31 or 35 IPT for frog fishing

[biggiesmalls]

If you were purchasing a frog reel, would you go for a 31 or a 35 IPT reel and why? 

 

Tight lines

Drew

[optimator]

33.87 

 

EDIT: I was joking, but after looking mine is actually 33.9 

[biggiesmalls]

2 minutes ago, optimator said:

33.87 

I got that it's not going to be a huge deal, lol. Just wondering what people like to go with, I have to decide between the two. Same price and everything. 

[optimator]

I just went with a fast reel. Mine is a Daiwa Fuego CT 8.1. I got it on a 20% off day on the bay for a little over $50. It's not frogging temps here yet, but I've used it with mono on my worm rod. It's a great reel for the price. 

[RichF]

I'm a big fan of fast for frog fishing.

[J Francho]

Doesn't matter to me.  I use a 6.3:1 reel that's around 28"/turn without any issue.  You move the bait and the fish with the rod.  I suppose it's some advantage if you want to get the bait in fast, and cast to a spot.  But what do you say to the people that say not to give up too early on the retrieve?

[ratherbfishin1]

You must have the fastest possible reel for frog fishing... why?  because the manufacturers said so  

 

But I actually really do like a faster gear ratio, I use 8.3:1 but it doesn't have to be that fast.

[long island basser]

They all work well, four inches isn’t gonna make a difference.

 

[J Francho]

35 minutes ago, biggiesmalls said:

why?

I don't think we ever get the why part out.  Seriously, I've fished with a faster reel, and I'm not sure why it's better, but EVERYONE says so.  Why?

[biggiesmalls]

3 hours ago, J Francho said:

I don't think we ever get the why part out.  Seriously, I've fished with a faster reel, and I'm not sure why it's better, but EVERYONE says so.  Why?

I've always set the hook with frogs by lowering my rod tip, reeling in the slack, and giving it to him with the hookset. So, the quicker I can get line back on the reel, the better - because that means I can get a quicker hookset. 

I can see the case for lower gears too. You get more power out of lower gear ratio (think of a Jeep, you'd want a lower gear ratio for towing someone out of sand/mud since it'll give you more torque). If using the reel to fight a heavy fish and fishing heavy slop, I could see the use for a lower gear ratio. Personally, I fight fish with the rod more than the reel - my reel just holds/retrieves line and provides a drag force.

 

That's my reasoning at least for a higher gear ratio, I'm sure there are others. Im just trying to decide which Lew's to buy

[Tywithay]

If you're casting them a great distance, the IPT for a 1/2 full spool is a lot lower. That's why a faster ratio is more effective.

[J Francho]

How much slack is in your line that 4" more per turn actually makes a difference?  I'm not saying it's a disadvantage, or that a slower ratio is an advantage, I'm just not buying into faster is better.  Remember, I'm an age that remembers throwing frogs on mono with a "high speed" 5:1 reel.  I've used everything but a low speed cranking reel for frogs.  The different IPT makes no difference.  The point of my argument for this is that the OP *may* want to use the reel for something else.  If it's moving baits, then the slower gear ratio.  If it's jigs, then faster.  There's more compelling reasons to pick one over another than frogs.  You move, set the hook, and pull the fish out of cover with the rod, not the reel.

[Catt]

 

36 minutes ago, J Francho said:

How much slack is in your line that 4" more per turn actually makes a difference?  I'm not saying it's a disadvantage, or that a slower ratio is an advantage, I'm just not buying into faster is better.  Remember, I'm an age that remembers throwing frogs on mono with a "high speed" 5:1 reel.  I've used everything but a low speed cranking reel for frogs.  The different IPT makes no difference.  The point of my argument for this is that the OP *may* want to use the reel for something else.  If it's moving baits, then the slower gear ratio.  If it's jigs, then faster.  There's more compelling reasons to pick one over another than frogs.  You move, set the hook, and pull the fish out of cover with the rod, not the reel.

 

My reels for every technique; Calcutta/Cardiff 100A gear ratio: 5.8:1 IPT: 23"

 

On every cast, flip, pitch, or punch I'm aware of the amount of slack in my line all the way back to the boat.

 

It aint more than a turn or two!

 

With two turns that's nearly 4', why y'all got more than 4' of slack in your line at any time!

[optimator]

7 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

 

My reels for every technique; Calcutta/Cardiff 100A gear ratio: 5.8:1 IPT: 23"

 

On every cast, flip, pitch, or punch I'm aware of the amount of slack in my line all the way back to the boat.

 

It aint more than a turn or two!

 

With two turns that's nearly 4', why y'all got more than 4' of slack in your line at any time!

