Froggin Newbie

[ike8120]

I am looking to purchase my first Froggin rod and reel combo that will not break the bank.  Looking for any tips and suggestions.

[Stephen B]

What frogs do you plan to use? Spro 65, Gavacho, Spro Poppin Frog 60? The size of frog I intend to throw and how thick of cover I plan on fishing impact my choice of a frog rod. Do you have any length preferences? 

[ratherbfishin1]

Carbonite 2.0 7' M/H with the 8.3:1 matching reel.  On sale right now for 80 each, hard to beat for that price.

[ike8120]

So far what I have read is 7'3 MH/Extra Fast with a 7.1:1 reel(minimum ratio). I haven't gave it much thought to frog size.

 

[ratherbfishin1]

3 minutes ago, ike8120 said:

So far what I have read is 7'3 MH/Extra Fast with a 7.1:1 reel(minimum ratio). I haven't gave it much thought to frog size.

 

I don't see what's wrong with that personally

[ike8120]

9 minutes ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

I don't see what's wrong with that personally

Do you have any preference to brands?

[ratherbfishin1]

5 minutes ago, ike8120 said:

Do you have any preference to brands?

Your gonna get a different answer from everybody.  I personally love bass pros carbonlites a ton.  Many people like dobyns, st. Croix, g. Loomis, and many more.  A lot depends on your budget but I personally don't think you can go wrong with a carbonlite.

[ike8120]

Thanks to everyone for your help

[MrFrost]

33 minutes ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

Your gonna get a different answer from everybody.  I personally love bass pros carbonlites a ton.  Many people like dobyns, st. Croix, g. Loomis, and many more.  A lot depends on your budget but I personally don't think you can go wrong with a carbonlite.

I find the BPS Carbonlite 2.0's to be a bit stiff, but for this application that is not a bad thing, so I would agree with ratherbfishin1.  

[FryDog62]

I compared the Carbonlite as well as the Daiwa Tatula XT.  Went with the XT Heavy... found it to be a bit beefier rod yet lighter in weight than the Carbonlite.  Probably get the XT on line or at Tacklewarehouse on Black Friday for $80-90.  But either rod would be good for what you’re doing..

[Joshua van Wyk]

Personally I'd buy the Carbonpite 2.0 right now on sale and if get a Daiwa Fuego ct off eBay for $60. I use the fuego for my froggin reel and it works great.

[Choporoz]

I wouldn't overthink this one.  For most rod choosing, hook setting is an important consideration, but for frogging, its way out front, IMO.  It's good to be able to launch a frog a mile....and to be able to horse a fish around pads and weeds....but most any rod with a good backbone and a fast tip will do fine.  If I have five MH or H rods rigged, the one with the frog tied on is probably the least sensitive (and was probably cheapest.)  I love throwing frogs and toads, but I'll probably never seek out a special rod just for frogs.....bait monkey willing

[Deleted account]

3 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

I wouldn't overthink this one.  

You know this is a LMB fishing site, yes? ...  

[new2BC4bass]

14 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

I wouldn't overthink this one.  For most rod choosing, hook setting is an important consideration, but for frogging, its way out front, IMO.  It's good to be able to launch a frog a mile....and to be able to horse a fish around pads and weeds....but most any rod with a good backbone and a fast tip will do fine.  If I have five MH or H rods rigged, the one with the frog tied on is probably the least sensitive (and was probably cheapest.)  I love throwing frogs and toads, but I'll probably never seek out a special rod just for frogs.....bait monkey willing

Me and the Bait Monkey are kissing cousins.    I don't fish a frog much, but have a rod dedicated for it.  The Tatula 7'4" HF.  Own several Tatula rods and never paid more than $100.  OP, if you went with this rod I'd go with at least 5/8 oz. frogs.  It will cast 1/2 oz., but won't launch them.  It will launch the 5/8 oz. size.  I've got a MH or two that I want to try with the 1/2 oz. size frogs.

