Something to consider. Baits like the Whopper Plopper and Mini Slammer are heavy (not for swimbaits but compared to most bass tackle) and have treble hooks. I would not recommend throwing them on a "frog rod", you can...but in my personal experience this season, you WILL lose fish. A rod for frogs and jigs is generally going to be fast or extra fast action. I used my jig rod which is a 7'2" HF for my whopper plopper 130 this year. Did it cast it a country mile? Yes. Did I catch lots of fish with it....yes. Did I, on two occasions, lose what would have been my personal best smallmouth mere feet from the boat...yes. Was it because of the rod? I don't blame gear on my lost fish but I do blame myself for using the wrong gear. Using braid and a fast rod, and having a big smallie come up and shake like it's life depends on it, was a recipe for disaster. With such a fast action the rod wasn't able to absorb the headshakes and with the weight of the lure the fish had zero issue dislodging it. 

 

That's another thing to consider here...line. For Frogs you're probably going to want 30-50lb braid. Not exactly crankbait line. 

 

IMO it sounds like what you're asking for is a hybrid of 3 different rods. Something for frogs, jigs. Something for cranks and spinnerbaits, and something for the heavier "swimbait" type lures. I really think you'll be happier in the long run getting a rod that is going to fit one of those categories, so that down the road you will be adding to your rod lineup...not replacing it. 

iabass8  would you agree the swimbaits like the Huddleston Deluxe Weedless Shad which is around 4 inches and weighs 5/8 of an ounce would be okay on the 735C and that is probably why it has " small swimbait" as a suggested technique for that rod.  

I've got a 735 you can handle if you want at some point when I have meetings closer to your office.  A buddy of mine that works in Waterbury is a Dobyns Pro Staff he might be able to help.  Nice living in and working for a tiny state.

1 hour ago, webertime said:

I've got a 735 you can handle if you want at some point when I have meetings closer to your office.  A buddy of mine that works in Waterbury is a Dobyns Pro Staff he might be able to help.  Nice living in and working for a tiny state.

 

That would be great! It's hard living in a State with so few tackle shops that actually carry some of the big name brand rods/reels that you can actually go there and try out how they feel in person. Sometimes we have to rely on reviews online before making a purchase. I'm thinking I have a couple of okay rods for smaller stuff already but I'm big into top water and would like to get some into the smaller swim baits in the 1.0 to 1.5oz. range so I would like a rod that can handle those style baits well (even if it's not specifically made for them).

On 2/10/2017 at 10:26 AM, iabass8 said:

....said nobody ever

Yeah it is compared to the rest of the lineup lol most stout rod in my collection by far. 

On 2/10/2017 at 0:06 PM, WRB said:

It's not a Dobyns rod, but Irod's Fred Magic IRG754F will do everything you are asking of 1 rod.

Tom

That is definitely a good rod too!