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7:16 pm
January 8, 2010
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lilmule
| | Buchanan,Tn | |
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| posts 1446 |
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That rod blank should fit the bill.
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7:06 pm
January 8, 2010
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lilmule
| | Buchanan,Tn | |
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| posts 1446 |
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I won a 20 dollar gift card fishing with it,but the rod I got for $87 dollars lasts years closeout,the carrot stix cost me 100 and had a 10 dollar paypal off coupon,so (90 and shipping which was $18)
The tro4 27 p prop cost me 100 and had a 10 off paypal coupon again,
,so it cost me 90.
An Indian in fla,made most of my custom rods for about 118 including shipping,prices do go up he now charges about 125 for those same ones,plus shipping.
One a glass rod(custom) is over at Steves now awaiting a new guide,built as a two handed seeker but glass,can toss a gsplash easily 50 yards,with 35 pd evolution.Even that rod being topwater has the capability to toss spro frogs,handles them fairly well,2 -3 lb bass,but lacks that backbone for one that burrows.But have grown very fond of that rod wouldnt take twice what I paid for it,about 100 inc shipping.Its about 4 years old now.
Back in Ohio it never got the workout its gotten here prior with poprs now with a gsplash -american shad color.Thats a great color for here remember that.
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6:52 pm
January 8, 2010
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dougw
| | Texas | |
| Member | posts 607 |
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Thanks Steve… I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with the CastAway blank unless something changes between now and the time I decide to order it. Gotta cranking stick to build first… spozed to be here on the 12th. The only CastAway I've ever broken is my jig rod and that was recently when I stuffed it in the water trying to get a 2.00 jig loose. I've broken several other brands on hook sets, shattering them beyond recognition!
I ordered everything from Mudhole but I'll have to say I wasn't too pleased with the sales person I dealt with nor the fouled up process it took to get my order. It's beginning to appear what I encountered may be a trait within the rod building community. Just ordered some stuff from Acid Rods when through the check-out process to the point I placed the order… then…. It says "A shipping charge may be applied to your order." Yeah, well… how much? I agreed to a certain charge and then… this "… may be applied." shows up. What's up with that?
Anyhow… Here's the specs on the CastAway frog rod I'm'a looking at…
XP3 874 The Castaway XP3 874 blank is a true treasure in the hands of a custom builder seeking versatility for building task specific rods for tournament as well as recreational bass fishermen. This 7'3″ multi modulus blank was designed by bass fishermen using concepts that provide a truly unique rod blank that is "dead on target" for several task specific techniques. The XP3 874 is rated for 10 – 80 lb braid with a lure weight range of 1/2 – 1 1/2 ounces. The moderate action and XH power are perfectly matched when using non stretch braid to insure proper blank loading for soft lure presentation and a hook set softness that will not "rip lips" during hook set. When "the big one" in solidly hooked the brute power of the blanks higher modulus lighter rear section "kicks in" to insure speedy fish recovery from heavy cover. The XP3 874 blank is the choice for frogs, flipping, pitching, grass, and punch. This blank is one of the favorite fishing tools for Cliff Pace, Castaways' Elite Staff Fisherman, Second Place Finisher in the 2008 Bass Master Classic.
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3:48 pm
January 8, 2010
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OutdoorFrontiers
| | Whitlock, TN | |
| Admin
| posts 1440 |
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Ok, I went under the cover of the boat and dragged out my frog rod. I was pretty sure I knew what it was, but had to check to make 100% certain.
It's a 6' 10″ American Rodsmiths H3 Titanium Rod (Model HT3-PS). In actuality, it's a 6'10″ Pitching Stick. It uses the American Rodsmiths handle set which is 15″ from the end of the butt to the front of the reel seat. The rod is rated for 10 – 20 lb. test line and it supposedly will handle lures from 1/4 to 5/8 oz. They say it's a Heavy/Fast rod blank and I'd have to agree with them on that.
Currently it's got a Shimano Chronarch 200 reel on it spooled with 50 lb. PowerPro.
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Steve Huber Editor in Chief/Executive Producer OutdoorFrontiers Multi-Media
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2:09 pm
January 8, 2010
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dougw
| | Texas | |
| Member | posts 607 |
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Thanks LM!
