tnt2671

you feel line strech in 60 and 80lb fx2! id really love to hear you testing method on this one. sunline flat out puts power pro and most other braids to shame

leader for frogging = no what is everybody's obsession with running leaders anyways?? theres a time and place for them and frogging is just not one of them!

x2 , if it's going to be a dedicated frogging rod, heavy F or XF( i prefer fast vs extra fast but either will work well ) with at least 40lb braid , personally 50-65lb even better. that would be your best bet , a 6'6 medium rod with 10lb mono is really not going make your frogging a very enjoyable experience. frogging is one of those techniques you need the right equipment and i'm not from the belief that you need a different rod for every different type of bait but frogs aint one of them

to bad you weren't local i'd give you the brand new bottle that i did the remaining 3 rods that went already sealed and it didn't even put a dent in it , you could literally seal 100+ rods with one bottle. the stuffs going to go bad before i ever use it again

u40

x2, at original msrp no way but for what you can grab them for now great reels! carbontex defiantly an major improvement and the best $8.00 you'll ever spend on the reel. but i've fished them stock and they get the job done no problem.

the lexas and new gen excellers are awesome reels for the money and very user friendly , great choice!!

improved cinch , easy to learn easy to tie correctly , strong and works on everything , the only knot i ever use for any line any lb , never had one fail , only exception obviously if I'm tying leader on or backing to main line then it's 100% alberto. i have tried pretty much all the latest and greatest along with the established popular knots and always go back to the cinch because it doesn't care if its braid , fluoro or mono or what lure your tying it to

x2 ordering the brass 7.1 gear set as we speak!! this and any 50 size shimano scorpion , curado , core

i just spooled up some shooter 20lb ( usually run braid) verdicts still out on this vs the trusty old braid , at this point i think both have there positives and negatives. the biggest plus to the fluoro i noticed for a bottom contact like senko is the lack of bow in the slack line it's great for feel not having that. coming off braid though i'm not quite used of the stretch yet and shooter is supposed to be low in that department i can't imagine fluoro that has high stretch must feel like straight up rubber band.

hollow body frogs are my go to lure i fish them in season every time I'm out which is usually 4 to 6 days a week sometimes i'll actually throw nothing but frogs all day . my advice would be get yourself a mh fast IF this will be your only bait casting rig as it will be a more versatile rod for other techniques, if you are buying the rod exclusively for frogging me personally i'd go with a heavy fast action . length wise it's all personal preference and there is no best length it's what is comfortable for YOU my catch and hookups are just as good if not better with my sorter rod why because it's more comfortable for me to throw accurately and work the frog with for long periods of time, my current favorite frog rod is my 6'9'' megabass super destroyer with a scorpion 51 or a core 101 spooled with fx2 50lb braid. i also use my 7'3'' kistler depending on were i'm frogging. as for line i see no need to go any lighter than 40lb , i'd suggest 50 -65 lb you'll have all the strength you need especially if you run quality braid such as fx2 ( i can't say enough about this stuff it's awesome) because it's diameter runs small vs it's lb rating. with heavier braids you won't have dig in issues and it's well worth the money for the quality stuff. reels your choice go for ratios in the 6's on up. as for missing strikes that could be hook set timing , smaller fish short striking, the frogs you using( booyah and spro are solid but theres tons others out there) , buy both junior and full size frogs downsizing on some days makes all the difference, tweaking hooks helps and defiantly a spinning rod with 8lb mono is far from optimal. get the correct rod ,reel and line then i would suggest get out there and practice because all the advice given here about wait x amount of time , this length rod etc. is good advice but every strike is different sometimes it's get smashed and a instant hook set works other times you might slowly take up that slack and feel for pressure which can be seconds, cover , bank vs boat all come into play. i will say don't be afraid to throw them into the thick stuff i mean the nastiest of the nasty right up in the bushes , reeds , drag them form shoreline vegetation back into the water frogs are amazing as they'll go through just about anything. i'm not at all trying to sound like I'm dean rojas here but i am very successful with my frogs and practice and time on them is what got me there best of luck to you!