 

The Daiwa Aird X is a low cost option that gets some pretty good reviews.  For about twice that price the Daiwa DX-Type lT Frog rod with its 1/4 oz. rating should be more versatile than my Tatula frog rod.

[ike8120]

Looking at this combo:

 

Daiwa Tatula XT Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy Frog

 

Daiwa Tatula CT Casting Reel  8.1:1

 

Any  pros or cons on this combo

 

Waiting to see if there will be a veterans day sale at TW?

 

[Joshua van Wyk]

7 minutes ago, ike8120 said:

Looking at this combo:

 

Daiwa Tatula XT Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy Frog

 

Daiwa Tatula CT Casting Reel  8.1:1

 

Any  pros or cons on this combo

 

Waiting to see if there will be a veterans day sale at TW?

 

Make sure to buy the Tatula from eBay next time there is a 20% off code. You can get one for <$80 easy.

[TBAG]

1 hour ago, Joshua van Wyk said:

Personally I'd buy the Carbonpite 2.0 right now on sale and if get a Daiwa Fuego ct off eBay for $60. I use the fuego for my froggin reel and it works great.

I've never used a Carbonlite 2.0 but reviews seem good, and that's a great price.

 

If it were me and you didn't need the setup right away I'd wait until BF and get a Dobyns fury from TW during their sale. As far as the reel goes, I 100% agree with the Fuego CT off Ebay using a coupon code.

[Joshua van Wyk]

5 minutes ago, TBAG said:

I've never used a Carbonlite 2.0 but reviews seem good, and that's a great price.

 

If it were me and you didn't need the setup right away I'd wait until BF and get a Dobyns fury from TW during their sale. As far as the reel goes, I 100% agree with the Fuego CT off Ebay using a coupon code.

If I wasn't in a rush id also wait and grab a fury. I have a fury and it's my favorite rod paired with a Daiwa Tatula type r.

[WRB]

A frog rod comes down to where you cast the frog, the type of cover. After the bass eats the frog you must be able to get it out of the slop. This means you are fishing braid with a heavy power rod that you can cast hollow body frogs with.

The new Tatula 7'4" heavy frog rod is similar to Irod IRG754F Freds Magic Stick and should be good. 

Tom  

 

[ike8120]

I am in no rush to purchase can wait for veterans day sale and BF to see what deals are out there.

[Matt_3479]

9 hours ago, ike8120 said:

So far what I have read is 7'3 MH/Extra Fast with a 7.1:1 reel(minimum ratio). I haven't gave it much thought to frog size.

 

I prefer a heavy rod personally but the rest looks good. I use a 7.1:1 and a 7’4” heavy fast and love it. Heavy extra fast would work too

[ww2farmer]

I buy "frog" rods with the purpose of frog fishing first, but being versatile enough to do other stuff with if the frog bite is not "on", or for really early/late in the year cold water stuff. But from late April-late October there is always AT LEAST one frog tied on and on deck ready to go.

 

Before I give my thoughts on rods, I'll go with reels and line first, as its much simpler.

 

Line: 50lb braid....done. Pick your favorite brand. I am not a fan of using anything less than 50, or more than 50. 50 is the sweet spot. Strong enough to winch big fish out of the heaviest of cover, nimble enough for skipping and walking.

 

Reels: METAL FRAME ONLY....don't go cheap ( I didn't say inexpensive). The frog it self is not a high resistance bait that will strain a cheaply made reel, it's the abuse you will put it through over the course of it's life if your regularly catching quality fish on frogs....which often come with 3x times the weight of the fish in attached salad. You need a reel that will hold up to that. Drag power is of no concern...lock it down and be done with it. Gear ratio....faster is better. You can get by with a 6.something :1, a 7.something: 1 is better, anything 8+ is ideal. IMHO Daiwa Fuego CT's in the 8.1:1 that can be had new for less than $70 are a tremendous bang for the buck right now. I am starting to lose track of how many I have LOL. 

