Furthest Casting Reel for ultimate long distance reach when frogging *sigh*

[ABU is overpriced]

On the Daiwa side its more the spool that makes the difference and not the reel. So you put the SLP1010 spool inside the 21 Zillion, and it will bomb across the lake. Put the same spool on the Steez TW, and the performance will be identical. The SLP1010, Type R and Type R+ spool, the RCS1016, the Type R spool from the Ringa SSS are all super long casting spools.

[PhishLI]

Here's my observation specifically about heavier frogs between 5/8oz-3/4oz excluding the Launch frog. That thing catches wind and doesn't cast as well as traditional, stiffer bodied frogs. Give the 3/4oz Fish Lab Rattle Toad a try.

 

While I really like lighter spools between 10.5 grams to 13 grams for general purpose reels, for heavier frogs specifically, I want a spool between 17-20 grams unloaded, which when loaded with braid tops out at 29-31 grams. I've found that these heavier spools in conjunction with a rod that loads well to the weight of the aforementioned frogs somehow help in launching them crazy distances. If the spool happens to be about 36mm tall, even better.

 

I have several reels that fall into this category, and each is a heavy frog bomber.

 

If you want to test my hypothesis, give the latest BB1 Pro a shot. My markers for distance in the lakes I fish are reliably defined pad field edges. My 13 Omen Black 2 7'6" MH rated to 1 1/4oz is in actuality a heavy rod, and I can set a Beast Hook at the end of a max distance cast. With the BB1 Pro riding it, I can hit marks with heavy frogs only equaled by my JDM Catalina TW which has a 36mm spool and a stiff inductor spring.

 

To answer your specific question, the BB1 Pro will dust the Zillion G in this particular situation. So will my Pfluger Supreme XT with its 20 gram unloaded spool and older DOYO/ABU 6 pin centrifugal brakes. That reel is a heavy frog bombing monster, but it's long out of production.

 

The new BB1 Pro is smooth, has a nice 100 mm handle and 36mm spool, and the 6 pin ACB brakes are simply fantastic and are far less twitchy and touchy than the current SVS Infinity system, IMO. Flush the spool bearings of the factory's heavy grease, or simply add oil to them to break it down. Do this and you'll realize the potential of this reel for your specific application.

 

P.S.

I probably should've remembered your preference for tiny reels before writing anything. Oh well. The BB1 isn't tiny, but it isn't huge either.

 

 

[new2BC4bass]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

Here's my observation specifically about heavier frogs between 5/8oz-3/4oz excluding the Launch frog. That thing catches wind and doesn't cast as well as traditional, stiffer bodied frogs. Give the 3/4oz Fish Lab Rattle Toad a try.

 

While I really like lighter spools between 10.5 grams to 13 grams for general purpose reels, for heavier frogs specifically, I want a spool between 17-20 grams unloaded, which when loaded with braid tops out at 29-31 grams. I've found that these heavier spools in conjunction with a rod that loads well to the weight of the aforementioned frogs somehow help in launching them crazy distances. If the spool happens to be about 36mm tall, even better.

 

I have several reels that fall into this category, and each is a heavy frog bomber.

 

If you want to test my hypothesis, give the latest BB1 Pro a shot. My markers for distance in the lakes I fish are reliably defined pad field edges. My 13 Omen Black 2 7'6" MH rated to 1 1/4oz is in actuality a heavy rod, and I can set a Beast Hook at the end of a max distance cast. With the BB1 Pro riding it, I can hit marks with heavy frogs only equaled by my JDM Catalina TW which has a 36mm spool and a stiff inductor spring.

 

To answer your specific question, the BB1 Pro will dust the Zillion G in this particular situation. So will my Pfluger Supreme XT with its 20 gram unloaded spool and older DOYO/ABU 6 pin centrifugal brakes. That reel is a heavy frog bombing monster, but it's long out of production.

 

The new BB1 Pro is smooth, has a nice 100 mm handle and 36mm spool, and the 6 pin ACB brakes are simply fantastic and are far less twitchy and touchy than the current SVS Infinity system, IMO. Flush the spool bearings of the factory's heavy grease, or simply add oil to them to break it down. Do this and you'll realize the potential of this reel for your specific application.

