ChrisD46

I believe my firend's cardiologist was more concerned with : "What was going on during this period of erratic heart activity " ? then he was about operating ! Also he cardiologist was not a fisherman so he was not too amused ... To borrow from the new Ice Tea commercial (i.e. "It's lemon aid man" !) : "It's frog fishing man - read the sign ... FROG FISHING " !!

Looking for a 7'3 MH casting rod for all - around work out of : Frogs , Jigs , Chatterbaits , Top Water , Flipping , and Pitching Soft Plastics ... All the above series are in the same price range . For those with experience of the brand and models I listed what are your thoughts ? My criteria is a soft enough tip to cast above lures well but with a nice MH butt section to move fish with . Quality , reliability and best bang for the buck value round out requriements ...Thanks in advance ! I would like to consider *** *** *** as well ... Sorry - forget the *** brand and model as there appears to be a problem with the company and or model I wanted compred . The Dobyns Fury vs. the Duckett Ghost series wll do nicely .

A friend of mine was thought to be having heart issues so his cardiologist made him wear an event (heart) monitor for a month . At the end of the month he sees the Doctor and he says : " Things appeared normal - until two weekends ago where by we tabulated some very erratic heart rhythms which has me quit concerned - we may need to operate " ! ... My friend then inquired : "What time specifically two week ends ago do the events occur on the monitor I was wearing " ? Long story short , the times coincided exactly when he had been out hollow body frog fishing and had caught two #4 lb. and one #6 lb. bass - all on a hollow body frog !! ... I about fell over laughing - the event (heart) monitor had captured all of the excitement of my friend's frog fishing trip - I guess what they say about frog fishing is true - It will darn near give you a heart attack when you get bit !!

I have settled on the Sexy Dog Jr. - easy to walk , great action , good colors , good build quality and great overall value .

Thanks !! I am familiar with the company but did not know of this product . The one foot length is ideal ...

The challenge I have found for replacing hollow body frog skirts is that most of the replacement skirts offered (either pre-made of bulk skirt material) are way too short as they are designed for spinner baits and jigs . While the bulk skirt material comes in 5" pads , I believe you really need a 7" to 8" bulk skirt pad length to get started as essentially you are folding it in half once you insert the skirt into the frog ... Anyone with experience in replacing frog skirts know where to find longer bulk skirt pads ??

Would you say then that using translucent colors in clear water is a better generalization than retrieve speed ?

In general , if you have clear water (4 to 5 feet visibility) do you go with a faster retrieve for top water baits plus use translucent colors (even clear !) so bass don't get a real good look at the lure ? ... What has worked best for you regarding clear water , retrieve speed and lure colors ? ... Thanks in advance !

In the South East from TN. down to South GA. that Sept. to Nov. period is prime time for Frog'n ... Heard recently of a group of froggers at Lake Guntersville , AL. who call themselves : "Cheeseheads" and no they are not Packer fans ! They love that Fall time when the mats get "cheesey looking" from the top mat layer starting to decay and foam ... Great stuff !

The Mid West / Ozarks guys have it going on with respect to really understanding the Ned Rig - if you do a little searching you will find guys making excellent mushroom type / style jig heads for the Ned Rig ( a good all - around hook size is a #2 ) . A 6'10" to 7' ML spinning rod , 2500 reel , #10 lb. braid , #6 lb. ~ #8 lb. co-poly leader and lastly - tight lines completes the deal for keeping bass hooked up . *FYI - the hook Bluebasser86 speaks of is deadly and is what I use ... No hook up problems to report !

Bluebasser86: Also great way to get full use of Gliss by flipping it over.

Gliss is a cool deal on a spinning reel - I use an ultra light set up using #8lb. Gliss , #2500 size spinning reel loaded with #6 lb. mono for backing and ONLY 60 yrds. of Gliss spooled on at a time as the top coat . When the top coat of Gliss gets too frayed (I'm down to about 25 to 30 yrds. on the spool any way ) then I strip the remaining Gliss off and re-spool another 60 yrds. on the reel .This way on a spool of 125 yrds. of Gliss I get two spoolings making Gliss very cost effective !

While traditional frog techniques for mats & weeds (although thinning) are still in play for Fall - the real action is about to heat up bombing a shad or all white colored frog out in open water to ride the shad bite ! While shad colored spooks and spinner baits have their place in Fall , I believe less bass are going to see a open water frog which could be an advantage ... What says you regarding your favorite frog'n techniques and frog colors for Fall ?

