Lighter Powered Frog rod

[Chance_Taker4]

I fish almost every time out with a frog. They are so successful in my,area because nobody else uses them. But I do have a small issue with the rods I use. Most waters by me offer small grass and Lily pads. I don't have the slop that most people think of when frog fishing. When I'm fishing it feels like I am over powering with a hvy frog rod. Is it feesable to use a med hvy rod to frog when you are not fighting slop?

[Josh Smith]

I use a Shimano MH/F 7' rod with an Ambassadeur 5500c3 reel.  It works nicely.  I don't need a heavy rod most times.   Still looking for one, though!

Regards,

Josh

[Chance_Taker4]

I'm in the process of selling nut frog Rods and getting some MH but didn't want to do it and be too underpowered when froggin.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Match the power to the cover and bait weight like anything else. Just remember the Rod you pitch 20 feet into the pads with might not be enough when a frog gets hit 90 feet out. 

[gulfcaptain]

you can use a softer lighter rod.  I tried that....and yeah I'm back to using a 7'3"H ANYTIME I fish a frog.  The fish missed at the end of a cast aren't worth it.  So if it's light grass, heavy grass, same rod, same reel, but my swap out to 30lb braid from 40lb when not fishing heavier cover.

 

[buzzed bait]

i actually prefer the MH for walking the frog and casting it as well.  like you, i don't fish the thickest slop and it works just fine for me.

[Bluebasser86]

The heavy powered rod isn't just for winching a big fish out of heavy cover. You're also using it to drive 2 very large hook points into a potentially very tough part of the mouth of a big fish. I don't much of the real heavy slop here either, but I stick with the 7' 3" H/F just for the reason I mentioned. 

[BassinLou]

My secondary frog rod that I use when I bank fish is a MH 7ft Avid. This rod has a  great backbone and power to provide solid hooksets in areas with sparse to little cover. My primary frog rod is 7'3" H rod, but I only use this setup when I'm on my boat. 

[Josh Smith]

Later I'll post some pics showing what I use the MH/F for compared to what I'll use a H/F or XF for.

Suffice to say for now that my favorite lake has gone through some major personality changes!

Josh

[WIGuide]

You could probably get away with it. I started out with a MH/F but there were times they'd wrap you up in pads and you had to go get them because there was no chance of pulling them out. There were times it'd struggle to control a little bigger fish and you couldn't get them up and out of what cover was there. My primary frog rod now is a 7' H/F and there are times it does feel a little over powered if I'm not in the heavier stuff, but there are times when you get a big one in thicker pads, or they try to take you down into some thicker grass clumps and it makes me happy I've got the heavy.

[Chance_Taker4]

My area a 3# is a giant fish. When I use a Hvy Rod in light grass I set the hook and it jerks the fish out of the water. I know that it is in my hook set even though I am not setting the hook like my life depends on it I do set hard to the side. But I also feel that the rod is also setting the hook harder than it needs to be.

[BronzeChaser]

I used a 7' mh/fast rod with 50 lb braid for years with no issues at all. I hauled fish up to 5 lbs out some seriously nasty stuff, just keep pulling and winching. A good reel is a must. Never had a problem with hooksets, and working the frog is easy with a rod like that. I'd say go for it you'll be fine