Micro

I did that. But Muddy's still here.

That's pretty spectacular. Great talent!

Other companies could take a lesson from it.

I'll pray with you. Rest assured, it is temporary.

You've heard about the Marine F/A-18 that crashed into a house near Miramar, California, killing a young mother, her two children and the grandmother. Perhaps you've seen the father, a Korean immigrant, on television who said of the pilot, "I pray for him not to suffer for this action, I know he's one of our treasures for our country." I don't know about you, but I don't think I could muster that kind of strength. The man showed unimaginable class.

Abe. Took me hours.

We did read it, and you mispelled "comprehension."

Muddy could moderate the Metamucil forum.

I see on another forum you've ruled out the Toro due to weight. In that case, I think the Winch is you next best bet. It's a robust reel and the drag puts the reel in a class by itself. It is definately a reel for heavier baits. It won't cast 3/8 oz lure for poo, but it will cast a 1 oz bait a great distance. I'm sure it will handle even heavier baits just as well.

It's odd to me, too. I actually sent my views to a specific person at Abu Garcia about this very issue. No response. I think there is a huge benefit to having someone from the company involved at the forum level. Abu could take a lesson from Shimano in that respect. Daiwa I can understand. Few of us understand Japanese.

I'd go with the Toro. I think the Winch would work, but the Toro is simply beefier and it would stand up better to long-term heavy work. I don't know how much lighter the Toro would be than what you have, but the size is very similar to the Curado 300.

I think braid's biggest advantage is lack of stretch as opposed to its ability to cut through weeds. My experience in that funky mess in my picture is that braid will cut through lilies. But just as much, if not more, it willl cut into them when you don't want it to. Sometimes you can cast and the line will lay across a stalk or leaves just right and it will saw into them just enough that on retrieve you end having to jerk your frog free, often yanking up pieces of vegetation with it. The line I'm using now does that much less. Yet it is still plenty strong enough to horse a fish out. If I was fishing in pure muck, and not stand-up lilies, I might give brain another try. But in my current environment, I'm just as successful and much less frustrated than I was with braid.

We have a Shimano forum because we have a Shimano rep willing to come here and answer questions. From what I gather, it's not supposed to be a Shimano-worship forum, but rather a forum where you can ask a Shimano rep specific questions. Tackle Tour has a Shimano forum, too, and Bantam answers questions there as well. Tackle Tour was going to have an Abu Garcia forum and an Abu rep was going to be there to answer questions. But that has apparently fallen through and they've taken the forum down. Unless we have a factory rep, I don't see the point in having brand-specific forums. If we could get an Abu tech on the board, that would cover Abu and Pflueger, since both brands are now serviced at the same place at the Pure Fishing HQ in Spirit Lake, Iowa. But it would be a rather empty forum. Abus and Pfluegers don't brake down as much as Shimanos.

Bigger baits, yes. Smaller baits, usually not. I prefer Norman Speed Clips, but they can be a pain (sometimes literally) if your fingers are cold or wet, or really dry.

Who uses hook bonnets? I have them on everything I have that has a treble, except if it has feathers on it. They keep your baits from tangling but taking them off when you want to switch baits is a pain. I'm thinking of just pulling them all off. :-/

First, I'm guessing that a frog rod does NOT need to be especially sensitive so could I get by going fairly cheap on the rod like say $30 or $40 for one, compared to the $100 I'm paying for the Shimano Compre's I like for more sensitive stuff like T-rigs?? You could. But you usually get what you pay for. If you can find a good, stout rod in that price range, great. Second, some say braid, some say copolymer, some say mono. Will braid work for every type of frog fishing, open water or heavy cover?? Will copolymer line do that also?? Yes, either will work in either environment. I like Yo-Zuri Hybrid. It's relatively inexpensive - just a wee bit more than mono, and a lot less than braid. It has next to no stretch. It has has a higher break strength than its rated test. For instance, 12# brakes at 19#, 15# breaks at 21#. Like Roadwarrior, I've never broken off on Yo-Zuri, even when using it with frogs in heavy-duty slop. Third, are there any other type of baits that a heavy stiff frog rod will work to throw, or is it mostly just a frog rod?? I like my rods to do double duty when I can so I don't have to go out with a dozen combos all over my front deck. My frog rod is classed by All Star as a "pitching rod." I use it for jigs, too. It would be suitable for just about any technique that requires a stout, heavy rod.