 

I'm glad to finally find someone else having the same opinion on the SVS Infinity system. 

 

I'm with you on heavier spools.  Many say you want a light spool for faster start up.  That's great for light baits.  Could be wrong, but imo a light spool is also going to slow down faster.

 

I have an old aluminum framed Trion I purchased used.  I wound up changing the line from 30# braid to 17# mono and mounting it on a Tour Edition 6'10" HF.  I'm not going to win any distance competitions, but I get surprisingly good distance with this combo.  I bet it would do real well on a 7'6" HF rod.

 

I've already got about 24 more reels than rods, but you guys have me wanting a BB1 Pro.

[casts_by_fly]

10 hours ago, PhishLI said:

To answer your specific question, the BB1 Pro will dust the Zillion G in this particular situation. So will my Pfluger Supreme XT with its 20 gram unloaded spool and older DOYO/ABU 6 pin centrifugal brakes. That reel is a heavy frog bombing monster, but it's long out of production.

 

The new BB1 Pro is smooth, has a nice 100 mm handle and 36mm spool, and the 6 pin ACB brakes are simply fantastic and are far less twitchy and touchy than the current SVS Infinity system, IMO. Flush the spool bearings of the factory's heavy grease, or simply add oil to them to break it down. Do this and you'll realize the potential of this reel for your specific application.

 

Is the pfluger the infini system (little red pins embedded in the spool) or the ICBY wheels that you tab in and out?  My STX gen 4s are the latter and they are casting monsters.

 

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Is the pfluger the infini system (little red pins embedded in the spool)

Yup.

[PhishLI]

11 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

you guys have me wanting a BB1 Pro.

They pushed the line guide farther away from the spool in this version, so line flows out rather smoothly for a Non-T-wing reel. It's a low-effort distance caster with heavier baits which is something I'm beginning to appreciate more as I get older. I can't help myself from sending baits often, but I wouldn't mind persevering the machinery a bit longer, meaning me.

[casts_by_fly]

51 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Yup.

 

 

That's pretty much the internals of the Gen3 STX and the Gen 4 SX Revos.  I've found that my Gen 4 STX with the IVCB-6 is an even better caster, but I haven't put the SX with infini through the paces with heavier stuff.

[new2BC4bass]

47 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

They pushed the line guide farther away from the spool in this version, so line flows out rather smoothly for a Non-T-wing reel. It's a low-effort distance caster with heavier baits which is something I'm beginning to appreciate more as I get older. I can't help myself from sending baits often, but I wouldn't mind persevering the machinery a bit longer, meaning me.

Ordered the LH off Amazon for $150. 

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

23 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

You're not understanding the regulatory body in place in Japan.  A line that's stated to break at 20lb must break at 20lb according to the rules, if not it won't be sold there.  Their lines are measured on the denier scale which is much more accurate than how manufacturers here do it.

Right, but technically the avg breakage is 20lb, they just use the strongest examples to find an average.  It is closer to a true rating the way the US does it.  I don't know the exact way they find the avg, the Daiwa rep didn't get that detailed with us.  We were just more interested in the discrepancy of DIA because all of us wanted a line that could help us toss a 1oz deadly dick close to 100yds with a 8-9' blank for open sand Albies.

[Bandersnatch]

On 6/4/2024 at 4:18 PM, FishTank said:

That are a lot of factors that go into casting distance.... how the rod loads, reel, line, spool diameter, and so on. The top 10 list in order below is of what I own and it can change based on all of the miscellaneous things mentioned. 

 

1. Shimano Metanium 100

2. Shimano Antares 70

3. Shimano Antares 2012

4. Daiwa Steez A II 

5. Daiwa Zillion G

6. Shimano DC

7. Shimano Calcutta Conquest 101

8. Daiwa Steez SV TW 

9. Daiwa Costal 80

10. Lews BB1

 

I use Google Maps to measure at a local pond I visit. The spot marked below is my bench mark for distance with a 1/2oz lure. It's 120 feet from one bank to the other.  I can hit that spot easily with the top 6 reels with just about any rod and line.

 

Have you fished all of these reels? I find it interesting that the bb1 is tenth on your list when others have indicated it being such a long distance caster. Maybe that was due to the weight of lure you were throwing?