 

Rods: There is a lot of personal preference in selecting the right frog rod. Some want broom stick power, other's want light weight for all day comfort, some want a more delayed/moderate action to solve what IMHO is operator error in pulling baits away from fish (I'm good at NOT doing this,but I'm not perfect), and others yet want a blended combo of all three. I'll throw in extreme durability as well, big hooks sets with strong line in nasty cover will expose a rods weakness really quick

 

Here are rods that I have owned that were bought with purpose of being my frog rods that I HATED:

 

St Croix Mojo Bass (SCII, Gen 1) 7' H/F "slop and frog". This fit the broom stick power, and durability requirements...but was a heavy, unbalanced pig. It was not fun to fish with all day and was a very poor choice for target casting frogs into tight spots.

 

Kistler Magnisum Jig and Toad 7' H/F....light, nimble, powerful enough. Terrible durability

 

Falcon Bucoo Micro 6'10" H/F.....really really light, nimble, good durability, excellent accuracy, not good in the power dept. Plus micro guides clog up with every little bit of gunk and make for some interesting issues that you don't have with "normal" rod guides....especially during cotton wood season.

 

St Croix Rage 7' MH/F....boy this is a good "what might have been rod". Light, powerful, durable....I actually really liked the handle, and reel seat....but those dang micro guides. If this rod had regular guides, it might still be my frog rod.

 

Any thing from Abu Garcia...and there's been too many to remember. 

 

Here are rods that surprised me at how good at frogging they were:

 

Berkley Lightning Rod Shock 7' MH....despite it's low price tag, it was my "go-to" frog rod for many years, and that's AFTER using some of the more higher priced rods mentioned above. Light?...not so much. Durable?....extremely. Accurate?....it was decent, the low number of guides kind of hurt it a little in this dept. Powerfull?....just good enough, it always handled big fish in heavy cover for me, but it also always felt like I was on the edge of disaster, yet it never let me down.

 

St Croix Mojo Bass (SCII, Gen1) 7' MH/F. This did everything well, and was a much better choice than the actual "frog" rod in the early Mojo line.

 

St Croix Avid 7' MH/F.....same as the above Mojo, slightly lighter.

 

Daiwa Aird X 7' H.....pretty much the same as the Lightning Rod Shock, a tad lighter, and better guides.

 

Now for my current frog rod:

 

Dobyns Fury 735C 7'3" Mag H. It's light, the best balanced rod I have ever owned, and fits all my power/accuracy/comfort requirements. Durability will be hashed out over the course of the next season...I have only had these rods for a few months now, but so far so good. I always liked 7' rods for frogging because MOST longer rods seemed awkward, cumbersome, and inaccurate in tight spots in my hands. Not so with this rod. I don't know what Dobyns did to make this rod fish so well, but it does. And it does more than frog well, I use for a TON of stuff, and it is truly a general purpose workhorse that isn't just "good enough" for stuff. It actually surprised me how many things it seems to be a perfect fit for. I generally DON'T buy multiples of many rods, but I did with this. That's how much I liked it. 

[new2BC4bass]

Very nice post there Mr. Farmer.  I especially liked that you added rods you DIDN'T like (and why).  Should help out many.

[Boomstick]

I have been using a MH/F rod with 40lb braid for frogs and generally it's fine, but I would like to put mono or fluorocarbon on that reel and add frogging rod with 50 or 65lb braid. The same rod should also double for jigs in heavy cover.

[Joshua van Wyk]

1 hour ago, ww2farmer said:

I buy "frog" rods with the purpose of frog fishing first, but being versatile enough to do other stuff with if the frog bite is not "on", or for really early/late in the year cold water stuff. But from late April-late October there is always AT LEAST one frog tied on and on deck ready to go.

 

Before I give my thoughts on rods, I'll go with reels and line first, as its much simpler.

 

Line: 50lb braid....done. Pick your favorite brand. I am not a fan of using anything less than 50, or more than 50. 50 is the sweet spot. Strong enough to winch big fish out of the heaviest of cover, nimble enough for skipping and walking.