I was Google Earthing and came across this Chinese AF base. Cool looking camo. Kinda of a grey-scale flower-power look.

http://talonlures.com/shibui.aspx

I used co-poly exclusively to fish frogs, and I do better fishing them than most people I personally know. Here's the "open water" I fish. I actually like co-poly better. It doesn't seem to saw into the water lillies like braid. I get fewer hangups with copoly than with braid.

I was re-reading "Crimson Sky: The Air Battle for Korea" by John Bruning and came across this little gem about an unorthodox way to attack ground vehicles... Although the 3rd Bomb Wing had a long history of tree-top level attacks-during WWII, it had flown strafer versions of the Douglas A-20 Havoc and North American B-25 Mitchell - it had little experience with nighttime attacks on truck convoys. In February 1951, the wing began to experiment with various ways to halt road traffic. One idea was to drop nails at key crossroads in the hopes the passing trucks would suffer tire punctures. The damaged trucks would probably be immobile for several hours, making them vulnerable to fighter-bomber attacks after dawn. That same month, the wing launched Operation Tack. Using 2 C-47s, the wing dropped no fewer than eight tons of roofing nails along four main roads south of Pyongyang. To make their drops as accurate as possible, the C-47 pilots dropped down to less than twenty feet off the roads. Major Robert V. Spencer nearly collided with three North Korean tanks flying down his assigned road. ... Luckily, the other five C-47s did not have such adventures while dumping their nails and they returned home safely. By the next morning, the nails had trapped twenty-eight vehicles, all of which were destroyed in short order by fighter-bombers. The Air Force felt that it was uneconomical to drop 8 tons of nails for just 28 vehicles and the nail idea was abandoned. The AF then developed a little object that looked like a child's jack, with hollow points. These were successful enough that the North Koreans switched to solid tires and mounted brooms on the front of their lead trucks. ;D Good stuff.

Agreed. Braid is hardly "mandatory." I used to fish 17# mono and never had a problem. Now I fish 14# Yo-Zuri Hybrid and am doing better. The line has next to no stretch and has a significantly higher break point than the printed test. A 7'6" rod isn't necessary, either. I fished frogs for years with a 6'10" MH/F and caught many bass. I now fish a 7' H/XF. My main lake is covered in water lilys and horsing them out can be a chore. I've fished frogs on my 7'6" rod and found it's easier to get my frog on target, or pitch them with my 7 footer.

Here's mine: All Star American Classic 7'6" H/XF, Revo S 6.4:1 (flipping) All Star American Classic 7'0" H/XF, Revo STX 7.1:1 (frogs, pitching) All Star American Classic 7'0" MH/F, Revo S 6.4:1 (c-rig) All Star American Classic 6'8" MH/F, Revo SC 7.1:1 (several) All Star American Classic 6'8" MH/F, Revo SC 7.1:1 (several) Team All Star IM10 6'6" MH/F, Revo SX 7.1:1 (worms) Team All Star IM10 6'8" MH/F, Revo SX 7.1:1 (several) Fenwick Elite Tech Crankshaft 7'3" MH/MF, Revo Winch 5.4:1 (deep cranks) Fenwick HMG 7'0" MH, Revo STX 6.4:1 (several, mostly wake/hard swimbaits)) Fenwick HMG 7'0" M, Revo STX 6.4:1 (several, mostly jerkbaits) Fenwick HMG 6'6" MH, Daiwa Fuego 6.3:1(new) (several, mostly plastics) Fenwick HMG 6'6" M, Daiwa Fuego 6.3:1(new) (light cranks, topwater) All Star American Classic 6'6" M/MF, Abu Garcia Caridnal 502 Fenwick HMG 7'0" MH, Cardinal 804 Fenwick HMG 7'0" M, Cardinal 802 Fenwick HMX 6'6" M, Cardinal 802 Fenwick HMX 6'6" ML, Cardinal 802 BPS Bionic Blade 6'0" L, BPS Enticer 5 other Abus with no rods. A couple of other rods with no reels.

I can't comment on the Zillion, since I've only ever messed around with them in the stores. But if it is smoother than the Fuego, it must be very smooth, indeed. The Fuego is very smooth.

When they say that, this is what they really mean...

The Zillions have great reputations. I'm looking at buying some of those myself. But for now, I'm going to enjoy my new Fuegos. I am danged impressed with the Fuego. I just bought two at the killer price of $149.99 each. If you are interested in a brand-new Fuego, this place... http://www.greentophuntfish.com/ ...had them on clearance for $149.99 last week. They may still have some left. If that reel interests you, give them a call. You can order one over the phone and they will ship it to you.