Looking for a heavy rod

[Boomstick]

Looking for a heavy rod in the $150 price range. This one is a present for my youngest son, who mentioned he would like a rod that can do frogs as well as some heavy cover jigs, so naturally it will be used with 50-65lb braid although it may see fluorocarbon when used with jigs occasionally as well.

 

I was considering the St. Croix Mojo Bass 7' H/F Dock sniper rod or the 7'4" Slop 'N Frog/Swim jig rods (leaning towards 7') since most of his rods are from the Mojo Bass rod, but I have little experience with them. Are they total broomsticks? 

 

Another one that comes to mind is the ALX IKOS Casting Rod Heavy Hammer, either 7' or 7'3".

[Hammer 4]

Take a look at the Irod Genesis III rods. Great reviews on TW, awesome customer service, and a great warranty to boot. I have a few of these rods, and aim to get more. Oh yeah, and they look good and are light. If your  a fan of cork grips, never mind, these have EVA grips..

[Catt]

Falcon Lowrider "LIZARD DRAGGER" LFC-7H

 

Designed as a Carolina Rig rod, it's an excellent multi purpose rod.

[Boomstick]

6 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

If your  a fan of cork grips, never mind, these have EVA grips..

Personally, I'm not picky about the handle, cork, EVA, full grip, split grip. My only preference is that I like the split grip for vertical presentations, and might prefer the full grip for chuck and wind.

Now I'm not sure what he prefers. I believe every rod he had was cork and most of them are split grips.

2 hours ago, Catt said:

Falcon Lowrider "LIZARD DRAGGER" LFC-7H

 

Designed as a Carolina Rig rod, it's an excellent multi purpose rod.

It's only rated up to 1oz but I'm guessing that's a bit conservative? Enough power to pull them out of thick lily pads?

[Catt]

28 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

It's only rated up to 1oz but I'm guessing that's a bit conservative? Enough power to pull them out of thick lily pads?

 

Well it's probably the best Carolina Rig rod ever.

 

Fishing a Carolina Rig requires what, moving a lot of line quickly with enough power to drive a hook home.

 

What does a frog rod require, moving a lot of line quickly with enough power to drive a hook home.

 

Your second part I occasionally use mind for punching.

[Boomstick]

36 minutes ago, Catt said:

Well it's probably the best Carolina Rig rod ever.

 

Fishing a Carolina Rig requires what, moving a lot of line quickly with enough power to drive a hook home.

I have a Daiwa Steez Bottom Contact rod that's M-MH/F that's designed for things like jigs and carolina rigs. It's an awesome all around jig rod, definitely underrated in power, no problem pulling a 1/2oz jig through milfoil and pulling out all the milfoil. I could probably throw braid on that and do light frogging if I had to. This sounds similar.

 

[deep]

The rod you want is the IRod 754. Fred's Magic Stick.

 

It will fish almost every bait in the 0.5 - 1.5 oz range, and fish them well. Just use the appropriate line depending on the bait/ cover situation.

 

Although I mostly use it for frogs and heavier jigs, I've and will continue to fish spinnerbaits, punching rigs, bubba shots, big cranks and topwaters, and small swimbaits on it too.

 

(I think IRod has a cheaper version of the same model too; same blank, different guides. Don't quote me on that though.)

[jimmyjoe]

   The Mojo Bass 7' Dock Sniper isn't a broomstick, but it's close. The 7'-04" Slop-n-Frog is different. It's great, as a frog rod, as a puncher and as an all-arounder. It has a lot more "tip" than the Dock Sniper.      jj

[The Maestro]

Username checks out

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Boomstick said:

Daiwa Steez Bottom Contact rod that's M-MH/F that's designed for things like jigs and carolina rigs.

 

Understand what you're saying but that rod ain't close to a Lizard Dragger.

 

Falcon's rod ratings  are a little weird!

[Boomstick]

11 minutes ago, Catt said:

Understand what you're saying but that rod ain't close to a Lizard Dragger.

Is the Lizard dragger heavier with more tip?

[Catt]

8 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

Is the Lizard dragger heavier with more tip?

 

The Steez is a medium heavy that leans towards heavy, the Lizard Dragger is a heavy.

 

More back bone ?

@Boomstick Have you looked at the Tatula Bass Frog rod?

[Boomstick]

4 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

The Steez is a medium heavy that leans towards heavy, the Lizard Dragger is a heavy.

 

More back bone ?

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some non Dobyns heavy rod somewhere that's similar. So basically, this is a real heavy with an oddly light lure rating. I'll have to ask what he thinks of the full handles.

 

52 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

   The Mojo Bass 7' Dock Sniper isn't a broomstick, but it's close. The 7'-04" Slop-n-Frog is different. It's great, as a frog rod, as a puncher and as an all-arounder. It has a lot more "tip" than the Dock Sniper.      jj

Okay so it sounds like either should technically work. I think he would largely prefer a little shorter, although if we're skipping docks he's probably using the Mojo Bass Jig & Baits rod which is actually pretty stout for a MH.

[Boomstick]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

 

@Boomstick Have you looked at the Tatula Bass Frog rod?