I’m still slightly up in the air as I’m not sure I’m overally enthused about throwing a lews that’s bigger than average size 

[FishTank]

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

Have you fished all of these reels? I find it interesting that the bb1 is tenth on your list when others have indicated it being such a long distance caster. Maybe that was due to the weight of lure you were throwing?

I’m still slightly up in the air as I’m not sure I’m overally enthused about throwing a lews that’s bigger than average size 

 

I own each one. There are few I have that I didn't mention that probably could have made the list, like the Bantam, the Zillion HD and the Core 100. I just don't use certain reels for long distance casting and haven't really tested them at my pond like the others. 

 

The BB1 isn't a bad caster. It has been finicky for me though and I am constantly adjusting the brakes. I have tried the same 12lb FC on it as well as 10lb Sufix Elite and Siege. It just didn't cast as far as the others. I have cleaned it, soaked the bearings, and it still doesn't perform as well as the rest.  Don't get me wrong, I like this reel. I beat it to death last year using it for jerkbaits (110's mainly) on a Megabass Levante Jerkbait Special. Another thing about it that bothers me is the drag. It's pretty jerky at times. It will slip and then tighten up. It's odd but with all that, it does bring in the fish.  Also, the way the reel palms is great for working a jerkbait.  In the end, I think I only paid about $140 for this reel and I am happy with it but it would not be my first choice for a lot of things. 

[PhishLI]

5 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

I’m still slightly up in the air as I’m not sure I’m overally enthused about throwing a lews that’s bigger than average size 

That's valid of course, and personal.

 

I can't speak to the drag performance with lighter baits and line as this isn't the reel for that, IMO. I got it for a specific purpose which is frogs and bulky swimmers using 50lb braid for setting at least a 6/0 Beast Hook at the end of a bomb cast. I don't lock the drag, but it's tight with the expectation of setting heavy wire hooks and fighting fish horizontally through pads. In this scenario, the drag has been fine. The drag clicker is a neat option too. BTW, I got the 6 spd for the torque.

 

Tonight, I fished the side of a lake where the trees overhang way out over the water which meant I couldn't use my 7'6". I bought a Tatula Elite 6'9" HF just for zones like this. I can only wade out so far, and not beyond the tree branches, so it's perfect for this. With the shorter rod, I'm able to overhead cast no problem.

 

This area is pads from the shoreline out to quite a distance, but then it's open water. Even with the 6'9" rod, I was able to hit out into the open water with the Rattle Toad, which typically isn't easy at all. This reel is fantastic for the purposes you'd outlined which is why I chose it for myself. No boats are allowed in my local waters and I'm stuck wading, so distance is very important to me.

 

One never knows beforehand, but it's met my expectations. I doubt it would be anything special with a jerk bait though as @FishTank said. Larger, deep, heavy, fully loaded, 200 size spools usually aren't. There's a reason why there are 70, 100, and 150 sized spools.

 

All of that said, it's hard to say how it would do in some else's hands as your casting mechanics are probably not the same as mine. Who knows, yours might even be better. If you're going to be casting from a standing position like I do, and you're a practiced distance caster, I think you'll get what you're looking for, especially for 150 bux.

 

[Bigbox99]

What I have found is that my reels/spools that excel at distance casting bomb friendly tail weighted baits like frogs or topwater walkers paired to a free flowing line like braid often are finicky or downright difficult with stiffer plastic lines and less bomb friendly baits.  It's not unrealistic to hear one report that a reel is awesome at long casting frogs and then another say it's terrible with fluorocarbon and texas rigs or jerkbaits.  

[casts_by_fly]

So in the interests of science, I've been playing today (yesterday now).  I also had a couple meetings cancelled and I had to rig rods for later this evening anyway.  @FishTank's list order really got me thinking.  To begin with, I rarely am a max distance caster on the water.  The two, maybe three exceptions are lipless in the spring, a frog bomb over a mat, and the occasional carolina rig I'm starting to fish.  So my initial thoughts were partly on water experience (with the STX and lipless, the Zillion and ploppers, frogs) and partly extrapolation from how the other reels I use cast.  I see I was wrong in some cases.