If you got a Kistler for under a 100 bucks you must'a won it! I have a kistler I won that I simply don't like nor use. It light as a feather but stiff as a broom stick – no tip action. Fast/heavy is the action/power I'd describe it as.
Got my eye on this castaway blank – http://swamplandtackle.com/pro…..874CABLANK
take a look at the specs and give me your thoughts on it!
Thanks!
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1:41 pm
January 8, 2010
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lilmule
| | Buchanan,Tn | |
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| posts 1446 |
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For off the shelf rods,both the Kistler 7-3 heavy action for the bigguns in tuff stuff,and the shimano crucial in either a 6-6 or a 7 ft rod med heavy,med fast tip works great on spro frogs.
The carrot stix 7-3 is ok in grass,using a spro frog,but not in real veggie jungle.
The black small spro frog is one of the top grass baits,I experimented somewhat this year tossing Bully Wa,Strike King and Depps,the others seemed to draw larger fish,but less bites,even when same size comparitively.
The spro popping frog worked better for me than the spro jr and in open water at times,it worked earlier in or around the buckbrush when the regular did not.
I have a smaller custom made 6-6 thats looks like my Kistler,but it lacks the backbone of the real thing,then again one doesnt need that extra umph unless in a veggie jungle.
None of these rods cost me over 100 dollars.
But picking up the wrong one tossing into a real jungle and pay the cost,I can use all of them on say a horney toad even around the jungle,but only one for back in it(kistler).A 7 ft shimano comes in a close second.The custom made and the carrot stix both handle 4 lbers quite well but lack when tied to a 6 lber,capable of getting in maybe one out of three.Below that at 4 or under they are 9 for 10.
Fish here have an uncanny knack of either going under the boat or wrapping then one can feel a head shake,frog comes back inside out and up the line a ft or so.And yes have had them render them unusable again.
So even though im a small man prefer a longer rod for big work(froggin in veggies) ,yet like the smaller shorter rod for other. 5 to 6 ft for jerkbaits,crankbaits,worming 6 ft 6,etc.
So when you build that frog rod keep in mind where it will be used the most,grass,thick mat,lilly pads and how big a fish you want to crank in out of that.Mere grass any decent 6 -6 will work,but soild mat,or lillys then you want about a 7 fter for leverage.Notice I didnt say close to eight,im short 5 ft 5 1/2 so thats to much.
Shorter like 6 ft 6in and it will work like a charm on 2 1/2- 3 lbers with an occasional 4 even in the heavy stuff,but will only take one over 6 to change your mind about the length and selection of blank.It needs to give that first few inches otherwise those 2 1/2 pdrs wont get hooked,then have some backbone to use.
So my own selection is a 7 ft heavy action fast or med fast tip,for tossing spro frogs.
I love using the med heavy lighter rods just dont love losing 6 lbers.
For normal fishing that shimano crucial in a med heavy is a great rod to use(95%) of the time its that 5% that can hurt.
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11:47 am
January 8, 2010
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dougw
| | Texas | |
| Member | posts 607 |
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lilmule said:
Different stroke for different folks,for starters their are different frogs to toss,floaters like spro ,depps and then theirs the non floaters one normally but not always runs fast making a buzzbait type retrieve with say ribbits and horney toads.For the floaters hard to beat the kistler,for the other my lighter carrot stix works well but lacks power for a real lunker back in the thick stuff,a shimano rod does this quite well 6ft 6in .To me I prefer spiral guides,just not micro,and a rod of 7 ft 2 in or a lil less,I think the anglers height enters into this and hiis boat as well,the closer to the water one is the shorter rod seems to work,for me anyway.As with floaters one retrieves it rod down and with the horney toads its rod up,so two different sets of conditions and criteria,one waiting to set the hook the other setting upon the take.
Fast or moderate fast tips with some flex and the floater having a very stiff backbone to get it out as it takes it down and into the bush do to speak.
A true test is to have a 6 lber wrap around the stalk of an american canna lilly or american lotus,my kistler will budge them my carrot stix will not,the shimano will do ok.
Working in merely milfoil or hydrilla all do ok,bring in the fish with say 4lbs of grass attached,the carrot stix is obiously the weakest of the lot in backbone,yet adequate for most.
And the Kistler the most of any of my rods.
