know they say that leopard frogs are a good indicator of pollutants in the environment.

I’ve noticed that they were disappearing when I was younger, but in many of those places i have seen them making a strong comeback. That always makes me happy to see leopard frogs hopping around, because I know that the ecology in that area is probably doing well.

That is unless the frogs have extra legs, eyes or other deformities.

Has nothing to do with pollution…they are just harder to catch/see becuase they all have 6 legs and 4 eyes now. Wait, maybe pollution is playing a role?

Calling you for BS on the pollution. You created a frog problem and found the answer you wanted. Plenty of frogs around here and all I see are corn and bean fields.
Have to go, I hear the sky is falling.

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sure wish I had a bucket of frogs, going to lockport, MB and nothing but nothing beats frogs this time of year for channel cats. I also remember the days of seemingly hundreds of frogs on the roads. Now when I find them I am to slow to catch them, they are quick

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Yes, frogs are the bomb. We lucked out and had a friend find a boatload for us. We went up with over 200 of them last weekend, for 3 guys, and used all but about 40 (some of them were tiny and we doubled up two on a hook). Total fish caught was 81 fish in 4 nights for 3 guys – 1392 lbs of total weight (scale-weighed, not estimates). Fun stuff. I’m making it an annual trip. We have gone 3 of the last 4 years (skipped 2010 for some reason). Heck I might start going twice a year just because it’s THAT fun.

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Has nothing to do with pollution…they are just harder to catch/see becuase they all have 6 legs and 4 eyes now. Wait, maybe pollution is playing a role?

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I must confess here, as young man at several campsite beer partys,(the parents of course)my acomplice and I would collect leopard frogs in a bucket, then sneak off with several cans of pilfered brew.

WE then consume such beverage and share some with the frogs.
The forgs would simply get inebreated by dumping a little beeer on the skin of their backs.

Kind of wierd I guess, but hell we were just young lads and lassies having fun.
How were we to know that this would have such a large impact on the frogs.

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Calling you for BS on the pollution. You created a frog problem and found the answer you wanted. Plenty of frogs around here and all I see are corn and bean fields.
Have to go, I hear the sky is falling.

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what?

Double “what?”

I know around the Hutchinson area in the early 60’s the roads were covered with them during the migration.

To me it seemed along with draining/tiling fields, the frogs became less abundant. I do recall once in the 80’s my daughter was able to see a good size migration…but that was only once.

*I have no clue if draining/tiling had an effect on the frog population. It just seemed to me that way.

I’d agree that there seems to be fewer frogs around. They seem to be more localized to specific locations, possibly. Heck I remember growing up in Hutch, you couldn’t drive through Meeker County to get to the lake (especially after dark) in September without seeing hundreds if not thousands of them jumping across the roads. Now you might see a few, but it’s nothing like it was.

There are obviously some frogs around yet, but the numbers seem way down. I’ve though the same about garter snakes the last decade or so.

Small world.

I didn’t know you grew up in Hutch. I fished the Crow River for many years on summer vacation. Too bad it was all carp suckers bullheads with a few crappies mixed in at that time. Most all the drain fields from septic tanks flowed directly into the river.

Gawd was that a mess at times.

I haven’t heard how fishing’s been since they took out the dam.

drought