Frog Rod setup???

[win300mag1]

Hey everyone, I'm trying to get a feel for a good frog rod. I've fished frogs for years but mostly on a medium heavy or heavy action that I had laying around. I'd really like a rod this year that is dedicated to just the frog and other topwater. I bought a lews TP1 in a 7' 6" Heavy action but it is just too stiff to throw a hollow body frog well. I thought about just buying another 7' 3" jig rod and using it. Curious what you guys think before I spend another couple hundred bucks on something.

[bigturtle]

for a frog rod, I personally like a 7' rod, because anything longer will cause me to hit the water with the tip when im working it.

As far as power/action is concerned, I use a heavy/moderate fast. I like to be able to cast far, and have enough backbone for good hooksets.

[Angry John]

I use an older lamiglas excel 735 and like it.  The dobyns champion 735 has a ton of followers.  I am still looking at the steex xbd rod for a decent price.  My final recommendation would be the MB perfect pitch. 

[bigfruits]

I have not used the XX Perfect Pitch but I have heard its an excellent frog rod by several people. If I end up buying it I will probably use it for heavy jigs and punching as well.

[RichF]

I use a 7'3 Heavy Kistler Magnesium and absolutely LOVE it.  It has a nice soft tip that allows me to cast, skip, and walk a frog with ease but enough strength and backbone to wench bass outta the junk.  It's also incredibly balanced so I can use it all day and not get tired.  

[fishnkamp]

It depends on your budget, but here are a few good choices. You did say a few hundred dollars.

First look at an Irod Genesis II IRG754F  Fred's Magic Stick.  It was made specifically for those baits. It also does a ton more as well.   If you have never touched an Irod you will like it.  This is a rod that costs $150

 

Dobyns offers a couple of nice rods for under $180.  First would be a Dobyns Fury FR 735C. This is a 7'3" rod that also can handle some flipping  and small swimbaits.  It cost $110.  Next up would be a Sierra SA 735C and it runs $179.  I can not fit rods over 7 foot in my rod locker so I resist purchasing bigger rods. I asked Gary Dobyns the best choice and he said his favorite frog rod would be a Champion XP series DC 735C.  For me and my limitations he said the DC 705C was my best choice. Boy was he right. That rod is amazing for frogs and flipping heavier jigs!  That rod runs $249.

Another good rod to check out is the Powell Max3D 736CEF Frog rod. Powell also makes a nice rod for the price. It runs around $159

 

My Dobyns replaced an Abu Garcia original series Veritas Micro guide rod, 7 foot medium heavy.  That rod like all Abu's run on the heavier side. The tip was quick and worked okay for hollow bodied frogs, but not nearly as nice as my Dobyns.  I think Abu offers a 7'6" for like $79. It is probably similar to my Veritas.

 

[win300mag1]

I was looking at a lews custom speed stick in 7'3" heavy/moderate-fast. I own a couple other custom speed sticks and like them alot. I'm trying to stay under the 200 dollar mark for sure. 

[Dypsis]

13 minutes ago, bigfruits said:

I have not used the XX Perfect Pitch but I have heard its an excellent frog rod by several people. If I end up buying it I will probably use it for heavy jigs and punching as well.

 

I bought the PP for heavy jigs and t-rig (flip/pitch), but now 95+% of the time it has a frog tied on it - great frog rod!  Plenty of backbone but the tip is soft enough to work a frog no problem.  

[Landis Carrier]

I'm looking to get a frog rod too and it seems to be hard to find a bad review on the Dobyns Fury 735C. 

[WRB]

My Irod IRG754F Freds Magic rod is nearly 4 years old now and my most versitile rod. The extra length comes in handy when retreiving frogs over weed beds to keep the line off the weeds and bass out of the weeds. I use this rod for wake baits, rats, Pompaduer, heavy crankbaits etc. First and foremost this rod is a frog rod!

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

I use a 7' 3" H/F Ethos Micro and it's been a great frog rod. It loads nicely to launch them out there, but has plenty of backbone to get the fish back out of the grass. 

[WIGuide]

I have the first gen St. Croix Mojo "Frog & Slop" rod. It works very well for what it's labeled at. It's a 7'1" H/F and it has enough tip to cast a frog but a ton of backbone. I'm sure the newer generation is even better as it'll have the same backbone with slightly more tip. As far as what you're looking for, if it's just going to be a dedicated frog setup, no reason to spend huge money on them since bite detection is all visual anyway, your first priority is that it has the right power and action for the technique you're looking for. 

[Ian Parish]

   I personally use a johnny morris carbonlite 7 foot heavy rod with a shimano curado 200ihg with 65 pound power pro. I really like a 7 foot it lets me work the frog good and has a ton of backbone. I love the 65 pound braid i dont use 50 because its just a personal preference i think i can just set hook and crank in easier. I think the curado is the best reel you can buy for the price it cast far like really far and has a ton of power.

[JayKumar]

Second (third?) the recommendation to get a frog-specific rod IF you will be doing a lot of frogging. Action depends on what you will be frogging around (mats/slop, pads, etc). Needs to be rod that can handle braid, fast tip. Just note that heavy action varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Just try to put the rod in your hands before buying....

[basss]

20 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

an Abu Garcia original series Veritas Micro guide rod, 7 foot medium heavy.  That rod like all Abu's run on the heavier side. The tip was quick and worked okay for hollow bodied frogs, but not nearly as nice as my Dobyns.  I think Abu offers a 7'6" for like $79. It is probably similar to my Veritas.