I agree that angler height and rod length have a correlation! The best spook rod I ever had was an old Penn spinning rod that had the tip broken off a couple of times. I think the length on that rod in the end was a tad under 6'. Finally the tip was broken yet again rendering it useless for fishing…
My Jig rod is 6'6″ and just right for me. taller anglers prefer 7'-7'6″ but that is simply tooooo much length for me to pitch with effectively.
The type frog I was refering to was the Spro floater.
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10:54 am
January 8, 2010
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lilmule
| | Buchanan,Tn | |
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| posts 1446 |
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Different stroke for different folks,for starters their are different frogs to toss,floaters like spro ,depps and then theirs the non floaters one normally but not always runs fast making a buzzbait type retrieve with say ribbits and horney toads.For the floaters hard to beat the kistler,for the other my lighter carrot stix works well but lacks power for a real lunker back in the thick stuff,a shimano rod does this quite well 6ft 6in .To me I prefer spiral guides,just not micro,and a rod of 7 ft 2 in or a lil less,I think the anglers height enters into this and hiis boat as well,the closer to the water one is the shorter rod seems to work,for me anyway.As with floaters one retrieves it rod down and with the horney toads its rod up,so two different sets of conditions and criteria,one waiting to set the hook the other setting upon the take.
Fast or moderate fast tips with some flex and the floater having a very stiff backbone to get it out as it takes it down and into the bush do to speak.
A true test is to have a 6 lber wrap around the stalk of an american canna lilly or american lotus,my kistler will budge them my carrot stix will not,the shimano will do ok.
Working in merely milfoil or hydrilla all do ok,bring in the fish with say 4lbs of grass attached,the carrot stix is obiously the weakest of the lot in backbone,yet adequate for most.
And the Kistler the most of any of my rods.
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10:07 am
January 8, 2010
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dougw
| | Texas | |
| Member | posts 607 |
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OutdoorFrontiers said:Dangit! You're going to make me go out and look in the boat for my Frog Rod now, aren't you?
Yes… and if/when you do…. think about this. If you had to make the purchase over again would you change any feature of the rod you currently have? Anything that would make it better than it already is?
Thanks!
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8:09 am
January 8, 2010
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OutdoorFrontiers
| | Whitlock, TN | |
| Admin
| posts 1440 |
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Dangit! You're going to make me go out and look in the boat for my Frog Rod now, aren't you?
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Steve Huber Editor in Chief/Executive Producer OutdoorFrontiers Multi-Media
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7:25 am
January 8, 2010
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dougw
| | Texas | |
| Member | posts 607 |
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Well… I wrapped a few guides – actually stripped the guides off'a 3 rods… the C'rig, jig, and my old Browning "David Fritts" fiberglass cranking stick. On two of them I did a progressive spiral wrap and on one I used a single bumper guide to complete the turn. On the Jig rod I used Fuji Sic titainum guides. $50.00 for guides to put on a rod that cost 109.00 eleven years ago. Yeah, the bug has definintely bitten. On order is a 8' graphite blend(two different graphite types) cranking stick w/titamium Sic micro guides, split grip cork handles and a fuji exposed reel seat.
About the micro guides. It was hard to tell if I gained casting distance on the C'rig rod. The Crankbait rod I haven't even made a cast with but… On the jig rod w/Sic guides. I have a practice cup I use in the backyard to cast to when I practice pitching 1/4-3/8oz. jigs. I usually practice at a distance of 20-25'. After installing the Sic micro guides I made a few practice cast and… the difference was quite obvious. Much less effort required to cast the same difference. I attribute that to the sic guides – very….very slick guides. No doubt the spiral wrap added to the ease of casting as well. AND… consistency/accuracy of the cast was phenomenal. Two reasons – I think. One is I didn't have to pitch as hard to get the same distance. But the spiral wrap was probably the major influence. Whatever the real reason was or which contributed more is a moot point. Pitching the jig with this set up is absolutely more consistent. Now I have to practice a bit more because while it's more consistent I was consistently missing the cup but hitting in exactly the same spot time after time.
Now the question:
You'uns that chunk frogs. If you were going to get the perfect frog rod for you what attributes would it have? Action? Power? Length? Reel seat/handle length? For me it's going to have spiral micro guides. But beyond that I'm interested in hearing what you think the perfect frog rod should be.
Thanks,
Doug
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