Z bone frog rod

[russ57]

Z bone is 30% off which is pretty tempting.
Considering the 73H or the 76MH for frogs. Does anyone have experience with these models? The max lure rating on the 76MH is only 3/4 ounce, whereas the 73H is 1 1/2 ounce. Does anyone have experience with these models?

[DavidSA]

Kistler helium 7’3 h is great and is my frog rod. Don’t think zbone could be any better

[Revofisher]

i have owned both those z bone models and i personally would not throw frogs on the 4 power z bone the 7'6 mh reminded me of the nrx 893 somewhat which isnt a bad thing i just wouldnt use it for frogging. makes a great 3/8 oz ish texas rig and jig rod . the 7,3 h is another story that rod is a power house and i did use it quite often for frogging as well as heavy duty pitching the rod will for sure handle baits over 1 oz without feeling taxed. Also as david mentioned i actually liked the 7'3 helium better for frogs it doesnt feel as powerful as the hvy z bone which i liked it was a good balance of power and the ability to throw some smaller frogs with it. with the z bone or helium you cant go wrong both of those are great froggers.

[TommyG]

I use the 7-6 Hvy H3 for frogs. The Z-Bones will frog but I like them for bottom contact. The 7-6 mh Z-bone is kinda underpowered for frogs. If you're going to frog in the morning and worm later, and want 1 rod, then for sure the 7-3 hvy Z-Bone will fill the bill.

[DavidSA]

I’m sure the 7’3 h zbone is a nice rod. I have a 7’10’h model

[dhottle]

Take a look at this rod for frogging. It can do just about everything.

2019 Helium 3 Heavy 7' 10" MOD Moderate Fishing Rod
SKU HE3H710MOD

[bwjay]

I have the 7' HXF Helium3 and while it is a powerful rod, we get some thick weeds here in the summer, and the rod has a little too much flex when you're trying to drag a 3 pounder with 3 pounds of weeds. It could be a little stiffer. So I just bought an Expride 7'3" XH. I considered the 7' MOD Heavy Zbone because of this sale, but Trey confirmed it is a more moderate action that is great for flipping, but doesn't have as crisp a tip as I would like, to make walking a frog easy. He said soft tips have a lot of benefits, but you can't have all good traits in every rod. It seems like the MOD rods are definitely more for flipping. If they made a faster action rod with a heavier power, up to a 2oz rating I think, it could be ideal for my frogging. But today it seems like if you're gonna be dragging fish through junk, Kistler doesn't have a stiff enough rod to offer. All that being said, I do enjoy the H3 for frogging, it's just sometimes a little too light for the environment I fish.

[Polkfish1]

I have the 7' HXF Helium3 and while it is a powerful rod, we get some thick weeds here in the summer, and the rod has a little too much flex when you're trying to drag a 3 pounder with 3 pounds of weeds. It could be a little stiffer. So I just bought an Expride 7'3" XH. I considered the 7' MOD Heavy Zbone because of this sale, but Trey confirmed it is a more moderate action that is great for flipping, but doesn't have as crisp a tip as I would like, to make walking a frog easy. He said soft tips have a lot of benefits, but you can't have all good traits in every rod. It seems like the MOD rods are definitely more for flipping. If they made a faster action rod with a heavier power, up to a 2oz rating I think, it could be ideal for my frogging. But today it seems like if you're gonna be dragging fish through junk, Kistler doesn't have a stiff enough rod to offer. All that being said, I do enjoy the H3 for frogging, it's just sometimes a little too light for the environment I fish.

The new zbone 76h is a straight up broomstick
IMO. The MOD action is wonderful for flip/punch. I take it to unsprayed bodies water in FL that are not meant for trolling motors. You could lift submerged boulders out of the lake. I also use it for heavy top water baits over matted weeds and the action really works for me. I can work a 3/4 oz bait and keep it on top and rip it when it gets tripped up. It flexes; but you need a 2-3 lbs fish for it to really start flexing. If I set the hook with a little excitement on a small fish, those sometimes come flying out of the water. The rod is wicked sensitive too. My only complaint is the pedestrian build. I got it during one of their sales.

