Agree with iabass. If you are fishing your frogs mostly in open water the mono should work. Just make sure to be very technical and precise with your hook sets. Mono stretches and frogs have big hooks. If you're fishing in or around cover, you're much better off going with braid.
I never worry about ordering anything online and I've never had any trouble that wasn't immediately rectified by the online retailer. If you get the rod and something is wrong with it, send it back and they will make it right, assuming you're buying from a reputable dealer.
I'm a big fan of the Fuji Alconites also. They are good guides at a reasonable price. I've also used, and liked, American Tackle Ring Lock Guides with Nanolite rings. If you want to go titanium and/or Sic, I would personally stick with Fuji. Since you're going to full size guides and the rods are heavier, shaving every possible ounce isn't quite as critical so stainless frames should be fine. Also, many builders don't build on the spine anymore, most build on the straightest axis. If your blank is really straight and you want to build on the spine, by all means do, but it isn't going to make or break the build.
Your options are mostly unlimited. BPS doesn't carry very many reels over $300. The Pflueger Patriarch that you mentioned is a phenominal reel. It doesn't get near the credit it deserves. The Patriarch XT is even better, it's ashame that it was discontinued. Aside from that, I would go with a Daiwa Zillion, (if they have any) the Revo Premier or the Shimano Core.
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.