Reasonable replies - thanks !

In your typical #40 lb. to #65 lb. braid line size do you have a preference between the traditional green color braid or have you switched to the new Hi - Viz yellow color braid for better line visibility ? While I really like the new Hi - Viz yellow color braid in thinner diameter spinning applications - I'm concerned that in the larger braid diameter used for Frog'n that the bright color yellow may make bass line shy ? What says you - green or yellow for Frog'n braid ?

OP here - for those that run <#10 lb. braid , are you using a leader to assist in abrasion resistance or as a shock leader of sorts ? It would seem that once you start getting below .007" diameter visibility of the braid would be a non - factor thus you could just tie straight to the lure with a palomar knot ?

Great replies - Thanks ! I forgot I also have a 7' ML spinning rod with a 2500 President reel I plan to use for the Ned Rig with 1/16th oz. mushroom heads , so here I'm thinking #8 lb. or even perhaps #5 lb. braid would work ?. I fish fairly shallow so lighter weights (i.e. nothing more than 1/8th ~ 3/16th oz. shaky head) . * * One question I forgot to ask (Team9nine , others ?) is whether # 10 lb. braid is sufficient for throwing 5" weightless Senkos (either T-Rigged on 3/0 EWG hook or whacky rigged on a #1/0 Octopus hook ) ? Thanks in advance !

I have a light action rod with a 1500 series Shimano spinning reel and a ultralight rod with a 1000 series Shimano spinning reel that I want to try under #10 lb. test braids with . Power Pro , Gliss , Seaguar and a couple of others make : #8 lb. , #6 lb. , #5 lb. and even down to #3 lb. test braid lines ! Friends of mine suggest just using #10 lb. braid with the above outfits for : Small bass , bluegills and crappie with casting jigs and beetle spins in the 1/32nd oz. to 1/16th oz.size range. Yet , the curiosity of trying these lighter that #10 lb. braids remains . For those who have used under #10 lb. braid - what are the disadvantages and advantages of using such a light braid ? Off the top of my head , my first concern would be shock strength then wind knots followed by dificulty tying knots (with leaders or with straight braid ) . Thanks in advance for sharing your experience , tips and recommendations for using very light braids under #10 lb. test !

THE two common rod failures and how to prevent them : 1) High Sticking : Never allow your rod to go past 11 O'clock while fighting a fish . 2) Lifting Fish With Rod : Don't use your rod to swing a fish into the boat unless you are very experienced and know what your doing . Reel seat and guide breakage are more rare than rod breakage caused by #1 & #2 above ...

^^This^^ ... Seaguar AbrazX #15lb. or C-XX #15 lb. Co-Poly mainline with a #12 lb. mono leader ... You always want your leader to be lighter weight # test so in case you get hung up you break the leader off and not your weight rig .

Still in rehab riding out my last "setback" when someone slipped my credit card with a TW Labor Day sale notice under my door . Ha ! I said , I'm not falling for that trick !! ... About 10 minutes later someone slipped a TW discount code under my door and ... I couldn't help myself !! The number I called however was NOT to TW - it went straight to the hospital Chief Psychologist !! ... Looks like I just earned myself another 90 days in the joint ...

Consecutive near record 90 + degree days upon days on end still hold the South East hostage - send a cold front !

P-Line Flouroclear breaks at or slightly below the rated line rating ! ...I'll use it for leader material with braid but for applications I would have formally used Fluoroclear before - I now use InvisX #6 lb. or Sunline Sniper FC #7 lb.

Yes ! Thanks for the replies - all helpful ! ... My set up is a BPS Pro reel 6:3:1 ratio #30 lb. Braid + leader ; 7' MF action rod ; KVD Dawg Jr. , Chuggers , Wake Baits . I will be happy with 40 yrd. ~ 50 yrd. casting distance all day long ... I believe for me going from 3 to 2 brakes , a little less spool tension and a more educated thumb are the keys to improve distance as everything else equipment wise is reasonable .

As the title suggests , how do you maximize casting distance with a bait cast reel ? As an example , when schooling fish surface and are easily spooked requiring you to keep your distance when throwing walking type baits , wake baits , etc.