Froggin' It

[Wes91]

Looking to try some top water frogs. What rod, reel and line would y'all recommend, something in the cheaper but reliable side.

[bigturtle]

Hi, your question is way too vague. That's like asking "Hey, looking to buy a car, what model would you recommend, something cheap please"

Why dont you start by telling us your preferred rod length, budget, and type of structure/vegetation present in your body of water.

[A-Jay]

St. Croix Bass X Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy

Shimano Citica I Casting Reel CI200IHG

PowerPro Spectra 150yd Moss Green 65lb

 

A-Jay

[Wes91]

Sorry, I'm not looking to spend more than About $150. Not sure on the length, I am new to bass fishing and never even thrown a top water bait. I have been fishing mostly ponds with a lot of weeds near the bank about three foot out, but after that the water is pretty clear. Basically just trying to get advice on like a good beginner set up. 

[Bluebasser86]

I use a 7' 3" H/F Ethos Micro. Pair that with a mid range reel like a Pflueger President and 50lb braid and you'll be ready to go for right at your price range.

[A-Jay]

Powell Diesel Casting Rod 7'2" Med Hvy

723CEF - This 7'2" 3-power rod may just be the most versatile in the Diesel lineup. A true medium heavy power rod, the extra 2" in length is a real asset with certain techniques. It's a great choice for jigs, Texas-rigs, spinnerbaits, senkos, topwaters, and lipless cranks ... just to name just a few! on sale at TW for $59

 

Lew's American Hero Speed Spool Casting Reel  TW $59

 

PowerPro Spectra 150yd Moss Green 40lb    TW

$14.99

 

A-Jay

[MassYak85]

For line I'd say anywhere from 40-65lb braid depending how thick the cover you fish is. I like the 4 carrier power pro braid for frogging as it slices through vegetation a little better than the 8 carrier braids. The most important part of a frog reel is probably going to be a good solid drag. I usually have mine locked down pretty tight. I like a high speed reel for frogging so I can get it back to me really quick if I see movement in the vegetation and need to make a quick cast to that area. For the rod I'd go with a heavy power at least 7 feet, fast action is my preference. Good thing with frogs is you really don't need a sensitive rod as the bite is almost always visual. I use a 7'6" Abu Garcia Vendetta HF (more like brromstick XF but hey it works). Hey in your budget a cheaper Abu rod and the Pro Qualifiers being on sale for 50 bucks right now...that's my setup currently. Recently replaced the drag on my PQ since it saw so much abuse the last few years being used only for frogs. 

[ClackerBuzz]

6 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Powell Diesel Casting Rod 7'2" Med Hvy

723CEF - This 7'2" 3-power rod may just be the most versatile in the Diesel lineup. A true medium heavy power rod, the extra 2" in length is a real asset with certain techniques. It's a great choice for jigs, Texas-rigs, spinnerbaits, senkos, topwaters, and lipless cranks ... just to name just a few! on sale at TW for $59

 

Lew's American Hero Speed Spool Casting Reel  TW $59

 

PowerPro Spectra 150yd Moss Green 40lb    TW

$14.99

 

A-Jay

Dang on a silver platter!

[hunterPRO1]

11 hours ago, Wes91 said:

Sorry, I'm not looking to spend more than About $150. Not sure on the length, I am new to bass fishing and never even thrown a top water bait. I have been fishing mostly ponds with a lot of weeds near the bank about three foot out, but after that the water is pretty clear. Basically just trying to get advice on like a good beginner set up. 

abu garcia vengeance with a abu garcia promax could make a good combo for cheap,

 

get a 7'6" heavy rod and some 50 lb braid, that should cut it perfectly.

 

power pro is my reccomendation for braid but theres other good ones out there.

 

 

if you want something nicer a st croix bass x 7'4" heavy as mentioned above would also be a very nice rod.

[jimf]

Cheap is relative I suppose, so I'm not sure if the 7'4" Mojo Bass Heavy is "cheap".  I think it is, the Bass X even a little more so, but curiously my wife would have the complete opposite viewpoint and say NOT cheap at all to both of those.

 

I have the Mojo and love it for what you are talking about.

