Joe
King
after
a
good
night
on
the
frog
gigging
trail
with
a
stringer
of
eaters.
Frogs talk
to Joe King
… and he
claims to
know
precisely
what they
are saying.
He's not
some sort of
frog
whisperer,
however, but
simply a
devoted frog
gigger who
believes
understanding
frog-speak
is the
surest way
to skewer a
stringer
full of
long-legged
bullfrogs
every time
out.
An otherwise
modest man,
King leaves
his humility
on the shore
when he
heads out
for a night
of gigging.
"No one
knows as
much about
frogs as I
do. I am the
king of
frogs, and
the frogs
know it,"
said King,
who has been
chasing the
skittish
amphibians
for most of
his 71
years.
His love for
the sport is
a recent
development,
however,
because in
the
beginning,
King gigged
out of
necessity.
Frog legs
represented
a free meal
for King and
his family
when he was
a child
growing up
in
inner-city
Indianapolis.
Coming home
empty handed
after a
night of
hunting back
then often
meant going
without a
meal.
Now, a
successful
insurance
executive,
King gigs
for pleasure
… and to
pass the
sport on to
others.
And though
he loves to
hunt and
fish lots of
other
species, he
still refers
to frog
gigging as
his first
love and
"the sport
of kings."
Jumping in
When
darkness
falls on
most hot,
steamy,
summer
nights, King
can be found
waiting for
the first
call of a
distant
bullfrog.
Once rival
frogs are
completely
engrossed in
conversation,
he eases his
flat-bottomed
boat out
into the
waterway to
begin the
hunt.
"First,
listen to
what the
frog said
and the tone
of his voice
to decide if
he is big
enough to
pursue," he
said.
The really
big frogs
repeat the
phrase,
"Lets shoot
some dice,
lets shoot
some dice,"
he said,
while
smaller
frogs
typically
answer with
a
higher-pitched,
drawn-out
phrase that
sounds
something
like,
"What's his
point?"
Since one of
reasons King
hunts frogs
is for the
prospects of
harvesting a
plate full
of fried
legs, he
only targets
oversized,
mature
frogs,
taking care
to avoid
what might
be part of
next year's
harvest.
Gigging from
a boat also
is a key to
success,
according to
King. He
believes
frogs are
generally
expecting
predators
from the
shore, in
the form of
raccoons or
snakes. So
when he
approaches
them from
the water
with his
homemade
spotlight
and gig,
they don't
spook as
easily.
A
spooked
bullfrog
will
often
poke
its
head
out
of
the
water,
watching
and
waiting
for
danger
to
pass.
A
good
gigger
takes
advantage
of
the
second
chance
by
always
having
a
spotlight
and
gig
in
the
ready
position.
King hunts
with a
12-foot cane
pole tipped
with a
multi-pronged
gig attached
to the end.
The prongs
are barbed
and
sharpened
before every
outing.
With the gig
extended and
pointed at
the frog,
which
generally
sits
motionless
in the glare
of the
spotlight,
he eases
toward the
frog until
the gig is
almost
touching the
frog.
The key is
to push the
gig into the
frog, versus
throwing it
at him, he
believes.
King also
said it is
critical to
pay
attention to
the angle of
the gig.
Aiming the
gig
perpendicular
to the
frog's body
allows the
maximum
number of
prongs to
make
contact.
Despite the
fact he has
had nights
of gigging
more than 70
bullfrogs of
12 inches in
length or
greater,
King admits
big frogs
often are
too elusive
for even him
to capture.
"The big
ones like to
sit floating
amongst
tangles of
tree
branches and
debris. That
way, you
can't get
close
without
bumping a
branch,
alarming
them," he
said.
Patience
helps with
spooked
frogs,
because
eventually
they will
resurface,
often in a
new, more
accessible
spot.
King
routinely
positions
and
repositions
his boat for
up to an
hour to get
a crack at a
single big
frog that is
buried in a
root system.
When it
finally
moves, all
he needs is
one
opportunity
to add even
the slyest
frog to his
stringer.
"Those are
the ones
that make
gigging
worthwhile,
you've got
to earn
those
frogs," King
said.
Frog
facts
The frogs
King chases
around
creeks and
swamps also
happen to be
North
America's
biggest
species. The
common
bullfrog can
grow to a
body length
of 8 inches.
Double that
total when
the legs are
extended,
and that
is the tasty
objective of
most giggers'
desires.
Females are
larger than
male; they
can be
differentiated
by the size
of their
eardrums. A
female's
eardrums are
typically
about the
size of
their eye,
while a
male's is
noticeably
larger.
The
self-proclaimed
King
of
frogs
steadies
his
homemade
light
and
gigging
pole
to
skewer
a
big
bullfrog.
Frogs in the
Midwest
start
croaking in
early April,
but get a
lot more
active when
the nights
warm up. In
fact, the
hottest,
stickiest
July and
August
nights often
are the best
evenings to
catch frogs
out and
moving.
Bullfrogs
are
indigenous
to the
eastern
United
States, from
Canada to
Florida.
While
bullfrogs
can be found
in places
west of the
Mississippi
River, they
are native
only as far
west as
Wisconsin.
They
were
introduced
into the far
western
states to
provide a
meat source,
but have
become a
pest since
there aren't
enough
natural
predators to
keep their
numbers in
check. The
unfortunate
result has
been the
near
extirpation
of some
indigenous
species
This is due
to the fact
bullfrogs
are very
aggressive
and
territorial.
They do not
tolerate
other
smaller
frogs, or
each other
for that
matter, and
will eat
practically
anything
they can fit
in their
mouths. The
diet of a
big, old
bullfrog
might
consist of
other frogs,
snakes, mice
and turtles.
Apart from a
voracious
appetite,
bullfrogs
possess a
unique
defense
mechanism
that aides
in their
quest to
take over
new
ecosystems.
Where they
have been
introduced,
both adults
and tadpoles
have few
natural
enemies.
Uninitiated
predators
and would-be
scavengers
learn early
on to avoid
mouthing a
bullfrog
tadpole or
immature
adult,
because they
both taste
foul.
Luckily for
King, adult
bullfrog's
legs are
entirely
delectable
to the human
palate. And
he should
know, he's
the self
proclaimed
King of
frogs.
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