 

What I did isn't scientific.  There is minimal like for like exact comparisons.  The rod was the same, the frog was the same (more on that in a sec).  Otherwise the reels and the line were a little different.  That said, we can start to make some conclusions.

 

The rod, the frog, the test site:

- falcon 7'4" heavy cover jig.  Heavy, fast rating.  1/2-1 oz rated.  Its not my frog rod because its just a little soft for it and I like a shorter rod.  But I know its a great distance caster and at 7'4" is inching up close to the OPs original request

- Falcon Bucoo SR trapcaster, 7', MH/MF, 1/4-3/4** (used for one reel, commentary below).

- Livetarget (I'm pretty sure, I found it) hollow body frog (size known).  Tails are slightly trimmed.  Total bait weight 0.64oz.  It was probably a full 5/8 with the long tails.  I found this in a tree and I don't fish it so I don't mind beating it up on the driveway.  I also started with a Spro flappin frog.  The rubber legs added some weight and at 0.71 oz I thought the exra would help.  Maybe it would.  I was lazy and only tying a 3 turn cinch knot and the first proper heave with Braid sent it flying when the knot slipped.  Its up in a tree somewhere along my driveway and didn't come down.  I'm hoping the next storm knocks it down.

- My driveway.  I shoot archery from the mailbox to the end of the driveway and its exactly 40 yards.  When I shoot, I step out into the street to get out to 60 yards as we're on a cul-de-sac.  I know my marks out to 50 yards well and while I don't have paint in the street I know the tar lines within a yard.

 

The reels and line tested:

 

- Shimano Met MGL, current JDM model so a 100 I think, with 16 lb supernatural mono (0.013"/0.330 mm)

- Daiwa Zillion SV TW, current JDM model, 17 lb suffix elite (.016"/0.401mm)

- Shimano Chronarach MGL, current model, 150 size, 50 lb Suffix 832 (0.014"/0.34mm)

- Shimano Chronarch MGL, current model, 150 size, 30 lb suffix 832  (0.011"/0.29mm)

- Shimano Chronarch Bantam 100 circa 2004, 17 lb Suffix Elite (0.016"/0.401mm)

- Abu Garcia Revo SX, gen 4, with 12 lb supernatural mono (0.011"/0.285mm) ** on 7' Falcon MH rod

 

Process:

 

String up the rod, tie on the frog, and make some casual casts as the reel is set.  My shimano's with SVS brakes are usually set 2 on/2off internally and somewhere 3 out of 6 on the dial.  They are usually set with no spool tension- back it off until the spool moves and then slowly tighten until it stops.  If I'm throwing heavy baits I'll up it a little to save my thumb.  The zillion doesn't have internals, so the external dial is midpoint or so (about a 10), and the spool tension is the same as the shimanos. 

 

For each combo I made a couple casts as set to get a feel of what the rod was doing with that setup.  For the most part, a light cast ran out to 30-35 yards with minimal effort.  Then, I'd back off the brakes until I started to get fluff on the cast that eventually ran out.  Note that point on the dial and keep backing it off until most casts were backlashes.  Really dial out as much brake as possible.  Try different cast speeds, lengths of line, etc to get the last little bit out.  At the end of each cast I didn't touch the spool with my thumb, just let it run until the bait was on the ground.  Very rarely was there an overrun.  Repeat the casts a couple of times to make sure the results were repeatable if I do my part.

 

Results:

 

Surprising.  There was no clear winner.  Within the relative accuracy of the test (a yard or two) All of the shimanos and the Abu were just about the same.  I think the two Chronarchs were just a little bit behind the met/old chronarch/SX but its so close that the only way to crown a difinitive winner down to the yard would be identical setups, closed conditions with no wind, same line, etc.  Within the realms of the 5-6 mph cross wind in my driveway and me doing the casting, all of them were hitting 42-44 yards consistently.  I will say that the Metanium and the old Chronarch seemed to do it with ease better than the rest.  A light lob cast with my standard settings would hit 40 yards consitently with both with minimal effort from me.  It was like the spools were just floating on air.  The abu was close.  

