frogflogger

one year I caught a 4# bass on a furbit on my first cast on christmas day - in the everglades of course

Be fearless you never know when some haphazard combo is going to be the next "great"color

Go for it is my advice - chances are you won't screw up the blank and you can rewrap it again down the road - don't get too involved in stuff - a pile of books for thread tensioning will work - dress the ends of the guides if needed for the thread to climb on - varnish or epoxy only the wrappings - use one color thread and as little as possible - less is more on a good rod blank. I built hundreds of rods while going to school back in the dark ages and still going at it 50+ yrs. later - it's not rocket science - just do some research and TAKE YOUR TIME it's simple fun - pick a decent blank, hard to go wrong with fuji guides and handles but there are options - you'll hear lots of talk about spline which I pay attention to but it's been proven to me over and over it's not near as critical as some believe. All that said if you want a professional job - get a pro.

black furbit white furbit natural furbit tru tungsten spro popper

go without food or beer and buy costas you'll never regret it

For myself braid for backing isn't a good idea - I use mono for backing if I don't expect a fish to get into it with a long run.

yes on the cranks and spinner/chatterbaits and an original rapala or other small jerk bait and topwater all can work really well at times.

plain black trick worm works anywhere in the country

going to try my newly built float and fly rigs with some jigs I tied - I'll take one other rig - not sure which yet

I think you'll find that tungsten jigs are very effective -

30# sufix on a med action rod has been my go to combo

zoom super hog

I use lines that I 'think' help in a specific situation - usually to do with not impeding action or presentation - not sure bass care but I do know really big bass are a different ball game altogether.

just rewrapped a fiberglass fenwick from the 60's my best spook rod

stik - o's - I have hundreds - they work - I stay away from store brand hard baits - not interested in trying a store brand when I know the action of the name brand

40-44 - jerkbait 45> - square bill on protected northern banks

great color

bandits are great little baits and reasonably priced - usually don't need tuning

I found the daiwa light and tough frog rod - 7'4" - to suit me better than any of the others I tried - at the time it was given to me frog fishing was what I did every day - 250-300 days a year - don't know if they still market them.

great reels - my only complaint was mine got stolen - other good reels right beside them but they went for the curados

I've never fished upstate ny but my partner from florida goes there once or twice a summer to visit family and has had good results using a couple of topwater techniques - spooks which I'm sure you have and a white furbit with legs trimmed short - middle of day with a breeze - clear water - these two have accounted for some pretty good bass for him up there - one a 7lber - it was in a lake with a housing development or vacation homes around it so it may have been private - not sure - but he had the years biggest bass a couple of years in a row.

Shallow running Hawaiian wigglers still catch fish for me particularly around stumps - very difficult to find them

For sure, when fishing a johnson spoon or horny toad type I fish with a high tip and wait on the weight but with hollow bodies the low rod tip position has been very efficient for me - but as you say what works for a person is their correct choice. It's great to get different approaches to a common goal - more bass on frogs!

The rod I use has a moderate action - it flexes down through the blank, not just the tip or upper part - with braided line you can take away the bait with a fast tip rod and when fighting a big fish in close quarters something has to give. Fishing 250 - 300 days a year and fishing frogs most of the time I came to believe the mod. action let the fish eat the frog, most fish "choked" the frog, very seldom hooked them in the lips mostly deep in the roof of the mouth usually with both hooks in them. I was fortunate to be in the everglades which is frog fishing heaven - but even in the clear deep lakes without vegetation I now fish the same technique is still effective. It's bass fishing so everyone has their own take on it but this worked very well for me and it was a long journey to come to the mod. action which goes against the accepted stuff out there - I have several fast action frog rods that are now used for other things but not frog fishing. The key to our hookset was to begin reeling immediately with the rod sweep to the side -- give it a try if you have a low hookup percentage it will surprise you - hopefully in a good way.

I agree with McAlpine - went through many many rods looking for the perfect frog rod (for myself of course) I ended up using the Daiwa light and tough frog rod - it has a moderate action, casts frogs a mile and is forgiving in close quarters combat with the braided line. The idea that you must drag in the fish and the giant weed ball will cost you fish - if the bass buries up go to the fish - I like a 6.3 gearing - at the strike start cranking and swing paralell to the water - this leaves the bait on the water - the same hookset I use with swimbaits - this has worked for me and it took a lot of missed fish to arrive at this technique. It might not be for everyone but I taught this technique to a lot of of satisfied clients.