[lmbfisherman]

16 hours ago, Wes91 said:

Looking to try some top water frogs. What rod, reel and line would y'all recommend, something in the cheaper but reliable side.

Get the the BPS PQ on sale for 50 bucks, I'd get the 7 ratio version.  Buy a Berkley Lightning Shock rod for 50 bucks 7'6" Heavy and put on 20lb mono.  110 buck combo!

[the reel ess]

I have a Cabela's Tournament XT 7'3" Frog model rod and a Lews Tournament MB reel spooled with 50 lb PowerPro braid for frogs. I used a 7' MH Falcon rod before that and caught fish, but when i got in some real slop the Hvy/fast action of this rod was needed. Now this is my dedicated setup and I'll use it for jigs when the water's too cold for frogs. Oddly, I'm already hearing frogs now in Feb. This has been a very mild winter.

 

As @Imbfisherman says, you can get a away with a cheaper rod as long as it's quite stiff. The heavy/fast 7' or longer rods excel at this technique.

[budgetbassin]

My pick would be:

Berkley Lighting Shock Rod 7' MH $40-50

Lew's American Hero Speed Spool 7.1:1 $60

30-50lb Powerpro $13

Booyah Pad Crasher or Poppin Pad Crasher $6

[soflabasser]

17 hours ago, Wes91 said:

Looking to try some top water frogs. What rod, reel and line would y'all recommend, something in the cheaper but reliable side.

Live Target Hollow Belly Frog

6-7ft heavy action rod combo,pick the one you want

I have caught plenty of +8 pound bass on 30 pound test braid 

[mllrtm79]

My current setup is "cheap":

7' MH Lightning Rod Shock

7:1 Quantum Burner

40 lb Gander Mountain brand braid (made by Sunline I believe) 

It works, and was probably about $105 combo spooled up when it was new 

[ww2farmer]

1 hour ago, budgetbassin said:

My pick would be:

Berkley Lighting Shock Rod 7' MH $40-50

Lew's American Hero Speed Spool 7.1:1 $60

30-50lb Powerpro $13

Booyah Pad Crasher or Poppin Pad Crasher $6

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ except for the reel. TW has metal framed Daiwa Excelers on sale now for $49.99. I use the 7:1 Exceler on the MH LR Shock with 50lb power pro and booyah pad crashers as my "all purpose" frog set up. 

[long island basser]

I use a H2O Xpress 7 ft heavy/fast.

A *** *** reel in 8:1.1

40 lb power pro.

[the reel ess]

I agree with all the Booyah Pad Crasher fans. I own a bunch of frogs, but it's the one I keep tied on when the frog bite is on.

[Jaderose]

5 hours ago, lmbfisherman said:

Get the the BPS PQ on sale for 50 bucks, I'd get the 7 ratio version.  Buy a Berkley Lightning Shock rod for 50 bucks 7'6" Heavy and put on 20lb mono.  110 buck combo!

^^THIS^^

 

The only thing I would change is the line.  Go 45 lb Power Pro.  I like Slick but it's not necessary.  You will have a froggin combo that will serve you very well for several years.

 

As for the frogs....the Pad Crasher is good...most of them are good but you want some serious bang for your buck, there is only one choice........Scumfrog Trophy Series.  My FAVORITE frog, regardless of price.  It happens to be one of the cheapest.  Get this one.......

 

[noway]

6 hours ago, budgetbassin said:

My pick would be:

Berkley Lighting Shock Rod 7' MH $40-50

Lew's American Hero Speed Spool 7.1:1 $60

30-50lb Powerpro $13

Booyah Pad Crasher or Poppin Pad Crasher $6

 

 

Nicely answered.

[the reel ess]

A good argument for heavy braid: You should be fishing with the drag very tight in this situation. If you're in heavy slop abd you set the hook and drag a big fish out of it, your line will dig into the rest of the line on the spool. The thinner line does this much worse.

 

And I would definitely recommend a metal framed reel. You'll wear out a graphite framed reel ripping fish out of cover with heavy braid. In fact, I'd bet you can't cinch down the drag on a lot of cheaper reels.