Jaderose

Yep....you're good to go with the rod of your choice. Just want some new gear? Buy another Supreme or that Pres I talked about. The Supreme is just a little fancier version of it. I know more expensive reels might be a little more "refined" but I honestly can't imagine any scenario in bass fishing in Missouri that a more expensive reel would do something my Pres or your Supreme can't.

take a couple of Benadryl and then go operate heavy equipment. Things will get weird pretty quickly

Yes. I can't speak for DC reels but for reels that don't have batteries (lol) it doesn't matter what kind of line you have, you have to have an educated thumb to use that reel. Most of my reels have "Dual Braking Systems". I keep 2 of the centrifugal brakes on to help at the beginniing of the cast but have the mags turned basically off and the tension control knob turned to free fall. My thumb IS my brake. Once you get muscle memory, it happens automatically. I couldn't stop doing it now if I tried.

You didn't tell us what you'll be doing with it but my Pflueger President on a Shimano 6'6" Clarus (medium) has given me many years of flawless service spooled with 8-10lb braid. This is exclusively my Weightless T-Rig rod. Looks like retail on the whole rig would be about 130. probably find it cheaper shopping around

Ok. Use what ya like.

My little home lake has a couple of spots on it that I don't really talk about too much. I know virtually all of the guys that boat fish this lake and I think everyone of us has a spot or two like that on this lake so I imagine there is some overlap....lol.

Maybe he's simply lying. We've been known to do that, ya know.

I had a buddy that always threw those Lunkerhunt Frogs with the realistic swimming legs. About every other fish one would get torn off. He'd burn through those things like most people burn through stick worms. Cute and all but I think those hyper-realistic paint jobs and such on baits....pretty much ANY baits.... are to catch fishermen. Not fish I have heard a LOT of people make this complaint about Scumfrogs and I have literally NEVER had this problem with them. Weird.

That looks like a Bluebasser86 special.

White with a bit of orange. I also like a clear spook for really sunny days or a very clear water. Black if I happen to be throwing them at night or really muddy water.

Wearing tights while fishing would likely have the added bonus of having other fishermen stay away from you. I would..lol. I'm sure I basically look homeless when I fish. Usually an old ratty pair of cut offs and whatever t-shirt I am wearing. A ball cap, shades and "Jerusalem Cruisers" completes the ensemble. Slather up with good sunscreen and ready to roll.

While I somewhat believe in scents (and JJ's certainly has one!) I mostly use JJ's for the color. All my plastics get tipped with JJ's. I might only be a 1/16th of an inch on a single claw or Senko tip but I believe that little bit of contrast gives a fish something to home in on. I'm never without JJ's

Story of my life.....lol. I tend to be pretty pragmatic about things in my life. Even bass fishing. I don't get all caught up in trying all the new techniques or enter tournaments or spend a billion dollars on equipment or usually even get upset if I have bad day. And then there is frogging! All my gear is fairly basic and generic, except my frog rod. When I pull IT out, I feel like I'm holding Excalibur and am readying for battle! I guess we all have our thing. I think the thing about it for me is that it will ALWAYS be hard. No matter how good at it you might think you are, you'll never be THAT good at it.

I don't have any of the originals but that's ONLY because the mats I fish are usually pretty big and thick and usually require a long cast to put the frog where I want it to be. These are pretty little. There are times I fish in tighter or just want something a little smaller. That's when I tie on a pad crasher Jr. without a skirt. Removing the skirt turns it into a spastic little nugget that works incredibly well for those times when there isn't really a cohesive mat but the vegetation is just a little too heavy for a trebled bait. It's like a tiny weedless spook. You can walk the heck out of them and make them jump around. I have no reason to believe you couldn't do the same thing with a Scumfrog original AND it would be more budget friendly. Why did I choose a PCjr. for this? I didn't. I had an old one I was going to tie on one day and the skirt crumbled. I tied it on anyway and wheeeeeee doggies!

Honestly I could take one spinning rod with a weightless Gammy 3/0 EWG hook tied on, one sack of Green Pumpkin Senko's, one jar of JJ's (Chartreuse) and my frog rod with a Scum Frog Trophy Series Natural Black and Green Frog tied on it and Fish happily all day and then do it again every day for a month.

I have 5 of the OLD PQ's and a JM Signature reel. All serve me very well. I have an older Carbonlite rod and one of the old green Extreme rods that is my favorite rod. I held one of the new JM Signature series Rods a few weeks ago and it felt very good in my hand. It has the Powerhump like my old Extreme Rod. I suspect I will own one soon.

Ok. I can only go with what I experienced using this frog over a period of about 6 hours on one lake in Northwest Missouri. It seems at least one other person on here had much the same experience. As I said above and have said for years, I am a Scum Frog fan and wanted very much to like this. I bought 5 of them with the assumption that they would be great for me. Right now, they are not. I'm not a bait junky and I'm also not a big fan of having to make substantial changes to a bait to make it work for me. I will, but frankly have better things to do. I will, for the time being, go back to my favorite frog....The SF Trophy Series in Natural Black and Green. I have around 20 of those...lol. If others are having success with the Launch Frog...GREAT! I want Scum Frog around for a long time!

A lot of the time, I'm less than 9' ft away from what I'm casting at and surrounded by trees. That rod ain't helping me there. Most of the time, my casts are probably under 30 feet. I get in tight.

I respectfully disagree. I've never had a Palomar fail with braid.

If you got a jar of JJ's out there, do NOT open it if it's really hot. trust me...lol

That is exactly the case. I'm not saying it's defective or a bad product. I'm saying that for what I do, this is not the best tool. I think it's another quality offering from Scum Frog that simply does not match the job I want it to do. I think in a more open water situation, this would be a winner and I think this is exactly what I will do with it. This just gives me more froggin opportunities

When I was a kid, I lived about 200 yards from the biggest Cottonwood tree in Illinois. It was huge and provided shade for a large part of the neighborhood for half the day. This time of year looked like a blizzard was happening in our neighborhood. They suck for fishing but cottonwoods remind of being a kid so I don't mind them

Yep......it seems we both had pretty much the same experience. It frustrated me enough that I regretted NOT taking a Trophy Series but I wanted to give this thing a fair shake by not having the option. That won't happen again.

Been a few years since I've thrown one but I do remember them working just fine. I haven't given up on the Launch, I just need to tweak it. I will say one thing about it. The hook up ratio was great! My timing is usually rusty this early in the season but I nailed most blow ups I had today. This thing has potential, it's just not there for me..yet