Froggin Rod

[ajschn06]

I've got a 7'3" Heavy action rod here that I was trying to find a use for- would seem to fit the bill for a frog rod.  Looks like most specialty frog rods are 7'3"-7'4" and pretty thick.  Doesn't something longer and bigger like this make it more difficult to "walk" the frog effectively.  That's something I have trouble doing well even with a shorter MH rod, I'm worried I'll be making it even more difficult on myself to get the right action...

[jbrew73]

I’m most comfortable with a 7’ frog rod but plenty of people commonly use up to 7’6” and maybe longer.   

[GReb]

The ease of walking a frog has more to do with the rods tip than length. You want a rod with a very strong backbone but flexible couple inches in the tip.  A pool cue is useless and might as well be thrown in the trash 

[FryDog62]

I went thru this transition 3 years ago.  I also went thru 3 different rods I thought would be the best froggin’ rod.  Some were quite expensive.  
 

After much trial and error, I ended up with an ALX Toadface.  Heavy butt section and a MHF tip.  It could cast far, walk the dog, yet had the heavy butt section when you lock up in the slop.  Game over...

[Born 2 fish]

It should work fine.

[OnthePotomac]

I have an 11 year old 7' MH KVD worm rod rated  1/4-1 1/2 oz, 10-25lbs I tried for frogs with 50lb Sufix 832 and it worked, so that is what I use.   It weighs 4.9oz.

[bwjay]

As long as the tip has some softness to it, a heavy is just fine, ESPECIALLY in thick Minnesota vegetation that I'm sure you know quite well. The length only makes things harder if you are shore fishing and are finding the tip hitting the water a lot while trying to walk. Walking frogs is more of a twitch than a jerk so you don't need a ton of tip flex either. I bought a 7'3XH Expride specifically because I thought my 7'H wasn't powerful enough to drag fish with big clumps of milfoil, or rip frogs free from lily pads. Now I've got a sweet frog rod and it's pretty stinkin light too, a joy to walk frogs for hours with minor fatigue compared to the typical tip heavy stuff out there.

[Boomstick]

I personally like rods around 6'9" or so to walk a bait, but around 7' will do. I can do it on my 7'4" Tatula H/F frog from my kayak, but being low to the water it's a little harder rod but if I am walking a frog I would use my 7'1" H/F rod before my kid lost it on me and the replacement arrived damaged. I might consider using my 7'1" MH/XF rod if the cover isn't too thick just because it's shorter.

 

 

[Dumbbassanglr]

If you practice with the one you have even if it takes time to learn it could be worth it because you’ll have a nice heavy and long rod to drive home the frog hooks and pull the fish out. A rod with a softer tip might be easier to use but it won’t drive the hooks as well. It’s a give and take situation.

[RoLo]

 

It would seem to me, that entirely too much emphasis is being placed on the rod.

Once an angler gets the hang of zigzag walking, he should be able to pick up any stick and 'walk-the-dog', 

without ever worrying about length, power or action. Dog-walking is performed by the angler, not by the rod.

 

Roger

[bwjay]

17 minutes ago, RoLo said:

 

It would seem to me, that entirely too much emphasis is being placed on the rod.

Once an angler gets the hang of zigzag walking, he should be able to pick up any stick and 'walk-the-dog', 

without ever worrying about length, power or action. Dog-walking is performed by the angler, not by the rod.

 

Roger

Well... you might be able to walk a frog on a glass crankbait rod, but it's far from the ideal rod to do so. I think MOST rods are capable of easily walking a frog, but there's no harm in asking which action is overall the most ideal for frogging. Personally I'd focus more on the power because the amount of cover you fish around will affect how loaded up that rod gets. Our vegetation in Minnesota gets so thick in the summer that your average MH will be far overloaded trying to drag a 2 pounder with it, so a H is the minimum I'd recommend to Minnesota anglers looking to throw a frog.

[Junger]

I went through a couple frog rods until I found the one that did it for me. I started with a 7'3 Powell MagBass rod. It was pretty heavy at just about 6oz so frog fishing for an extended period kind of put wear and tear on my wrist and forearm. It had plenty of power and a decent tip, i.e. not a pool cue, for a 6 power rod. At 7'3, it wasn't too bad to walk or pop a frog, but movement's had to be pretty precise. I figured I need to get a lighter rod to help with the wrist/arm strain, so I got a 7'4 Tatula AGS Ish rod. It's super light, and has plenty of power, but I just did not like the length. It might help for long hook sets, but when I frog fish, I'm not bombing a cast and hoping for a strike, I'm pinpointing pockets in spatterdock or grass cover. My fulltime frog rod is actually a rod that I didn't intend for that use, a 7' GLX 844C. It's lightweight, and has a nice flex with backbone when you lean into it. Walking a frog is easy with that length for me, and doesn't strain my wrist/arm at all. 

 

Basically, if you really enjoy frog fishing, be prepared to try different rod/reel combos until you're 100% satisfied.

[Hammer 4]

I use a Diawa Tatula XT 7'4" H/F, and it does a good job walking. I'm use to longer rods, and no, I'm not real tall, 6'1" and I fish a lot from shore. If a shorter rod feels better to you, than go with it, no one will handcuff you for going to a shorter rod.