I know almost everyone recommends a heavy action rod for frogs. I don't often fish frogs, so I don't have a dedicated frog rod, but the Monkey is insisting I buy one for the few times I do fish them. I understand the need for heavy gear to get the bass out of the thick cove which is the only place I throw a frog. I also prefer to cast as far as possible with a frog in order to cover as much water as possible. My problem is the heavy action rod I have is a 7.5 foot heavy power fast action. The rod works well for winching bass out of the thick stuff, but does not cast a 1/2 oz frog well. I have a 7.5 medium heavy fast that casts a frog completely out of my zip code, but is too soft to really put the hammer to bigger bass. I use braid for all frog fishing, so line stretch is not a factor. What rod do members like, and if you like a heavy rod, how are you able to get it to load enough to cast 1/2 oz frogs. My heavy rod will cast 3/4 oz lures as far as I could ever want, but my frogs are a little light.

You can get a frog rod with a soft tip or a little bend to it.

ALX Toadface is a good example, though that's technically MH+ by rating.

Expride is also a popular option.

It's been a hot minute since I've laid hands on a Dobyns, but the Champ 735 used to be a standard.

What's your budget before I start really naming nonsense?

8 minutes ago, PGA Dropout said:

What's your budget before I start really naming nonsense?

$150 but I have been known to go over budget.

I really like the Irod gen 3 Fred’s magic stick a lot! It has caught me many many frog bass up to 9 lb and it works well for setting the hook up close and far away - pretty versatile. It’s a heavy action but it has some tip and I can skip and cast smaller frogs in addition to bigger frogs well with it. The guides are Fuji and seem to stand up to all the braid and junk and horsing fish through slop with flying colors.

I love my eye crosser for frogs and other slop baits. It is a 7-power falcon which is truly a heavy but it has more than enough tip to throw a 1/2 oz pad crasher on 50 lb braid more than 40 yards. I know this because my braid was starting to run low on that rod and I was casting 10 yards of mono backing on top of the 40 yards of braid that was still on the reel (I was trying to milk it). I have since topped up the braid and it still throws it an incredible distance.

The rod is also a 1/2- 1.5 oz rated and I’ll throw a 6” swimbait (like a magdraft) on it as well as 3/4-1 oz bladed baits. I prefer a shorter rod for moving blade baits as well as frogs so the 6’11” is just right for me.

The eye crosser is in the Cara series which has just gone up ($300) to well over your budget. But they offer it in the Expert as the Bayou model and it’s $250. Still over, but if it also gives you added utility it might be worth it.

I don't throw frogs as much as I should, so I wanted a rod that could pull double duty. I found the Falcon BuCoo in a 7' H. It's been great when I frogged, but it also is my pitchin'/flippin stick. Very light for the rating and Academy usually has them on sale for $99.00.

The Dobyns Kaden 745C can be had at your budget limit.

12 hours ago, Big Swimbait said:

I found the Falcon BuCoo in a 7' H.

I'm not sure if you have the 6-17 lizard dragger or the 7-17 dragger 2 but I can vouch for the 7-17. It's a monster for a shorter frog rod at $100.00. Just enough tip to launch a bait and more than enough backbone to drag them out. It'll definitely handle other baits as well. I've thrown 1/2 ounce spinner baits and larger worms on mine and it worked well. Probably make a good carolina rig rod too but ain't nobody got time for that. 😆

@MyKeyBe - I'm not Big Swimbait, so not sure what he's using. But I have the 6-17 bucoo (as well as the Expert 6-17 "Buzzbait") and while I loved that rod for 1/2 oz moving baits, it's a little light for me for a frog rod. With braid and light to moderate cover it would be okay, but it isn't the rod I'd be making 40 yard casts across mats with. I've always wanted to check out the 7-17 in hand. I have the eye crosser and amistad in the 7-power series and both are great rods.I don't think I need the 7-17 but I'd love to have it on the water for a day to play with.

I like my cashion element z2 frog rod. It’s a 7’3 heavy fast but can still cast frogs very far with a Daiwa silver wolf(zillion spool). It had enough tip to cast them but enough power to get them out of cover.

First of all let me say that all three frogs I've weighed all weighed less than their listed weight. Totally opposite of every other lure I've weighed. Second let me ask what size braid are you using? I originally used 40# braid (Sufix Performance on a Gen1 STXL) with an OG Tatula 7'4" HF. Cast 1/2 oz. frogs just fine. Then I decided to use it as a dedicated frog rod. Spooled 60# braid on a Curado 201E7. It hurt distance.

Unfortunately that rod was stolen so now I need to decide on a new dedicated frog rod. Maybe two. One short, one long. Both will be HF rods. Most of my current frogs are 1/2 oz.

