$200 frog setup

[Porkchop_Sandwiches]

Dobyns fury 735c and lews speed spool lfs on sale. With taxes comes out to 210 on tackle warehouse. This will be 90% frogs and maybe some heavy jigs. $200 budget so this is what I came up with. Any other suggestions or will this work?

[softwateronly]

I have a 735 in the champ series and agree with you that it's a good frog rod.  I don't have experience with the lews reel.  Seems like you're on the right path to me.

 

scott

[Jar11591]

When I saw the headline, before I even opened this, my mind went to “Dobyns Fury and Lews LFS” if I was building a $200 frog setup. The Fury 735 does a fine job with frogs, it’s what I use as my dedicated frog stick. Haven’t frogged with the LFS, but I do use them for other things and they are perfectly adequate reels for the money. 

[MediumMouthBass]

The LFS is a basic reel, nothing fancy. Not the best looking when next to the competition. Nor is it a smooth reel, mine feels like writing on a chalkboard when reeling.

 

Many people look down on the LFS because "its not a Daiwa/Shimano", but its a very great reel when bought on sale. Has a really nice braking system too, and it can take a beating over and over again and keep going. They make really good frogging reels, well they are just good reels in general.

 

Before you buy the reel on TW, check your local Dicks Sporting Goods as they may have some left in store (in store only as online are out of stock), they may still have some LFS reels on sale around $22-45.

[Peacedivision]

Fury 735C can be had for $73.12+tax from ALF right now, that should free up some of your budget

 

Rod is already discounted, stack code DOBYNS25

 

EDIT: Forgot ALF has a $99 free shipping minimum so maybe add a spool of braid for the new reel

[LrgmouthShad]

Lews Carbon Fire 7’3” Heavy for the rod. I don’t care that it’s from DSG. It’s a great frog rod. Your choice on the reel. 

[Catt]

One of my frog setups is a Lew's TP1 Black & a Lew's LFS SS1SHA 7.5:1.

 

Tacklewarehouse

TP1 Black $74.98

LFS SS1SHA $67.48

 

Daiwa Procyon is another good $80 rod

 

I have 4 Lew's LFS reels that are 6 years old, ain't had a single issue. Suggestion keep these little reels clean, paying attention to the worm gear area. 

[Mike L]

Honestly any well balanced, heavy action rod  with a quality mid speed reel spooled with at least 50# braid of your choice, in your price range will suffice for frogs. 
Sensitivity isn’t a concern, neither are high  end guides and inserts. 
 

Every quality well known rod manufacturer has one in thier lineup. 
 

Point is if you don’t like any of the recommendations you get keep looking around. 
It’s not that hard. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[MN Fisher]

Heck - my frog rig is STILL a Fuego CT-XS on an Aird-X - well under $200.

[Reel]

Shimano SLX A baitcaster and 7' 5''  baitcasting rod... right in the same price range.

[LCG]

Don't know anything about the rod, but the lew's lfs is a home run in my opinion. Have two and they are both smooth and cast well. Solid value. 

[Porkchop_Sandwiches]

2 minutes ago, LCG said:

Don't know anything about the rod, but the lew's lfs is a home run in my opinion. Have two and they are both smooth and cast well. Solid value. 

they are on sale right now at tw for $67

[Eric 26]

5 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Lews Carbon Fire 7’3” Heavy for the rod. I don’t care that it’s from DSG. It’s a great frog rod. Your choice on the reel. 

I’m going to second this for the rod. Heck Dicks sporting goods has a hem for around $56.00 currently and Tackle Warehouse is showing the LFS for $67.00 putting you well under $200.00 leaving enough for the 50 pound braid and a

[PBBrandon]

On TW you could pick up a 7’4” H Tatula rod and a Lews LFS on sale. I like Dobyns rods, but the Fury line, especially the 735c, felt a bit too heavy in my hands for my taste. Balance is superb though

 

you also can get a rebate form for a free Daiwa hoodie if you get the Daiwa rod

[Porkchop_Sandwiches]

1 minute ago, PBBrandon said:

On TW you could pick up a 7’4” H Tatula rod and a Lews LFS on sale. I like Dobyns rods, but the Fury line, especially the 735c, felt a bit too heavy in my hands for my taste. Balance is superb though

 

you also can get a rebate form for a free Daiwa hoodie if you get the Daiwa rod

that would save me $30 that I could use towards lures lol thanks for the info

[Brian11719]

One thing I would say is up until a few weeks ago I felt the same way and that a 7'4 heavy didn't need to be expensive and advocated for a less expensive frog rod with the idea being sensitivity doesn't matter anyway. Recently I've found that I like that rod for throwing other lures on it as well and ended up picking up a 7'4 Victory. Long story short if it were me I'd suggest you at least consider what your 'regular' casting rod would be. Have also been throwing a frog on an 8:3 lews speed spool lfs for a couple of years now. It does ok with 50lb braid in it but if I had to do it over again I might consider something with a little more room in the spool...but as long as the frogs you are using are at least 1/2oz or so it should do a decent job.