 

The other surprise was that there was a clear loser in this case.  That's the zillion.  I've cast this reel on this rod with this line further before, but it was with a 1 oz hardbait.  No matter what I did though, it topped out around 36-37 yards.  A soft easy cast with mid-range brakes would do 35 yards on a light lob.  Back the brakes off to fluff level and it got another 2 yards.  Bang out a hard cast and you might get another.  The brakes were kicking in and taking over.  I coudl get it down to a 6 or so but any lower and the backlashes were impressive.  I can cast with it lower than that sidearm, roll, pitching, but for overhead distance it was just too much.  This ties with what @FishTank said of about a 20' difference in his testing.  44 yards vs 37 yards is... 21 feet.

 

The abu was a throw in after @PhishLI confirmed the braking.  I didn't feel like pulling things apart again, so I just grabbed the rod it was on as it was set up.  Its my crankbait rod right now as set, but I've had my STX on it with 30 lb braid when fishing lipless.  I know how far that combo will throw a 1/2 oz lipless so I just clipped on the 5/8 frog.  The rod was running out of power to throw it and isn't a distance caster in the first place at only 7'.  That said, it still hit the 42-44 yard bucket consistently.  The spool was certainly smooth paying out line.  I managed it down to 1 click pin on, and the dial set to zero.  Anything less and it was backlash city.  That was consistent with the shimanos also.

 

Line wasn't as much of a factor as I thought it would be.  Between 30 and 50 braid there was a negligible difference.  Between thin, medium, and thicker mono there wasn't much of a difference.  Throwing the same 17 lb elite on the Zillion and the Chronarch Bantam was eye opening and confirmed to me that the reel was slowing it down and not the line.  The braid was maybe a little worse than the mono like I noted above about the chronarchs, but it could have been the reels and it could have been that the braid was dry.  I find wet braid to be smoother casting than dry.  Not sure if it helps distance, but its smoother.  Either way, I wouldn't NOT have braid on a frog rod.

 

Conclusions:

- If you're going to build out a combo for distance casting and expecially if you're going to be testing it a lot, make it a high speed reel.  Two in the test were 6.2:1 and it takes forever to crank in 40+ yards of line on that ratio.

 

- If you really want to soften up a frog, bash it on asphalt from high in the air and then drag it 40 yards across concrete pavers a hundred times or so.  It really softens up the skin.  And the hook point.  Glad I don't fish this one as its getting retired now.

 

- Some reels will surprise you.  I knew that old chronarch bantam was a smooth reel and a good caster.  For being almost 20 years old it really is a hammer in that regard.  It has a deep spool- same width as the chronarch 150 MGL spool but deeper- and whatever bearings they put in it at the time are silky still.  If it wasn't such a big profile to grip I'd use it as a big baits reel in a heartbeat.  Its the old 6 pink pins design that look like pop rivets on a stick.  Very crude but man it works.  One 'on' and then there isn't an external dial to adjust.  Just let it rip.  

 

- The Abu SX was very good in the limited and not equivalent testing I did.  I think had I put it onto the big rod it just might have been the winner.  It certainly warrants further testing.

 

- A 40 yard cast is a long cast on the water.  An overhead bomb with a 3/4 oz carolina rig on a big open off shore point.  Sure, I can see that in practice.  Lipless doing the same?  yep.  Whopper plopper trying to cover a lot of water across a flat?  Yeah.  Going down the bank throwing to cover?  No way.  You're not going to use that much distance regularly.  To that extent, the 35 yards that all of my reels would just bang off to start the session were more than fine.  If you're trying to get more distance, first check the distance that you're actually casting.  Go in a field or your driveway and make a couple casts where you feel you're being limited.  Measure them off.  I bet for most people you're under 35 yards.  If that's the case, the reel isn't your limiting factor.  The rod probably isn't.  It's probably the nut that connects to the rod right under the reel seat.

 

- I can probably lighten up my brakes more than I do, but to what gain? maybe if I'm going for max distance on some of the above mentioned applications.  I value the extra control over the spool and not worrying about a backlash on the water basically ever.  A 25 yard cast is probably my usual light sidearm throw, maybe even long for that.

