David P

Depends on the time of year, anywhere from 2-7 usually.

Dobyns 734 Savvy Series . Incredible rod for the price, and will throw both plastics and spinnerbaits flawlessly. It's 7'3" which will help you cast that bait further, and help with your hook sets.

I learned to fish a jig with a 1/2oz Football head jig with a pork trailer. Just drag it on the bottom, then pause, and drag again. You'll learn to feel the bottom, and learn what bites feel like. If you go the route of an Arky head or anything like that, you may have trouble feeling a 1/4oz and 3/8oz to start, if so, bump up to a 1/2oz or 3/4oz just so you can get a good feeling of what the bottom feels like.

I really like the Krazy Koura from DichosoBaits, you can pick the color and then whatever flakes you want in the bait. Great action and good price.

Same page as Raul... Doesn't make too much sense to me, but maybe they have good reason. Seems as though anyone that will drop $400 on a reel, will drop a bit more for a Steez.

Longer rod certainly helps for me. I use a 7'3 - 8ft rod, braid, and a 7.1:1 high speed reel. Extremely easy to walk anything be it Spooks, Punkers, Frogs, even baits that aren't meant to walk.

I use a Dobyns 705 Glass Rod, it's awesome. The thing is light as all hell, which most glass rods are not. Well worth the money. I use it for cranking, rip biats and top water baits. I have a Revo STX on mine and it balances perfectly. It was the only rod I used all throughout winter, never got tired. Awesome rod.

If budget is an issue, there are ways to still get expensive nice setups, and save some money. Crankbaits, Spinnerbaits, Frogs, and other baits you don't necessarily need all the sensitivity for, you can skimp on these rods and then spend the extra on bottom bait rods. I personally think after experiencing both ways, that it's better to slowly buy expensive setups than buy a bunch of crappy ones.

really? How much does it weigh? The 766 is heavy! Powells in general are actually quite light, BUT they're very tip heavy making them feel much heavier. It's what sold me on Dobyns instead of Powell way back when. Balanced rods feel so much better.

I'm 5'10-ish , I pitch with a 7'9 and 8ft rod with ease, I throw these two rods more than anything else year round and the longer rods help a ton with pitching. You can pitch further, for me it's far more accurate. Granted if you're in an aluminum boat it's harder then it is from shore or from a bass boat.

Dobyns 735 or 766 Savvy Series if you're set on that price range of rods. Also depending on the type of cover you're fishing. Both great rods, and very versatile.

Price rangers would certainly help. I use a Dobyns 795 Extreme and 765 Champion for flipping, and a Dobyns 702 Spinning Rod for finesse fishing. Amazing sensitivity, balance, and feel.

Hands down ! The Perfect frog is now being made the same way as well. Snag Proof is the best, no comparison.

People put far too much thought into all of this. Do whatever feels comfortable. I am right handed, but hold the rod in my left hand. I can't set the hook nearly as hard or as smoothly with my right hand. I've tried switching to LH reels and it's just too awkward.

Something in the 7'3 - 8ft range is IDEAL for Frogging, Jigging, Swimbaits, and deep cranking. But the action desired in a cranking rod is typically much different then the other techniques listed. A Dobyns 766 would work well for Swimbaits, Frogs, Jigs, but it would be far too stiff to throw crankbaits. You'd rip the hooks out of their mouth much too easily. Get a rod for Frogs,Swimbaits and Jigs, and then get a cheaper Cranking Rod. That'd be my advice.

1/2oz and 3/4oz Dirty Jigs Pitchin Jig . Too many favorite colors to list just one.

Without a price range, I would HIGHLY recommend the Dobyns 702 Spinning Rod. Perfect for everything you listed and much much more. Amazing all around spinning rod. I would go with the Champion in the $200 range, or the Savvy if you're looking to spend under $150.

Curado and Zillion for me have cast light baits very similarly. Curado weighs a bit less, which depending on the rod you're using can be a good thing or bad thing. If the rod is already tip heavy, the heavier reel can balance it out making it feel lighter. A lot of it is a matter of preference. Both will perform very well, both are solid reels. Can't go wrong with either.

Snag Proof makes a frog box kit that is absolutely amazing. They have everything in there to modify your frogs. Tools to help you add skirt colors, markers to color, rattles to add to your frogs, and more. Check it out, that's where I got my rattles for all my frogs.

Hand strip line out.

Right now there's no Savvy Cranking rods. BUT there's no comparison in my mind with the Savvy Rods and Powell. The Savvy rods are far better balanced (major weak point in the Powell rods), and the quality is incredible. I only have one Savvy, it's a 735, but I've held a Powell 735 and it's an easy decision. The Savvy series are the real deal. While I agree that the Dobyns rods are better than Powells I believe the balance issue is blown out of proportion. I would call it a minor weak point, not a major weak point. Dobyns rods are better, but, in my opinion, most people will see a moderate difference, not a tremendous difference. I compare my Powells to my G.loomis MBR844c GLX and while the GLX is better it is not so huge as to pretend there is no need for comparison. What length are your powell rods? 7ft and under there's only a minor difference. But there is a night and day difference between a 7'6 - 8ft Powell and a 7'6-8ft Dobyns. Better balancing rods truly do help with fatigue, although some may not have issues with that.

Right now there's no Savvy Cranking rods. BUT there's no comparison in my mind with the Savvy Rods and Powell. The Savvy rods are far better balanced (major weak point in the Powell rods), and the quality is incredible. I only have one Savvy, it's a 735, but I've held a Powell 735 and it's an easy decision. The Savvy series are the real deal.

The dobyns rods are better balanced, and higher quality, hence the price... They are incredible rods though, and well worth it. Smaller guides, better balances, more sensitive, very well worth the additional money. 705 Glass Crankin rod is great for cranking, 734 is one hell of a senko and t-rig rod. Feel free to PM me if you want some help picking the perfect rod for your fishing conditions.

If you're PUNCHING you need the 736, there's no reason to not get the stiffer rod for punching and frogging. Heavy cover pitching and flipping the 735 would be a great rod, but for punching and frogging you'll want the 736. Grab one of each and you'll be set . Both are AWESOME rods.

I personally have a 702C Dobyns rod and think it's the perfect Shaky Head / Drop Shot rod. I cast 1/8oz baits with no problem with it. The reel will play a large part of your casting abilities, but the rod is easily able to cast 1/8oz baits if needed.