I'm just lazy! 

[biggiesmalls]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

The point of my argument for this is that the OP *may* want to use the reel for something else.  If it's moving baits, then the slower gear ratio.  If it's jigs, then faster.  There's more compelling reasons to pick one over another than frogs.  You move, set the hook, and pull the fish out of cover with the rod, not the reel.

1

This is only going to be used for frogs. Probably just going to go with a 7.5:1, should be plenty fast. 

Thanks everyone 

[the reel ess]

IMO (which is the correct one LOL) The faster, the better as far as getting bass out of the slop. You want to be able to turn the bass and get it to the top as quickly as possible using the rod, then skate it across the surface using the reel and the rod angle. But bigger bass will usually dig down anyway.

 

As for walking the fog in open water, a little slower reel might work better. But I use a 7.5:1, which says it's 31 IPT. It gets the job done. I never looked at the IPT before right now. Before I bought a dedicated frog combo, I used a much slower 5.1:1, just because it was the strongest reel I owned. The increase in speed was good.

 

I now have 4 reels that are at least 7.1:1 because I'm getting older and don't see any reason to crank more revolutions than necessary. It seems anymore, 7:1 is almost the average.

[MassYak85]

Casting is more important to me so the quality of the reel and the quality of the drag would be my buying points, and then whichever reel I decided on I would get the fastest ratio. Both of those IPT will be good, and IMO there is no reason not to go with the faster of the two as almost all frog fishing is done with the rod. I just like being able to burn the frog back to me if I see a blowup and need to make a quick cast. 

[CTBassin860]

Ive fished frogs on a 7.3:1 and ive fished them on a 22 IPT 5.4:1. I could catch them on a 6.X or a 9.X too. Its all preference. I prefer the 7.3. Faster reel=faster retrieve=more casts=more fish catching opportunity.

[J Francho]

I'm seeing weird advice.  A bass blew up on your frog, so you want to take it away from the fish quickly, and cast again?  Just leave the frog there!  Why would you take the bait away?  Leave it there, and that bass usually strikes again.

 

Faster = more casts?  I don't get it.  The fish tell you whether to fish fast or slow, not the reel.  Are you casting out a mile, twitching the frog three times, and reeling that mile back in, and casting again?  One of my biggest bass came on a frog, in open water between me and pads.  They're called "lures" for a reason: sometimes you lure them out of cover.

 

I'm intentionally being a contrarian, devil's advocate, but really, think about these things.  One the most common threads on here is problems with frogs.  I think I see why.

[RichF]

59 minutes ago, J Francho said:

A bass blew up on your frog, so you want to take it away from the fish quickly, and cast again? 

I don't think this is quite what was meant.  I think he meant, if he sees a fish blow up somewhere and his frog is already in the water somewhere else, he likes a fast retrieve reel to burn it in and cast where the blowup occurred. 

 

I prefer the fastest reel possible for frogs, yet I fish a frog extremely slow mostly.  A lot of the time, I'm pretty target oriented with my frog.  I'll hit an isolated grass clump, pad patch, shade pocket etc.  The target is usually small so I only wanna work my frog in that small spot, crank it in as fast as possible if I feel nothing is there, and cast to the next target.  The fast reel is more for efficiency in covering water, not necessarily for the actual act of fishing a frog.  

[J Francho]

I've watched a bass follow a frog too many times to think in terms of a small target.  My favorite is the wake inthe slop coming right at your frog.  But I digress, keep taking your baits away from the fish.

[OnthePotomac]

Anything faster than hand over hand works LOL

[RichF]

3 hours ago, J Francho said:

I've watched a bass follow a frog too many times to think in terms of a small target.  My favorite is the wake inthe slop coming right at your frog.  But I digress, keep taking your baits away from the fish.

I'm not necessarily talking about fishing slop.  That's a whole different deal.  I'll fish the frog all the way to the boat in that case.  When I'm hitting targets, they're usually isolated.  Sure there's a chance a bass could come from open water somewhere and hit the bait away from the target, but I'm thinking in terms of high percentage when I fish a frog this way.  And again, I don't think @MassYak85 was saying he'd burn the bait in and cast again if a fish blew up on his bait, but rather have the ability to do so if a fish blows up somewhere else.  

[J Francho]

The old chasing blow ups game.  I hate getting sucked into that false advertising, lol.  Except when it works, and you do get bit, and feel like a genius.

[RichF]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

The old chasing blow ups game.  I hate getting sucked into that false advertising, lol.  Except when it works, and you do get bit, and feel like a genius.

If I see a blow up, I just assume is something other than a bass...unless I'm on Oneida. hahaha