Hollow Body Frogs - Part 2
Gear Selection
There's a lot of opinions out there on what the best brand of rod, reel, or line is. I'm not going to get into that today. There are some basic requirements for your equipment that are simply a must when frog fishing. These requirements are simple and literally hundreds of brands will meet these requirements.
Rod - Minimum: 7' Med-Heavy with a fast tip. Preferred: 7'6" Heavy with extra fast tip
Why so much rod? That's a 3 part answer. 1) You're going to be making long casts, and a lot of your fish are going to strike at the end of those long casts. You need a long, stout rod to get enough hook setting power from 50+ yards away. 2) The hooks used in these frogs are BEEFY so you're going to need a rod with major backbone to drive them home. 3) You are going to catch some fish in cover so heavy you can't imagine that a fish could possibly live there. Now you have to get it outta there.
Reel - A high speed baitcaster.
7:1 gear ratio minimum. The high speed reel benefits you in 2 ways 1) When you get a fish on in the thick stuff you can keep it moving towards the boat and 2) When you work your frog past the targeted cover you can retrieve it faster to make your next cast
Line - 50+ lb Braid - NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you refuse to fish with braid, please sell me all your frogs. You WILL get broken off with mono or fluorocarbon. You WILL get tangled up in grass and moss without braid. You WILL NOT have enough power to get a solid hook set without braid. Braid is designed to cut through vegetation instead of getting wrapped and tangled around it like mono or fluoro. Abrasion means nothing to braid so dragging a big sow over top of a log is fine. I have horsed big fish out of impossibly thick moss and timber and never a break-off. Just trust me on this one.
If you use these simple guidelines to outfit your frog setup you will catch more fish and save yourself lost $9 frogs.
There's a lot of opinions out there on what the best brand of rod, reel, or line is. I'm not going to get into that today. There are some basic requirements for your equipment that are simply a must when frog fishing. These requirements are simple and literally hundreds of brands will meet these requirements.
Rod - Minimum: 7' Med-Heavy with a fast tip. Preferred: 7'6" Heavy with extra fast tip
Why so much rod? That's a 3 part answer. 1) You're going to be making long casts, and a lot of your fish are going to strike at the end of those long casts. You need a long, stout rod to get enough hook setting power from 50+ yards away. 2) The hooks used in these frogs are BEEFY so you're going to need a rod with major backbone to drive them home. 3) You are going to catch some fish in cover so heavy you can't imagine that a fish could possibly live there. Now you have to get it outta there.
Reel - A high speed baitcaster.
7:1 gear ratio minimum. The high speed reel benefits you in 2 ways 1) When you get a fish on in the thick stuff you can keep it moving towards the boat and 2) When you work your frog past the targeted cover you can retrieve it faster to make your next cast
Line - 50+ lb Braid - NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you refuse to fish with braid, please sell me all your frogs. You WILL get broken off with mono or fluorocarbon. You WILL get tangled up in grass and moss without braid. You WILL NOT have enough power to get a solid hook set without braid. Braid is designed to cut through vegetation instead of getting wrapped and tangled around it like mono or fluoro. Abrasion means nothing to braid so dragging a big sow over top of a log is fine. I have horsed big fish out of impossibly thick moss and timber and never a break-off. Just trust me on this one.
If you use these simple guidelines to outfit your frog setup you will catch more fish and save yourself lost $9 frogs.
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