i have always been a braid or braid with leader guy , after hearing all the stories about running straight fluoro i drank the kool-aid and bought some shooter. i spooled it up last night on my core 101 and boated about a dozen fish today (nothing special all sub 3 lbrs) on it using both t rigged plastics and jigs. for me i still prefer straight fx2 or braid with leader if needed. it had more stretch than i expected , was great for pitching t rigs due to the lack of bow in slack line and sensitivity was good but in 20lb you need to keep that thumb working on any moderate or harder casts manageability is not horrible but far from great and i knew this going in.but to me for the techniques i bought the shooter for fx2 just does everything better but sink. i understand fluoro has its place i just wasn't that impressed but i am glad i tried it and i have a half a spool left that'll last me a while for leaders.

you just described one of my exact setups its nice

all the time for both small and largemouth , current would be the only determining factor

i like them all but my scorpion xt1001's and my core101 are my keepers.

my go to frogging stick is a 6'9 f6 super destroyer , absolutely love it!!

if i was in your budget area my choice would be a new gen diawa exceler on a kistler carbon steel/ pro series you would be well under $200.00 and have a great setup that wouldn't break the bank

on booyahs and spros a little hook adjustment goes a long way and they get better with a couple dozen fish on them rubber softens up and your hookup ratio will improve. i rarely ever miss a fish on my frogs but do remember small fish will hit them and lots of time thats what you'll miss on because they don't inhale them. if your missing larger fish on your frog i'd say it's in you hook set timing

booyah and spro in certain colors , the junior size is my go to bass slayer!!

fishing for smallies on a 5" black and blue and came up with this

i've seen lexas on sale for aprox $60.00 and for that price you won't beat it both the new gen expellers and lexas are a great little reel. you want the 100 not the 300. the bucoo sticks are not bad a buddy of mine had a few again would i pay retail for one no, but if you can find one on the cheap (walmart had them in their clearance rod rack ) paired with the lexa you would have a solid setup.

not to sound like a know it all but i struggled with tennis elbow for 3+ years and got to the point were i needed surgery as pt , cortisone,anti inflamitories, icing rest and other non surgical methods had totally stopped working. mine was due to repetitive motion at work and years of racing bikes. i fish every day i can in season usually 5 -6 days a week. certain motions are bad, the worst being straight arm palm down repetitive motions. certain people are predisposed to tennis elbo. lean small framed folks with heavily muscled forearms are the most susceptible because the muscle just grinds the tendon against the bone because theres just not enough room in the compartment in certain positions under load. the 2 things i use EXTREME caution doing while fishing are i NEVER pitch or flip palm down if you have the symptoms of te using a big flipping stick and flicking that wrist backhanded with an extended arm is a recipe for disaster , the other is frogs or repetitive action style baits. always keep a bend in your arm and again never backhand always handshake form or palm up if possible. there are a few great streches that anybody who has this issue should be doing daily fishing or not trust me if you inflame that tendon enough for enough time you'll be looking at the path i had to take and the recovery from the surgery is not short it took almost a year after surgery until i was near 100%. the brace listed above does work and it bought me an extra years worth of work before surgery but if your getting consistent pain you need to modify how your doing things that are causing the pain.

i've tried many different but fx2 and pp are my go to.

braid or mono improved cinch on everything never had one fail

i own several of both reels and thats a tough choice. i guess it would come down to is it going to be your only reel? my scorpions get the most use of all my reels super simple , look and feel is just perfect ( I'm a huge shimano 50 fan , imho the best reel ever produced especially if you have a smaller hand). but if i was only own one reel i would go ci4+ purely because it's a workhorse plain and simple , available in higher gear ratio which is a plus for me , stronger drag should you decide to get into bigger fish or species other than bass and the newer gen brakes have more fine tuning capabilities, not that the old system wasn't great but it's nice to have the option to fine tune when needed. don't get me wrong i have reeled in a few 20 plus lb pike on my scorpions with no issues but if i was to have only one i'd go ci4+.