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Medium heavy rod OK for frog fishing??

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I started to buy a frog lure at the store yesterday and changed my mind about it.  Seems I've read here that you need a heavy rod with heavy line to do it right.  Can I just use the medium heavy Shimano Compre rod I have with 14 pound fluorocarbon line on it??  

Yes you can use it.  You may find some issues with the flouro sinking and pulling your frog down though.  I'm not too familiar with flouro, but I do know that it sinks.

It may not be the most ideal setup to use, but you'll still have fun fishing it.  I fish frogs on a MH extreme rod spooled with 12 pound mono.   ;)

correct me if I'm wrong, but I came to believe that heavy rods were mainly used for frogs because of where you'd possibly be throwing the things (Pads, thick vegetation etc...) in case you hooked into a fish that did figure 8's through the pads a heavy rod would be needed to horse the fish out.

Having said that, MH should be fine depending on where you're throwing the frog, for example the edge of pads or vegetation where you might not get hung up as much vs in the middle of the mess.

  • Super User

Do it right and go heavy with either 20+ line or big bad braid. Hookem, get them on pad, and flip them in.

  • Super User

As usual, it depends ( how many times I 've said that ?  :-? ), it depends on what you plan to fish with the frog, I wouldn 't go with a MH rod if I were to fish a frog, for example, upon a lilly pad bed, but I would use it if I were, for example, to fish a hydrilla bed where the weeds have barely surfaced.

  • Author

I have yet to discover any lilypads on my lakes.  It's almost all just weeds or nothing at all for vegetation.  A frog rod might not even be needed where I fish.  

  • Super User

I used lilly pad bed as an example, it don 't mean that there must be lilly pads, where I fish there are no lilly pads, but there are bullrush ( cattail/tule ) beds, the wind bends and blows down the leaves leaving them on the surface creating a mat, I wouldn 't fish a frog with a MH rod upon those either.

It 's a matter of application, depending upon on what you are going to fish with the frog you may need or may not need more power, if you say you don 't  necessarily need a frog rod then most likely you don 't need a frog rod.

A heavy rod would be useful in some situations. But I would say that for your application you'll be fine with a MH. There is a lake near me with almost exclusively pads and I drag frogs all day in there using a MH rod and my only requirement for frogs is braid and a strong battery in the case that you have to chase a fish into the pads to get them out.

  • Super User

Why not ? (unless you're fishing a tournament) It's more of a contest. Think of it like ultra light, the fish has the edge, can you beat him ?

Maybe consider throwing modified Snag Proof frogs. At half the cost of Spros it won't sting as bad when you lose one. C'mon, where's the fun in tow truckin' a bass out of the slop if no $$$ is on the line ? ;)

Haha bilgerat! You know you have to beat the person in the boat standing next to you!  Just kidding!  Thats a good point and I almost always use the soft plastic type of frogs.

  • Super User

I would use the heaviest rod I had, but I wouldn't use FC.  BVraid is a great fit for frogs.

  • Super User

I have had great luck with my MH rod with frogs and 12# XL, but I do not fish around lilypads or  real thick mat.  You should be fine.

  • Super User

I fish an MH rod with braid in lily pads and heavy grass without problem.

Check out Dean ROjos frog rod . I beleive that is a MH. You do not need a Telephone poll to fish the frog. The Braid is a must i feel to get the frog to walk. Sinking floro makes it next to impossible to walk in place. Plus the braid helps cut through the grass if he pulls you down.

I like to use a MH rod for my frog fishing. Never really had a problem horsing fish either. I would however suggest that you use braid if you're going to be fishing it over grass or pads. Otherwise try the fluoro. If it gives you problems working the frog then I would switch it out. I've used mono with frogs when working them over open water with no problems.

You'll want a 7'6" or longer rod to go frogging. Right now I use a 765 Powell, which is a MH. Works great, but I am thinking about going up to the 766 to get more power to get them out of those weeds. Gotta have a good backbone to keep them up out of the weeds. Braid is mandatory. You don't know how many people I've seen miss fish because they are too ignorant to use braid. I would use at least 65lb if you plan on fishing on any type of slop. I also like a light rod, because it gets tiring walking the frog all day.

  • Super User

FROG, I disagree.  I have done just fine with 6'8" and 7' MH rods with 50# braid.  That said, I must confess I have never spent an entire day throwing nothing but a frog.

  • Super User
You'll want a 7'6" or longer rod to go frogging. Right now I use a 765 Powell, which is a MH. Works great, but I am thinking about going up to the 766 to get more power to get them out of those weeds. Gotta have a good backbone to keep them up out of the weeds. Braid is mandatory. You don't know how many people I've seen miss fish because they are too ignorant to use braid. I would use at least 65lb if you plan on fishing on any type of slop. I also like a light rod, because it gets tiring walking the frog all day.

Frog,

You probably should have qualified those remarks.  Lot of guys here that only fish mono and have no trouble with slop, frogs or 7' rods.  

  • Super User

Frog,

You probably should have qualified those remarks. Lot of guys here that only fish mono and have no trouble with slop, frogs or 7' rods.

Agreed.  Braid is hardly "mandatory."  I used to fish 17# mono and never had a problem.  Now I fish 14# Yo-Zuri Hybrid and am doing better.  The line has next to no stretch and has a significantly higher break point than the printed test.  

A 7'6" rod isn't necessary, either.  I fished frogs for years with a 6'10" MH/F and caught many bass.  I now fish a 7' H/XF.  My main lake is covered in water lilys and horsing them out can be a chore.  I've fished frogs on my 7'6" rod and found it's easier to get my frog on target, or pitch them with my 7 footer.

If I fished nothing but heavy grass mattes in open water then I might use a 7'6". But fishing a wide variety of cover such as weeds, pads, docks, under trees and around bushes, I like the shorter rod for more accurate casts and the ease of skipping. I use braid 95% of the time but I have gotten by using mono with out any problems.

Try what you've got. If you don't like it start by changing the line. If that doesn't work try another frog. Then maybe the rod. Frogs are more versatile than you think. Once you get your first explosion on one then you will definitely want to start throwing them more  ;)

Well, that is just my preferences. Everybody has their own. I would never even think about using mono while fishing a frog in slop. The stuff I fish a frog over is very thick, not some lily pads. Yeah, you could use a shorter rod, but I like long rods. Just a preference like I said.

  • Super User
The stuff I fish a frog over is very thick

And that's why it's called slop.  ...lol  The point is that you can find slop in every state... ours is as bad as yours.  

Suggesting that all mono users are ignorant goes a shade or two past stating your preferences, don't you think?

  • Super User

I recently purchased a Team All Star Big Boy 7'2" Mhvy for pitching and froggin.  Previously I had used a 7' Titanium Mhvy rod.  The big boy's have an extra layer of graphite wrapped on them for strength.  It's a very stout rod.  A 7' mhvy should do you fine.  I've had no trouble over the years pulling fish out of heavy milfoil with rods of less length and stiffness.  

I fish Spro frogs with a G Loomis BCR803 MossyBack & #16 XL, most likely not the best set-up but it works for me..

  • Super User

I have 2 frog set ups

7' MH lightning rod with an extreme 6.3:1 and 30 lb power pro.

7'6" H lightning rod with an extreme 7.1:1 and 65 lb power pro.

I will throw a frog most of the day and prefer the Heavy for the really nasty stuff but I will sling the MH most of the day.

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