MarkH024

Happy Birthday. Enjoy the Core! I love mine.

why do you assume that?

Congrats buddy! Give Julie my best and welcome to fatherhood! She'll be tying jigs in no time!

This

Da Bearrsssss. Ditka 42 everyone else -14

Bug spray, flashlight, emergency medical kit, sunblock, food, water, extra clothes, rain gear. Anything to keep you alive in the most extreme circumstances.

A buddy of mine is in that line of work. I don't think he's been to that extreme of heights yet but it doesn't bother him a bit. I would lose my lunch every time, no way I could do it. Fishing out of Burnham Harbor Swimming at the playpen.

There will be Labor Day sales coming up you can save a boat load of money on a DX. As others referenced the DX745 is a sweet stick. I wouldn't mind having a second one myself.

I'm a big bait with braid guy. From musky lures to big bass lures. As long as you don't throw your baits to the moon you shouldn't have any catastrophic events (break offs) while casting. Controlled and smooth casts are the ticket I use either a heavy fluoro leader or sometimes steel to avoid any bite offs. I will say that straight mono/fluoro will give some baits a better performance but I'd rather keep my baits and not risk a toothy critter claiming it. I've never lost a big bait in all the years fishing them. I'm sure it'll happen at some point, there's a first for everything.

Medium, MH, Heavy, XH describe the power of the blank. Moderate/Fast/XF describe the taper (or tip) of the rod in which how far it bends down the blank. So there is no difference to what you questioned. You're more likely wanting to know the difference between a MH/F and a MH/XF in which the two have the same power blank, but different taper. That is more or less a preference. Power ratings vary between manufacturers as well. A MH/F rod is going to be a more versatile tool in your arsenal. If you have many set ups, then perhaps you'd want the MH/XF to be a frog only rod. It all depends on you as the angler. Search the forum for more in depth descriptions on power rating and rod taper.

For me, mine are also used for throwing hollowbelly swimbaits (like a SK Shadalicous), Siebert Fogy (chatterbait), soft plastic buzzbaits (SK Rage Toad/Shad), or an occasional lighter jig. You should be able to find more use than just frogging. MH/F rod is super versatile.

I think a lot of guys claim the Berkley lightning rod is not a bad frog rod around that price point. Perhaps someone else might chime in on that price range for you. My two frog rods are MH/F St Croix Mojos. When one of those dies I'll probably end up with a Dobyns 735c at some point. Or a sale I can't refuse

Well now that you spilled the beans on your rod....it would be advised to step up to a 7'+ MH or H, fast or extra fast tip rod. 6'6 Medium rod is pretty limber for fishing in pads. You will have a far better hook up ratio with something that has more backbone to it. braid should definitely help your cause. If you hook into a pig on that M' action rod, don't horse it or you will snap it like a twig. Tight lines.

Braid and only braid. If you're on spinning gear, 20-30#. Baitcaster 50-65#. If you keep using mono, you'll be buying a lot of frogs. The braid will cut through lily pad stalks and you don't want any stretch frog fishing. Once they inhale the frog and you set the hook, you want to keep that fish closest to the surface as possible. If you don't they'll take you under the abyss and wrap you around lily pad stalks and you're done for.

I have the DX745 and it's a great stick. Super sensitive, well balanced paired with a Core 100 Mg7. I use it for 3/8-3/4oz jigs. I rarely throw jigs under 3/8 so it is the perfect stick for me.

Nice fish my man!

Accu Cull digital is awesome.

Punchin'

This gentleman is on point.

It's a big smallie but no way the weight claimed. The guy IS holding the fish out towards the camera as well so lets not be fooled by that either. He's not pushing it out as some do but he's still holding a good distance from his body and that camera is very close to him. You can tell by his hand holding the fish. Awesome catch regardless and I am envious. The only way its 11lbs+ is if he stuffed its belly with a handful of 2.5 oz tungstens.

Phenomenal smallies A-Jay. Thanks for sharing!

You misinterpreted my post. I understand exactly what you're talking about and I agree with you. I was merely stating that using dull scale hook to puncture a bass for weight is unnecessary. The culling thing is a different subject. Tight lines

I would never leave a cull tag in a fish like that. I also wouldn't use a giant dull hook to puncture in a fish, it's not how its meant to be used for weighing fish. Cull clips are much thinner and pointer than most of the scale hooks out there. The accu-scale like I use allows you to tare the scale once you have something like a fish grip on it for weighing purpose. Or just weight the fish grip which is roughly 4 ounces, and deduct it from your total weight.

Try sliding the hook up the gill and weigh them from the jaw bone instead of puncturing an unnecessary hole in their skin. Just be careful not to grab the actual gills with it. To make your life even easier, buy a fish grip for $12 and hook the scale to that instead. Google - Fish Grip

Accu-Cull. Very accurate and affordable.