I actually own it. But it's pretty much a broomstick frog rod, wouldn't normally use it for a jig except in the heaviest of cover (which we don't have a lot of).

 

The Tatula 7'1" H/F would do well too.

[jimmyjoe]

8 hours ago, Boomstick said:

the Mojo Bass Jig & Baits rod which is actually pretty stout for a MH.

 

   I have that rod; Citica 200 and 12 lb. Big Game, first and foremost for 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits. But it's very versatile. I use it for other stuff, too.             jj

[Boomstick]

49 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   I have that rod; Citica 200 and 12 lb. Big Game, first and foremost for 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits. But it's very versatile. I use it for other stuff, too.             jj

It is. He frequently throws a 3/8 or 1/2oz jig on that. He has the plastics rod, spinnerbait and mojo glass 7'2" M/M cranking rod as well plus a ML/XF spinning rod, so he's got his bases covered.

[LogFinder]

Honestly I would go with the Falcon Amistad in either the low rider line or for $200 the expert line. 7’3” Heavy, it’s light, crisp and strong. If he is vertically challenged like I am then maybe consider the 6’11” H. The shorter rod makes walking a frog a breeze. The tip on both of those rods is just soft enough that walking is easy but it has plenty of horsepower. My buddy got me hooked on Falcons a couple years ago and I’ve loved every minute of it. 

[Basswhippa]

I own a lizard dragger  (3) falcon Amistad (3 of them)  and son own a 7'4" st. Croix rage build on the same MOJO blank.  For heavy cover frogs and jigs I would get the 7'4 MOJO first, then the Amistad.   They are two excellent rods and neither broomstick.  The St. CROIX is stronger, but  that's what you need.   The mentioned lizard dragged is one of the most versatile rods on the planet.  I love it.  But i don't want it dragging hogs out of thick Tennessee River vegetation.  If you don't have really big bass in your area or vegetation the lizard dragger  could work.   I'm amazed at what CATT can do with that rod and 15 pound big game.  I can't come close.  Lizard dragger fishes like a st. Croix MH.

[Boomstick]

3 hours ago, LogFinder said:

If he is vertically challenged like I am then maybe consider the 6’11” H.

He is 5'7". Most his rods are 7' - 7'2" and he does well, usually he stands on his kayak and fishes, so I figure anything from 6'9- 7'3" would be about ideal, longer for flipping or pitching, shorter for frogs so it's a toss up. He definitely does very well with the 7'1" rods.

[Boomstick]

2 hours ago, Basswhippa said:

If you don't have really big bass in your area or vegetation the lizard dragger  could work.

Well catching a 10 pounder up here is like winning the lottery and we don't have a lot of really thick cover but there are some thick spots with lily pads or milfoil. So I would definitely want something that can throw in then, but given that it's not as thick as Florida, we haven't caught a ten pounder yet etc I figure something that could be all around useful would be nice.

[ATA]

Did you check Shimano Curado rods? I have one for my frogging and I am happy with it.

[NOC 1]

On 5/20/2021 at 10:39 PM, Boomstick said:

Looking for a heavy rod in the $150 price range. This one is a present for my youngest son, who mentioned he would like a rod that can do frogs as well as some heavy cover jigs, so naturally it will be used with 50-65lb braid although it may see fluorocarbon when used with jigs occasionally as well.

 

I was considering the St. Croix Mojo Bass 7' H/F Dock sniper rod or the 7'4" Slop 'N Frog/Swim jig rods (leaning towards 7') since most of his rods are from the Mojo Bass rod, but I have little experience with them. Are they total broomsticks? 

 

Another one that comes to mind is the ALX IKOS Casting Rod Heavy Hammer, either 7' or 7'3".

Check out the TFO Tactical rods. Had a 7'5 for summer deep Carolina rigs and it was a very decent rod. Not overly sensitive, but usually a long heavy rod isn't used to do anything that requires it to be. The build and quality are good and it's a nice smooth and powerful blank.

 

 

[Boomstick]

1 hour ago, ATA said:

Did you check Shimano Curado rods? I have one for my frogging and I am happy with it.

I considered looking into Shimanos, their heavy rods are supposed to be very good. I'm not actually sure if I'd want a heavy or extra heavy given their lineup, probably a heavy but people seem to use extra heavies for flipping and frogs too.

 

It's generally his brother's line of rods, but a Shimano Sierra 735C would be pretty ideal.

[walleyecrazy]

It’s a little above you’re price point unless you catch it on sale, but I have to say the Dobyns Sierra 735c would be about perfect for what you are describing. It has a ton of back bone, but has a light enough tip to make casting and walking a frog very easy. 

[Boomstick]

9 hours ago, walleyecrazy said:

It’s a little above you’re price point unless you catch it on sale, but I have to say the Dobyns Sierra 735c would be about perfect for what you are describing. It has a ton of back bone, but has a light enough tip to make casting and walking a frog very easy. 

Yup. The Dobyns 735C is the perfect action for an all purpose heavy rod for sure. I don't own any (and my oldest doesn't have that one yet, that's his line of rods) but I've gotten my hands on them in stores.