Falkus

Most expensive is what I use for bottom contact: NRX 803 and 873 with both having the shimano Core 50 with 7.7 brecious gears and both have longer handles

Divorce: Worth it cuz its a beauty ...

All 2025 I’d been stuck catching nothing but dinks—until August 31st at 8:32 AM. I tied on a bubblegum soft jerkbait, gave it two twitches, and BAM! The hit was so strong I set the hook and that bass launched straight out of the water like it was riding a bull. I couldn’t help but grin and yell, ‘HELLA YEAH, ABOUT TIME"

@FloridaFishinFool Behold! My soon-to-be precious, captured from eBay at a bargain. I’m never letting this one go and all MINE!

Try to Potomac river, sometimes it would get so chocolate, I have to throw bubble gump lures for it to see.

I had the same problem last month, It was just like yours @Big Hands and I havent not USED IT YET lol. It was sitting in the shelves for a while. SO I am debating where to get one, TWH is out right now and most of the places that wanted double price. Where did you get yours ..

Gotcha, I'm majority shore fisher as I do not own a boat. Those insights that you guys provided me are useful. I'm still keeping an eye out on that Rick Clunn on ebay lol ...

I'm also keeping an eye on one of the blue Rick Clunn reels on eBay just for fun—I’d probably give it to my kid once I win but I rarely do. However, I just need to get one cuz he LOVES BLUE and this is PERFECT for a 5 year old boy. By the way, some of you are actually using 6.x:1 ratio gears for frogging? I’m a little surprised—unless I’m mistaken, as some of you were referring to older models as all-around reels.

Yes, I was mainly trying to get a feel for used reel prices since I’ve never paid full retail—everything I’ve picked up has been either 50% off or from eBay. Now, @FloridaFishinFool, have you been spying on my Chrome history? 😆 I was literally just browsing some Rick Clunn and Carbonlite reels before posting this, so it feels like you read my mind. I saw a few in the 6.4:1 range, except that Carbonlite which comes in 8.5:1. I wouldn’t mind grabbing either the Johnny Morris Gold Series or the Carbonlite. If I ever need replacement parts, I know I can call the online store, but is there a way to check and order those parts directly online myself to change out the gears to higher ratio as you have experience? what is your recommendation on how I approach this, Its been age since i last ordered gear parts from them. Keep this going, I'm actually enjoying getting some perspective from others on this "Frog reel". Would 6.4.1 be slow or should I still have the high ratio 7 and above ?

Yeah, I’ve owned several pairs of those reels over the years, including the STX Gen 2 models. I ended up selling them to pick up a few Daiwa SV Series baitcasters—both the SV103H and XS models—back in the day. That's why I'm looking again at the Pro Qualifer 2 but I just realized that I might have swapped the gear on it to higher one, I will need to do a spool test this week to determine the gear ratio.

The Shimano Core 50Mg7 with 7.7:1 brass gears (Shimano Brenious set) That's what I have on my two NRX rods (803 C JWR & 873 CRR)

I just realized I don’t have a reel dedicated for frogging, so I’m trying to find a budget-friendly option. Been browsing eBay to see what’s out there. Any suggestions for a solid reel that won’t break the bank? Right now I’m looking at either a used Bass Pro Pro Qualifier (7.5:1) or an Abu Garcia Revo STX (7.1:1). One of the Revos I found is pretty beat up, but the gears still seem to be working, lol and Daiwa CR80HS 7.5:1 Gear Ratio. What are your thoughts? I’m trying to keep it under $50—though I might be able to stretch a bit if I sell another reel I’ve been thinking about moving.

Now, that's a HONEST GUY, we cant always be the breadwinner!

Glad that it did not turn out worst.... Leaving at your lake house should be okay, if not trust the neighbors, put that Kayak inside

I tried it again with braided line (40 lb Sufix 832 Ghost), and it worked much better for me. I was able to maintain control and pull rattletrap out of the grass much more easily. I think I’ll stick with this setup for now.

Good Video ...It's always nice to learn something and get some other perspective.

learned something today ...I have never seen this before and dont want to.

Never got bird nest on spinning rods in my whole life except once during that huge wind storm. Most of the time is the braid on baitcaster ...

Got both Zillion 100 HA and SHA for ripping rattletraps. What do you guys prefer? I’m running 50 lb braid for grass/weeds, but the HA (6.3:1) feels a little slow and am using 12lbs Yo-Zuri hybrid line. Thinking about switching it up line to 50lbs . Also have a Crazy Crank (4.9:1) for chatterbaits to crawl them along the bottom. Is there anywhere to grab gear sets to bump these up to 7.1:1? Checked TackleTrap but they’re out. Any other sources?

I can skip pretty well with a spinning rod, but for baitcasters, I’ve got a dedicated setup—6' MH/F rod paired with a Daiwa SV103 (8:1). Tried longer rods, but I just end up slapping the water like I’m mad at it. Found that a smooth-bottom jig (around 1/4 oz) helps with less friction, but… I still suck at it.

@ElGuapo928 I’m trying to picture how this works, but if you have some photos of your setup, I’d love to see them. I might grab some Zebco mono from Wally World and give it a try.

You’re not alone. I was all about the Carbon Lite rods—until they switched to those white blanks. Silent boycott. Hated the look. I wanted black or at least simple colors. Now that they’ve gone back? Future purchase, no question. Just picked up the 6'9" Light (Super Finesse) rod and it’s a perfect match with my Scorpion 70 or Daiwa T3 with an SV spool. Smooth setup. Haven’t gone full BFS yet, though. For moving baits, I’m rocking Dobyns for now, but I’m open to others. For bottom contact? All NRX 803C and 873 CCR. Sensitivity so good I swear I can feel a bass fart on the line with craws.

Just c Just checked—it's about $3 cheaper than Amazon, but with $8 shipping. I might go that route… unless my wife just says, 'Put it on Amazon!' 😂 Thanks for all the input, guys. Might just wait for Tackle Warehouse to restock, but knowing my luck, that could take forever.

Had a bottle of U-40 cork sealer sitting around for a couple of years. Finally cracked it open—completely dried out. Tried hot water to revive it—nope. Wife says, “Just toss it.” Tackle Warehouse is out, and Amazon wants $17.98 for what TW usually sells for $7. Do I bite the bullet, or has anyone had luck with alternatives like Kelly’s Cork Renew?