 

- If you do a test like this to push your reel's limits, make sure you set it back before you go fishing again.  Take a wild guess what I did last night on the water, first cast, after all this messing around?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Deephaven]

I am going to generalize because the specifics are budget dependent, but from my testing with the same line on the same rod:

Shimano with conventional brakes casts the furthest, then the Daiwa, then the Shimano DC when frogging.  I use an older Chronarch on my frog rod now.

On 6/4/2024 at 10:52 AM, casts_by_fly said:

If you're trying to maximize distance, the bully wa ( big version is 3/4 oz) and the Spro Rojas king daddy is 1 oz.  I can't imagine how far you could launch a 1 oz frog.

 

I assume you're trimming tails short?  They catch a lot of air.

 

You could also add a little weight to your current frogs and see if it helps.  A couple glass or plastic beads inside the body would do it (and also give you some clicking as you come across the mats).

I use BB's.  Sometimes they make the difference.

[Bandersnatch]

46 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

What I have found is that my reels/spools that excel at distance casting bomb friendly tail weighted baits like frogs or topwater walkers paired to a free flowing line like braid often are finicky or downright difficult with stiffer plastic lines and less bomb friendly baits.  It's not unrealistic to hear one report that a reel is awesome at long casting frogs and then another say it's terrible with fluorocarbon and texas rigs or jerkbaits.  

Agreed, as stated, I’m looking for the ultimate long distance frog setup, I have other frog setups for different situations.

 

in this specific situation I’m talking 5/8-1oz frogs on a 7’7H expride (soft springy tip) combined with higher end 50lb braid. I’m looking for the most distance as possible to reach places my boat simple can’t be drug any further. 

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

Agreed, as stated, I’m looking for the ultimate long distance frog setup, I have other frog setups for different situations.

 

in this specific situation I’m talking 5/8-1oz frogs on a 7’7H expride (soft springy tip) combined with higher end 50lb braid. I’m looking for the most distance as possible to reach places my boat simple can’t be drug any further. 

 

I know the answer is 'as much as possible' but practically speaking how much further are you you looking to throw and how much are you 'missing' on the water?  What I was seeing in my testing is that ultimately there is a limit.  I think the frog aerodynamics are the limiting factor eventually.  Basic physics/aerodynamics says the faster you launch something the further it will go.  However, to get a higher and higher launch speed from a frog you're casting, you have to spin the spool faster and faster which will either result in an overrun or the brakes kicking in.  Adding more weight to the frog will help, not with initial launch speed but with carrying speed through the arc of flight.  Eventually though, you will hit a limit for your system.

[Bandersnatch]

On 6/4/2024 at 9:13 PM, new2BC4bass said:

When I first used braid on a casting reel, 40# was my first choice if I bought it.  Have purchased a used reel with 30# already spooled on it, and it worked fine for me once I removed the tight spots that were already there.  I bought 60# when I decided on using my 7'6" HF as a dedicated frog rod (because of what I'd read).  Definitely hurt distance.  Too frugal to throw the line away, but will definitely be going lighter when it needs replacing.  May not happen in my lifetime, tho.

 

Gen 1 STX lists 135 yards of 12# mono.  I assume that is when spooled to 1/16-1/8 inch below the rim as Abu suggests in the sheet that came with the reel.  I fill to the spool bevel.  7' MHF Jupiter (Daiwa rod exclusively for Walmart), 40# Sufix Performance, and 3/4 oz. spoon would cast off over half the line from sitting position in a Gheenoe.  Should be able to achieve more distance standing.

 

I'm going to try some 25# braid on my new Salamandura 70 SV TW.  A 5/8 oz. lipless on a 6'10" MH-MF about empties the spool with the 12# mono I first put on it.  Since I now live in Florida, I will be spooling braid most of the time.

 

As far as the moon, for this application I have a few spots that are deeper with a good canopy that are out of reach on my zillion. How many extra feet is possible between an average zillion and the best possible setup with either a different reel or spool. I’d say it’d be another 12-20 yards, 36-60feet 

[casts_by_fly]

26 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

As far as the moon, for this application I have a few spots that are deeper with a good canopy that are out of reach on my zillion. How many extra feet is possible between an average zillion and the best possible setup with either a different reel or spool. I’d say it’d be another 12-20 yards, 36-60feet 

based on the testing I just did, I’d say a half of that is definitely possible. With a heavy frog probably a bit more. 

