Thinking about a shorter frog rod

[newyorktoiowa57]

I live in the northeast and do my frogging on a 76mhf.  I fish a lot of open water grass fields, and I like that length for distance casting and good hooksets.  There are situations, however, when I feel the longer rod hurts my casting accuracy and thus costs me fish. 

As a result, I am looking into experimenting with some different frog rods, especially since I always have one in my hand during the summer.  I am looking at something slightly shorter for tighter quarters. I have never had any issues with my MH but due to its length it may have more power in the upper mid section than other MH rods. 

I am considering 

-Expride 72H

-SLX 72H(would probably get the combo with the xg)

-ALX toadface

-Diawa 2018 Tatula 73MH(was impressed with it in the store)

 

I am not interested in a dobyns 735. 

 

What does everyone think?  I am curious about the Expride as I am quite liking my 72MH, but the SLX combo would be a great deal. 

Anyone have the SLX 72H?  If so, how does it feel in hand?  How tip heavy is it?

 

[Hower08]

Don't know about the slx rods but I fish my frogs on a 7'3 heavy or med heavy depending on cover and have no issues 

[d-camarena]

Save some money and just get the slx combo. Frogs dont require a lot of science

[newyorktoiowa57]

I might also use the rod to flip.  I forgot to mention the new Levante perfect pitch as a possibility. 

[Jason Penn]

make sure you like the reel seats on the levante. i've got a new perfect pitch that is now a wall hanger due to seat not being comfortable to me. i only fished it one day.

 

other than that, they are very nice rods.

[newyorktoiowa57]

8 minutes ago, Jason Penn said:

make sure you like the reel seats on the levante. i've got a new perfect pitch that is now a wall hanger due to seat not being comfortable to me. i only fished it one day.

 

other than that, they are very nice rods.

I experienced that with the old tatula rods. 

[new2BC4bass]

Do you think the 3-4 inch shorter rods are going to be that much more accurate?  There is a 6'10" MHF Tatula on ebay for $100.98 with free shipping.  A 6'10" HF Quantum Superlite on ebay for $50 + $25 shipping.  Used once and a steal at that price.  I don't need a second one as I also have that rod in the Tour Edition line.

 

I prefer 7' and longer casting rods, but have a few under that length I also enjoy.  The Quantums are two.

 

Of the rods you've listed I have only used the Toadface.  And that was once last year.  Haven't been out locally at all this year.  From what I read it is not only an excellent frog rod, but quite versatile as well.  But all the rods you listed should be versatile.

 

I am curious as to why you don't like the Dobyns 735.  I read that it makes an excellent frog rod.

[5by3]

I sold a Dobyns 735 and replaced it with the ALX toadface and haven’t looked back. Really enjoy the rod so far but only have a few months with it so far.

[LionHeart]

8 hours ago, newyorktoiowa57 said:

I might also use the rod to flip.  I forgot to mention the new Levante perfect pitch as a possibility. 

When you say "flip" are you talking about pitching?  Or actually flipping?

 

If you mean pitching,  the old school Diawa Tatula rod 7'2" Heavy makes an excellent rod for frogs and pitching.  Very light and sensitive with plenty of muscle.  $130 on Ebay and totally worth it.  Handle is perfect length for working a frog, maybe a tad short for what I like in a pitching rod though.

[fishwizzard]

I’m also on the hunt for a shorter frog rod but I’m looking for something closer to 6 feet.  I do a lot of bushwhack fishing and so many better cast angles are opened up to me when I bring a 6 foot rod vs a 7 foot one.

 

Unsurprisingly, I am not having a lot of luck.  I have found a few snakehead rods from SE Asia look promising but info on them is scarce and the few places I found that would ship them to me in the US have incredibly expensive shipping fees.  

 

[newyorktoiowa57]

13 hours ago, 5by3 said:

I sold a Dobyns 735 and replaced it with the ALX toadface and haven’t looked back. Really enjoy the rod so far but only have a few months with it so far.

How is the balance?  Why do you prefer the ALX?

[Brett's_daddy]

For the money you can't beat a Dobyns Fury 735C IMO. If you call Dobyns directly they even have like-new refurbs for $85 shipped. You just can't beat that but again it's just my opinion and I'm on a budget, if money is no object I'm sure there are much better rods out there.

[Dirtyeggroll]

I use a 7' H Daiwa Aird. Its a good frog rod. Doesn't need to be fancy.

[johnD.]

Shorter rods are deadly accurate , if that's what you're after. If you are running down the bank , they are very easy to fish. Muse 6'5 heavy and the Jason Christie Cara T7 6'11 heavy , are a couple worth considering.

For fishing mats and heavy vegetation where bombing long cast are require , 7'3 heavy is what I use.

 

[GeekOutdoors]

1 hour ago, johnD. said:

Shorter rods are deadly accurate , if that's what you're after. If you are running down the bank , they are very easy to fish. Muse 6'5 heavy and the Jason Christie Cara T7 6'11 heavy , are a couple worth considering.

For fishing mats and heavy vegetation where bombing long cast are require , 7'3 heavy is what I use.