I use the Tatula XT 7’4 Heavy frog rod. It does the job it needs it and it can launch a 1/2oz frog.

1 hour ago, MiceNReets said:

I use the Tatula XT 7’4 Heavy frog rod. It does the job it needs it and it can launch a 1/2oz frog.

I currently use a Tatula 7'6" heavy fast for frogs and flipping. A bit light for heavy punching and two heavy for me to cast frogs. It does work for both applications, but I would like to be able to cast the frogs further with a little less effort. If Frogs were 1 oz it would be a perfect frog rod. It sounds like everyone uses a heavy fast rod for frogging. How do anglers get the rod to load with only a 1/2 oz frog? Does anyone else have difficulty casting frogs with a heavy rod?

8 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

I've always wanted to check out the 7-17 in hand. I have the eye crosser and amistad in the 7-power series and both are great rods.I don't think I need the 7-17 but I'd love to have it on the water for a day to play with.

My thought process on buying the dragger 2 was a poor man's eye crosser or I want an eye crosser but don't want to spend $250.00 (at that time) for a frog rod. It works very well for what I wanted but would probably have little value to you since you already have an eye crosser. Maybe if you needed a dedicated shorter budget frog rod and didn't mind losing some sensitivity vs. the cara. It definitely has more power than my 6 series pitching stick. 😆

23 minutes ago, king fisher said:

It sounds like everyone uses a heavy fast rod for frogging. How do anglers get the rod to load with only a 1/2 oz frog? Does anyone else have difficulty casting frogs with a heavy rod?

Another reason I like the dragger 2. It's a 7 power rod rated 3/8-1 3/8. I have no problem launching a pad crasher as far as I need it to go and it has enough power to get them out. Far enough that my aging eyes occasionally have a hard time tracking it from the shore anyway.

2 hours ago, king fisher said:

I currently use a Tatula 7'6" heavy fast for frogs and flipping. A bit light for heavy punching and two heavy for me to cast frogs. It does work for both applications, but I would like to be able to cast the frogs further with a little less effort. If Frogs were 1 oz it would be a perfect frog rod. It sounds like everyone uses a heavy fast rod for frogging. How do anglers get the rod to load with only a 1/2 oz frog? Does anyone else have difficulty casting frogs with a heavy rod?

I use 40lbs braid these days and a TD Zillion or 2018 Bantam and they sling 1/2oz and up no problems. I’ll also use a perfect pitch or evergreen combat 7’3 Heavy as well and I have no issues with those rods either.

My all time favorite frog rod which I regret selling after 9-10 hard seasons in it was the Scott Martin Okuma TCS frog/swimbait rod. 7’3 Heavy. I used that rod is all kinds of slop and it wouldn’t quit. It seemed a little soft but it would not break at all and I tried at times just putting it through the limits. But it did cast Jackall Kaera frogs all the way up to spro king daddy frogs with no issues at all.

2 hours ago, king fisher said:

I currently use a Tatula 7'6" heavy fast for frogs and flipping. A bit light for heavy punching and two heavy for me to cast frogs. It does work for both applications, but I would like to be able to cast the frogs further with a little less effort. If Frogs were 1 oz it would be a perfect frog rod. It sounds like everyone uses a heavy fast rod for frogging. How do anglers get the rod to load with only a 1/2 oz frog? Does anyone else have difficulty casting frogs with a heavy rod?

I have an old Zillion 7'6" HF that I've considered for my long frog rod. It's rated 3/8 to 1-1/2 oz. For the short rod either a Quantum Tour Edition or Superlite 6'10" HF. These two rods are rated 1/4-5/8 oz. but that has to be for lead only. An even shorter possibility is an old Cabela's XMLTiC 6’6” MHF rated 3/8-2 oz. I also have the following model in the same length and power but it is only rated for 1/4-1 oz. All it takes is a glance at their tips to tell the two rods apart. I really don't see me using the older model for anything if I don't use it for frogs.

Look at the Dobyns Frenzy 735C from DSG. They are $70 with full cork handles. Worth every penny. I think they only have 4 Frenzy Models so its pretty limited. But I have two of the Fenzy735's. One is a dedicated Frog rod and the other I use as a loaner, Truck, Camping rod.

@LGDFW they added a couple new models in split grip config to the frenzy line recently.

Can't imagine socking a bunch of money into a frog rod where sensitivity is non existent.

Paid $99 for a Speed Demon pro and it casts 1/2 oz well and yanks them out of the junk.

4 minutes ago, Bird said:

Can't imagine socking a bunch of money into a frog rod where sensitivity is non existent.

Paid $99 for a Speed Demon pro and it casts 1/2 oz well and yanks them out of the junk.

Looks around in shame holding his Steez AGS frog rod.