 

Reels: METAL FRAME ONLY....don't go cheap ( I didn't say inexpensive). The frog it self is not a high resistance bait that will strain a cheaply made reel, it's the abuse you will put it through over the course of it's life if your regularly catching quality fish on frogs....which often come with 3x times the weight of the fish in attached salad. You need a reel that will hold up to that. Drag power is of no concern...lock it down and be done with it. Gear ratio....faster is better. You can get by with a 6.something :1, a 7.something: 1 is better, anything 8+ is ideal. IMHO Daiwa Fuego CT's in the 8.1:1 that can be had new for less than $70 are a tremendous bang for the buck right now. I am starting to lose track of how many I have LOL. 

 

Rods: There is a lot of personal preference in selecting the right frog rod. Some want broom stick power, other's want light weight for all day comfort, some want a more delayed/moderate action to solve what IMHO is operator error in pulling baits away from fish (I'm good at NOT doing this,but I'm not perfect), and others yet want a blended combo of all three. I'll throw in extreme durability as well, big hooks sets with strong line in nasty cover will expose a rods weakness really quick

 

Here are rods that I have owned that were bought with purpose of being my frog rods that I HATED:

 

St Croix Mojo Bass (SCII, Gen 1) 7' H/F "slop and frog". This fit the broom stick power, and durability requirements...but was a heavy, unbalanced pig. It was not fun to fish with all day and was a very poor choice for target casting frogs into tight spots.

 

Kistler Magnisum Jig and Toad 7' H/F....light, nimble, powerful enough. Terrible durability

 

Falcon Bucoo Micro 6'10" H/F.....really really light, nimble, good durability, excellent accuracy, not good in the power dept. Plus micro guides clog up with every little bit of gunk and make for some interesting issues that you don't have with "normal" rod guides....especially during cotton wood season.

 

St Croix Rage 7' MH/F....boy this is a good "what might have been rod". Light, powerful, durable....I actually really liked the handle, and reel seat....but those dang micro guides. If this rod had regular guides, it might still be my frog rod.

 

Any thing from Abu Garcia...and there's been too many to remember. 

 

Here are rods that surprised me at how good at frogging they were:

 

Berkley Lightning Rod Shock 7' MH....despite it's low price tag, it was my "go-to" frog rod for many years, and that's AFTER using some of the more higher priced rods mentioned above. Light?...not so much. Durable?....extremely. Accurate?....it was decent, the low number of guides kind of hurt it a little in this dept. Powerfull?....just good enough, it always handled big fish in heavy cover for me, but it also always felt like I was on the edge of disaster, yet it never let me down.

 

St Croix Mojo Bass (SCII, Gen1) 7' MH/F. This did everything well, and was a much better choice than the actual "frog" rod in the early Mojo line.

 

St Croix Avid 7' MH/F.....same as the above Mojo, slightly lighter.

 

Daiwa Aird X 7' H.....pretty much the same as the Lightning Rod Shock, a tad lighter, and better guides.

 

Now for my current frog rod:

 

Dobyns Fury 735C 7'3" Mag H. It's light, the best balanced rod I have ever owned, and fits all my power/accuracy/comfort requirements. Durability will be hashed out over the course of the next season...I have only had these rods for a few months now, but so far so good. I always liked 7' rods for frogging because MOST longer rods seemed awkward, cumbersome, and inaccurate in tight spots in my hands. Not so with this rod. I don't know what Dobyns did to make this rod fish so well, but it does. And it does more than frog well, I use for a TON of stuff, and it is truly a general purpose workhorse that isn't just "good enough" for stuff. It actually surprised me how many things it seems to be a perfect fit for. I generally DON'T buy multiples of many rods, but I did with this. That's how much I liked it. 

May I ask why you didn't like any Abu Garcia rods? Personally I have a Vendetta 7'3 mh as my frog rod paired with a Daiwa Fuego, and it fishes perfectly to me.