 

I own the SLXC72H for a few weeks and tried casting with it a little bit in my yard. I frogged with a Quantum Team KVD 6'10" before and I think thats the lenght you should be after (6'8"-7'1") if you really Wanna see the difference

 

 

 

[newyorktoiowa57]

7 hours ago, newyorktoiowa57 said:

 

I was also wondering what it would be like to frog with a H power rod in general. 

1 hour ago, GeekFisher said:

I own the SLXC72H for a few weeks and tried casting with it a little bit in my yard. I frogged with a Quantum Team KVD 6'10" before and I think thats the lenght you should be after (6'8"-7'1") if you really Wanna see the difference

 

 

 

What were your impressions of the SLX rod?

[GeekOutdoors]

32 minutes ago, newyorktoiowa57 said:

I was also wondering what it would be like to frog with a H power rod in general. 

What were your impressions of the SLX rod?

Frogs with at least 1/2oz wt cast great on the SLX. Btw I still own it but bass is closed here so cant use it till mid June... I was walking the frog on the snow in the yard lol

[Smalls]

1 hour ago, newyorktoiowa57 said:

I was also wondering what it would be like to frog with a H power rod in general. 

In my opinion, it’s almost always a necessity. Even if you’re not fishing around a bunch of crazy cover, look at the hooks on your frog. You need a rod and a hookset to really drive those suckers home. My frog rod is a broomstick. I often have to “thump” frogs out of the fishes mouth, but I know they ain’t shakin it. 

 

 

[5by3]

9 hours ago, newyorktoiowa57 said:

How is the balance?  Why do you prefer the ALX?

Balance on the ALX is slightly more tip heavy than the Dobyns, but not to the point that you actually notice it while you’re fishing. But imo, Dobyns has the best balanced rods on the market that I’ve used. 

 

Alx has had a softer tip which helps with accurate casts and walking the frog, but manhandles fish once you drive the hook home. Im able to throw the junior-sized frogs comfortably on the ALX as well as the normal size. My champion felt too stiff to throw the smaller ones. By no means am I saying the champion is bad... I’d use it if I didn’t own the toadface. Just my two cents.

[newyorktoiowa57]

10 minutes ago, 5by3 said:

Balance on the ALX is slightly more tip heavy than the Dobyns, but not to the point that you actually notice it while you’re fishing. But imo, Dobyns has the best balanced rods on the market that I’ve used. 

 

Alx has had a softer tip which helps with accurate casts and walking the frog, but manhandles fish once you drive the hook home. Im able to throw the junior-sized frogs comfortably on the ALX as well as the normal size. My champion felt too stiff to throw the smaller ones. By no means am I saying the champion is bad... I’d use it if I didn’t own the toadface. Just my two cents.

Thanks for the feedback.  I would assume the ALX is lighter overall, though. 

The bait monkey just overcame me and I purchased another Chronarch MGL, lol. I had been rotating my newly acquired chronarch between a different ZOLO model and an expride. I decided I would rather just get another chronarch than buy another frog rod for now. 

I will likely end up buying that slx 72H combo with a month though, realistically. 

d**n you, Bait Monkey!

[5by3]

Yeah the toadface feels a lot lighter and crisper than the champion to me. At the end of the day, it’s all about what feels comfortable for you! What works for me may not work for others.

[newyorktoiowa57]

3 minutes ago, 5by3 said:

Yeah the toadface feels a lot lighter and crisper than the champion to me. At the end of the day, it’s all about what feels comfortable for you! What works for me may not work for others.

In my original post I said that I wanted to stay away from the 735.  I dislike my Champion 734 due to its weight, so I don't think I will like the 735 any better. 

[newyorktoiowa57]

20 hours ago, LionHeart said:

When you say "flip" are you talking about pitching?  Or actually flipping?

 

If you mean pitching,  the old school Diawa Tatula rod 7'2" Heavy makes an excellent rod for frogs and pitching.  Very light and sensitive with plenty of muscle.  $130 on Ebay and totally worth it.  Handle is perfect length for working a frog, maybe a tad short for what I like in a pitching rod though.

I really did not like the reel seat on the old tatulas  You are correct, I should have said pitching. 

[fishwizzard]

2 hours ago, BaitFinesse said:

Kuying has a snakehead rod in a 5'9" XH.  It is rated 1/4 to 2 oz.  It might be worth a look.  It is a MF though.

 

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32734617155.html?trace=storeDetail2msiteDetail&spm=a2g0n.store_home.productList_45619763.0

Thanks so much!

 

I went ahead and ordered the shorter one, $90 is within my “roll the dice” limit and it will be good to put my idea to the test before I spend a lot more on a similar rod.  

 

I’m actually becoming more and more in favor of medium fast rods these days. In general im finding that the more powerful the rod the slower I want the taper to be.  

[5by3]

13 hours ago, newyorktoiowa57 said:

In my original post I said that I wanted to stay away from the 735.  I dislike my Champion 734 due to its weight, so I don't think I will like the 735 any better. 

I was just using the champion 735 as a comparison to the toadface since that’s what I have experience with.