 

Overall I think either the Fury or the Tatula would be fine for a frog rod. If it were me I might actually lean a bit towards the Tatula even though the warranty isn't as good. Reel wise in my experience the speed spool lfs will do ok but if you are going to be throwing a frog a lot or using the reel for other stuff it might not hurt to consider something with a little more room for the heavier braid. 

 

Just some feedback for you from someone that had been throwing a very similar setup until just recently FWIW...

[Porkchop_Sandwiches]

1 minute ago, Brian11719 said:

One thing I would say is up until a few weeks ago I felt the same way and that a 7'4 heavy didn't need to be expensive and advocated for a less expensive frog rod with the idea being sensitivity doesn't matter anyway. Recently I've found that I like that rod for throwing other lures on it as well and ended up picking up a 7'4 Victory. Long story short if it were me I'd suggest you at least consider what your 'regular' casting rod would be. Have also been throwing a frog on an 8:3 lews speed spool lfs for a couple of years now. It does ok with 50lb braid in it but if I had to do it over again I might consider something with a little more room in the spool...but as long as the frogs you are using are at least 1/2oz or so it should do a decent job.

 

Overall I think either the Fury or the Tatula would be fine for a frog rod. If it were me I might actually lean a bit towards the Tatula even though the warranty isn't as good. Reel wise in my experience the speed spool lfs will do ok but if you are going to be throwing a frog a lot or using the reel for other stuff it might not hurt to consider something with a little more room for the heavier braid. 

 

Just some feedback for you from someone that had been throwing a very similar setup until just recently FWIW...

thanks for the info. I think Im going with the tatula to give me a little more room for a reel. Any suggests in the $100 range? this rig will be 90% frog rod

[Brian11719]

17 minutes ago, Porkchop_Sandwiches said:

thanks for the info. I think Im going with the tatula to give me a little more room for a reel. Any suggests in the $100 range? this rig will be 90% frog rod

If it were me and I could waive a magic wand and start over it would be a curado 200m. That's a bit more pricey than what you are looking to spend but it might be worth checking to see if you can find a last gen curado 200 or tatula 150 on sale. The 13 fishing concept a2 also has a bit more room and looks pretty good but I haven't actually used a 13 fishing reel before...that one also doesn't have external brakes but if you are just going to be using the same lure most of the time that shouldn't be much of an issue and I think those are still on sale at some places right now. Aside from that if your budget is pretty firm around $100 it's going to be hard to argue with the speed spool...always a solid choice at that price point.

[Peacedivision]

Daiwa/tw also have their dxb frog rod on sale for $97

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Daiwa_DXB_Frog_Casting_Rod/descpage-DDXBFR.html

[dk2429]

For sure. I use a Dobyns Sierra 735 for frogs. I got it somewhat recently but love it so far. 

 

As said above, get it on ALF for cheap. May also try another site, they had 25% off all Dobyns rods as well. I wouldn't ever buy a Fury series for full retail price. At $129.99, you can get a Falcon Lowrider which is a much nicer rod at that price point.

 

If you find them in your budget, I'd recommend stepping up to the Kaden or Sierra series. I was going to get the exact 735 Fury as you for frogs, but decided to order a Sierra after feeling the Fury in store. NO regrets. Much nicer rods. But, nothing wrong with the Fury if that's what is in your budget

[Porkchop_Sandwiches]

On 2/17/2025 at 1:13 PM, LrgmouthShad said:

Lews Carbon Fire 7’3” Heavy for the rod. I don’t care that it’s from DSG. It’s a great frog rod. Your choice on the reel. 

bought one of these today. I have a lews lfs 7,5:1 il throw on it with 50lb braid.

[LrgmouthShad]

12 minutes ago, Porkchop_Sandwiches said:

bought one of these today. I have a lews lfs 7,5:1 il throw on it with 50lb braid.

Nice. I think you will really like it. 

[Porkchop_Sandwiches]

2 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Nice. I think you will really like it. 

I do too. I had a airdx 7'0 hf but wanted more casting distance

[Columbia Craw]

Dobyns Kaden 715 or 745 from ALF and the Lews LFS.  Now you have a rod that will double for pitching and jigs.