[Bigbox99]

4 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

Agreed, as stated, I’m looking for the ultimate long distance frog setup, I have other frog setups for different situations.

 

in this specific situation I’m talking 5/8-1oz frogs on a 7’7H expride (soft springy tip) combined with higher end 50lb braid. I’m looking for the most distance as possible to reach places my boat simple can’t be drug any further. 

I want to recommend the Steez A HLC but I have no experience with that reel.  Only the older TD Zillion HLC which I use to long cast heavier frogs.

[new2BC4bass]

casts_by_fly

Like your comment about 6.2 ratio and it is why I've come to prefer 7 or more for most of my reels as much of my casting is for distance. Won't be getting rid of my 6.? ratios or 5.8 ratio reels, tho.

 

As you can see by casts_by_fly's post, testing takes time.  Especially if you want oranges to oranges.  I love baitcast reels and started buying them in March 2009.  I don't sell although I've give a few (very few) away.  Testing applicable reels for distance on just one rod would take a long time.  By applicable, I mean a Pixy wouldn't fit this category (for me) as I use mine for lighter stuff.  Nor would any 70 size reel or a 1600C, etc., etc.

 

I have in the neighborhood of 40-45 reels that could be tested for distance due to line capacity.  I can't begin to guess how long such a test would take since I would like each spooled with the same line for best results.  I'd also like to compare braid against mono on each reel to see if it made a difference.  Then I have stock and tuned reels in the same model.  Would there be a difference in casting distance?

 

My username should be changed to reeloldgeezer.  I've lost most of my ambition.  Anyone here live in the Lake Helen, FL area that would like to come and give me a kick in the derriere and help run some tests?  Only have one 7'6" HF for testing.

[LCG]

On 6/4/2024 at 4:18 PM, FishTank said:

That are a lot of factors that go into casting distance.... how the rod loads, reel, line, spool diameter, and so on. The top 10 list in order below is of what I own and it can change based on all of the miscellaneous things mentioned. 

 

1. Shimano Metanium 100

2. Shimano Antares 70

3. Shimano Antares 2012

4. Daiwa Steez A II 

5. Daiwa Zillion G

6. Shimano DC

7. Shimano Calcutta Conquest 101

8. Daiwa Steez SV TW 

9. Daiwa Costal 80

10. Lews BB1

 

I use Google Maps to measure at a local pond I visit. The spot marked below is my bench mark for distance with a 1/2oz lure. It's 120 feet from one bank to the other.  I can hit that spot easily with the top 6 reels with just about any rod and line.

 

Off topic, but that Google map measuring distance option is awesome. Thanks for the tip.

[Bandersnatch]

After using the google map measuring tool I've determined that I'm getting between 115-140ft of distance in my zillion/7'7 H expride combo with at 5/8oz frog before I get fluff up. With a perfect reel/rod & 1oz frog combo what do you believe is the max amount of feet attainment given zero wind implications?

[casts_by_fly]

2 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

After using the google map measuring tool I've determined that I'm getting between 115-140ft of distance in my zillion/7'7 H expride combo with at 5/8oz frog before I get fluff up. With a perfect reel/rod & 1oz frog combo what do you believe is the max amount of feet attainment given zero wind implications?

probably another 15-30'.

[FishTank]

On 6/6/2024 at 11:09 AM, casts_by_fly said:

Adding more weight to the frog will help, not with initial launch speed but with carrying speed through the arc of flight.  Eventually though, you will hit a limit for your system.

 

I've been fishing frogs for years and never really thought about this but I get what you are saying.  After fishing various frogs on three different set ups last night to see which one will cast further, I didn't get a clear winner on a reel. They just went a certain distance,  turned head up and stalled the cast out. My problem was accuracy and wind. And if the OP is an area with overhanging trees, that will minimize the distance as well. 

 

I did get some extra distance when switching to a MH rod though but it wasn't significant.  As far as line goes YGK Upgrade X8 #3 gave me the best distance. It's around a 30-40lb equivalent of most US lines. 16lb FC wasn't to far behind but not ideal for a frog. Also, I didn't catch a single fish on a frog but killed it on a 3in swimbait.  Go figure.