 

 

That's what I have for my frog rod, a Veritas 7'3" MH-F.  You can't go wrong at less that $100.  I have it paired with a Tatula CT-Type R and it casts those hollow bodies a country mile.

[mwh33]

I use a dobyns champion 735c. Great frog rod.  Mine is paired with a Shimano Exsence DC.

[fishwizzard]

On 1/30/2017 at 2:33 PM, fishnkamp said:

It depends on your budget, but here are a few good choices. You did say a few hundred dollars.

First look at an Irod Genesis II IRG754F  Fred's Magic Stick.  It was made specifically for those baits. It also does a ton more as well.   If you have never touched an Irod you will like it.  This is a rod that costs $150

 

I see this rod has an upper rating of 2oz. How would it work for smaller hard/soft swimbaits?  I currently use a Fenwick Smallmouth MH 6'9" as my frog rod and for the little dabbling I currently do with swimbaits.  It works OK for both but I kinda want to give a proper "long" rod a try before I fully retreat into my beloved 6" rods.  

 

The other rod I am looking at for these uses is the Loomis 884C SWB, but I don't know how it will do with hollow bodied frogs.

[fishnkamp]

Unfortunately it is easy to ask a rod to do to many things.  The typical frog rod is a blend of real power or backbone and a fast tip that is light or soft enough to load up and throw a hollow bodied frog. The typical swimbait rod has to have lots of power on the backend but a much more moderate action top end. They are sorta like an 8 foot long oversized crankbait rod.  I throw hollow bodied Reaction Innovation Skinny Dippers three ways, unweighted, lightly weighted with a belly weighted swimbait hook or on a Picasso fish head style swimjig hook. The heaviest I throw is  1/2 ounce and that works well on a MH rod.  This is much different than say a 4 ounce soft bodied Huddleston bait. Even a bait like a The Imakatsu Stealth Swimmer  that weighs around 1 1/2 ounces is going to fish best on a more specific swimbait rod in my opinion. Swimbaits to me are like A rigs, they need their own tools to be proficient.

If I were you I would call Irod and ask some questions, they are more than willing to talk fishing rods anytime. I have done it myself.

That also goes for a Dobyns rod. I would consider their FR 735C Fury in their lineup, it suggests frogs,flipping,pitching and small swimbaits.  Give them a call as well. They too welcome the chance to give true customer service.

[soflabasser]

All my frog rods are heavy action rods in the 6-7ft range and each of them are well under $100 each. So far these rods have done a great job at helping me pull big bass out of heavy aquatic vegetation. For line I tend to mostly use 30 pound test braid and rarely go above this since anything over 30 pound test braid is overkill in the places I fish.

[Columbia Craw]

On 1/30/2017 at 3:21 PM, Landis Carrier said:

I'm looking to get a frog rod too and it seems to be hard to find a bad review on the Dobyns Fury 735C. 

I ordered one today. I concur.

[tander]

On 1/30/2017 at 1:41 PM, win300mag1 said:

I was looking at a lews custom speed stick in 7'3" heavy/moderate-fast. I own a couple other custom speed sticks and like them alot. I'm trying to stay under the 200 dollar mark for sure. 

 

This is the exact rod I use for throwing a frog. I highly recommend it. I use 40 or 50# braid and can throw it as far  than I really need too. I also use this rod for Carolina Rigging and for for pitching. Great rod !!!!!

[fishwizzard]

1 hour ago, fishnkamp said:

Unfortunately it is easy to ask a rod to do to many things.  The typical frog rod is a blend of real power or backbone and a fast tip that is light or soft enough to load up and throw a hollow bodied frog. The typical swimbait rod has to have lots of power on the backend but a much more moderate action top end. They are sorta like an 8 foot long oversized crankbait rod.

 

That is sorta what I feared.  I fish a few spots where a frog is the only game during the summer, so I will go for a frog-specific rod.  My Fenwick MH works well enough for the small collection of hard swimbaits I have currently, but does not cast hollow frogs well at all, so that really makes the decision easy.   

[fishnkamp]

Give Anglers Express a call and see if they have the Irod IRG745F and the Dobyns Fury FR735V in stock.  Go put those two rods in your hand.  They may even have the Powell MAx3D 736 CEF frog rod in stock. It is worth the trip if they do.  Also if you travel to the store let me know I might be able to meet you and say hello.

[RoLo]

 

My frog rod is a Dobyns 705C

I prefer a 'fast action' tip to a moderate fast, because it gets to the backbone faster

for hauling slobs out of the gunk.

 

Roger

[ww2farmer]

I have used rods that cost $30 up to $300 to fish frogs with, and the ones I like best are actually on the cheaper side of the spectrum.

 

The three rods I use the most for frogging right now are

 

Falcon Bucoo Micro 6'10" H.....this rod is my close quarters frog rod. Skipping frogs under docks/over hanging junk, target casting up shallow, etc....

 

Berkley Lightning rod Shock 7' MH.....great all purpose frog rod. If I have the Falcon rigged up for pitching a t-rig plastic under a dock and don't feel like cutting it off and retying, the shock works well in tight spots, and it also works well dragging frogs over (and bass out of) the thickest slop I fish, if I have the rod mentioned below rigged up with something else and don't want to cut it off. I probably throw frogs on this rod more than the other two combined.

 

Custom built 7'3" H/F on an MHX magbass blank...this is my usual close in flipping rod, but doubles as a frog rod for dragging frogs around on  super thick mats, where I need more power than the Falcon or LR shock have.