Which blanks is better

[Lucas Cooper]

I need some opinions a frog rod blanks. I fish the Midwest and northern Minnesota. The cover is pads weeds and algea. The blanks I have been looking at are the mhx mb874 7'3" 12-20lb 5/16-1oz heavy fast. And the mhx  fs905 7'6" 1/4-1 1/2oz 10-25lb mod/fast heavy. Wich of these would you pick and is there a blank that would work better?

I have also looked at some st croix scII and scIII and found some rated 10-20lb and 12-25lb that were fast heavy or medium heavy fast.

[Angry John]

I have and use the 74HF sc3.  It is a very powerful bada$$ blank.  I use mine for a lot more than frogs, but mine is a custom build and I would buy another with out a doubt.  I have small guides, not micro because I don't use leaders.  15 lb yhb for swim baits and 50 braid for frogs and punching.  A frog rod IMO does not need to be sensitive but this blank is. Even if your only plan is to keep a frog tied on its great for small glides before and after frog season.

[spoonplugger1]

Lucas,

What brand rods are you using now? That's where I would start looking, rod manufacturers, at least the good ones, have a philosophy, for better word, that they design from.

I have a rod I use that was designed by Rich Forhan from Dee Thomas' blank design ideas that was built by Lamiglas. It's 6 ft. 8 in. long and mod fast actioned, rated 10 - 40 lb. line, 1/2 to 3 oz. I believe. Frankly out here in the west, we don't use frogs as much as other places, but when I've had to it's been a favorite with the others that have used it, as it's nice and light for it's power because it's made from IM700 graphite. Another good frog rod, the Castaway Grass Master, used to be able to get the blank from Swampland, the Castaway 874, not a particularly fast rod.

Frog rods and flipping sticks is the last place I look for fast, or XF rods. Still the finest flipping stick on the planet, is the long gone Shikari 764 in any graphite, a moderate rod, remember the rod's action has little to do with hook setting speed, or power. It's just not that simple, but it's a great sales ploy. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

MHX blanks are a good value. In a frog rod I look for power obviously, but more tip than a flipping stick to load and cast better. The 905 looks good. 

[yosef]

I’m not a fan of the sc blanks I have the scV and it hasn’t lived up

to my expectations I actually use my dobyns champion extreme more than the custom scV I had made 

[MickD]

If SCV refers to St Croix, their SCV line of blanks are very good blanks.  Of course the rods made from them have to be designed correctly, the components correct, and the blank matched to the job.  In what way is the SCV deficient?  What model is it and what is the technique that it is not performing well?

[spoonplugger1]

I'm with Mick, making a blank statement about any rod from anybody with zero reason, or discription doesn't make much sense, bordering on a troll posting.

[basscatcher8]

With like no frog fishing experience my question is why do guys build on blanks so long for this? In my mind its a tip down technique and I'd have a 6'8 or so mh or h fast tip stick. Just curious. I build a 7'3" one time and a couple guys told me what great frog rod it would be and I have always thought that would be awkward to fish that way.

[spoonplugger1]

I'm with you Basscatcher, many times people only buy rods because someone in a magazine, tv show, etc. recommended them, and this goes for all species. What never seems gets discussed in rod selection is what your fishing from, and how critical that is to your presentation?

Went back to the Midwest for a visit, and brought my old walleye rods with me. The friend I went fishing with was fishing 7 ft.rods, when I fished there the one rod everyone had to have in their boat was a 6 ft. jigging rod. When I asked him why he was using the longer rod he gave me a bunch of reasons that made no sense to me since he was fishing from the same style boat. 

The reason rods had gotten longer was because the boats had gotten bigger, wider, and taller. His boat hadn't, he could still stick a 6 ft. rod over the side of the boat from the tiller position, he was using a set up now that was almost 50 % heavier counting the larger reel than he used to use.

Since the same has happened in bass fishing and most presentations are down tip it makes sense that some presentations would use longer rods, but if your fishing from a smaller, lower boat, especially from the floor of a johnboat these rods are going to be a hinderance. 

[MickD]

I was just asking for more info.  Nothing more.

 

[basscatcher8]

Certainly nothing pointed at you Mick. Curiosity got the best of me.

 

to the OP if it were me I’d take the 7’3” heavy with fast tip to really drive that hook home. But that’s jmo.

[grub_man]

Lucas,

 

You know my thoughts since I was the one that recommended taking a look at the FS905.  

 

Since I don't personally fish many lakes that have real slop, I generally throw my frogs on an MB783 or MB843 type blank.  If I were fishing the slop, I would prefer to have a rod that has an action more conducive to keeping the fish hooked up.  I'm yet to meet a soft plastic or hollow body frog that is so light that I need to rely on the rod having a soft tip to be able to throw it.  They are generally heavy enough that they will fly farther than I can set the hook without loading the rod much.

 

Frog rods seem to be a specialty rod more due to marketing than anything else.  If you use a rod appropriate for singe hook lures and the amount of cover available, you won't go wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

yosef,

 

I would like to know why the SCV doesn't measure up.  About the only way an SCV is not going to be a great rod is if you choose the incorrect blank or make some really poor decisions in ergonomics and component selections.

 

 

 

 

basscatcher8,

 

Like you, I find long rods a bit awkward.  It might be more due to the fact that for most bass rods, I'm not going to more than 9.25" behind the reel seat.  If I go longer the handle gets in the way.  So, when I build a 6'10" blank, it fishes more like a lot of 7' rods off the rack, and a full 7' rod fishes more like a 7'2" or 7'3" rod off the rack.  I love my 7' cranking rods, but no matter how much I fish them, landing fish still seems incredibly awkward to me being a shorter guy.