[bwjay]

I have the 7' HXF Helium3 and while it is a powerful rod, we get some thick weeds here in the summer, and the rod has a little too much flex when you're trying to drag a 3 pounder with 3 pounds of weeds. It could be a little stiffer. So I just bought an Expride 7'3" XH. I considered the 7' MOD Heavy Zbone because of this sale, but Trey confirmed it is a more moderate action that is great for flipping, but doesn't have as crisp a tip as I would like, to make walking a frog easy. He said soft tips have a lot of benefits, but you can't have all good traits in every rod. It seems like the MOD rods are definitely more for flipping. If they made a faster action rod with a heavier power, up to a 2oz rating I think, it could be ideal for my frogging. But today it seems like if you're gonna be dragging fish through junk, Kistler doesn't have a stiff enough rod to offer. All that being said, I do enjoy the H3 for frogging, it's just sometimes a little too light for the environment I fish.

The new zbone 76h is a straight up broomstick
IMO. The MOD action is wonderful for flip/punch. I take it to unsprayed bodies water in FL that are not meant for trolling motors. You could lift submerged boulders out of the lake. I also use it for heavy top water baits over matted weeds and the action really works for me. I can work a 3/4 oz bait and keep it on top and rip it when it gets tripped up. It flexes; but you need a 2-3 lbs fish for it to really start flexing. If I set the hook with a little excitement on a small fish, those sometimes come flying out of the water. The rod is wicked sensitive too. My only complaint is the pedestrian build. I got it during one of their sales.

Oh right, the longer rods have a heavier rating. Like you said though, I'd expect them to have a good amount of flex still. I do wish their cork was a bit nicer and that they'd use a straight handle so you can use chair leg caps to add some weight and balance them out.

[russ57]

I have the 7' HXF Helium3 and while it is a powerful rod, we get some thick weeds here in the summer, and the rod has a little too much flex when you're trying to drag a 3 pounder with 3 pounds of weeds. It could be a little stiffer. So I just bought an Expride 7'3" XH. I considered the 7' MOD Heavy Zbone because of this sale, but Trey confirmed it is a more moderate action that is great for flipping, but doesn't have as crisp a tip as I would like, to make walking a frog easy. He said soft tips have a lot of benefits, but you can't have all good traits in every rod. It seems like the MOD rods are definitely more for flipping. If they made a faster action rod with a heavier power, up to a 2oz rating I think, it could be ideal for my frogging. But today it seems like if you're gonna be dragging fish through junk, Kistler doesn't have a stiff enough rod to offer. All that being said, I do enjoy the H3 for frogging, it's just sometimes a little too light for the environment I fish.

The new zbone 76h is a straight up broomstick
IMO. The MOD action is wonderful for flip/punch. I take it to unsprayed bodies water in FL that are not meant for trolling motors. You could lift submerged boulders out of the lake. I also use it for heavy top water baits over matted weeds and the action really works for me. I can work a 3/4 oz bait and keep it on top and rip it when it gets tripped up. It flexes; but you need a 2-3 lbs fish for it to really start flexing. If I set the hook with a little excitement on a small fish, those sometimes come flying out of the water. The rod is wicked sensitive too. My only complaint is the pedestrian build. I got it during one of their sales.

Oh right, the longer rods have a heavier rating. Like you said though, I'd expect them to have a good amount of flex still. I do wish their cork was a bit nicer and that they'd use a straight handle so you can use chair leg caps to add some weight and balance them out.

I thought you could order kistlers with a balancing kit.

[russ57]

I have been using an old 13 fishing 76MH to frog, but last summer I finally started getting into some 4-5 ponders and it seemed underpowered for the job in the thicker weeds.
Do you guys think one of the Expride models(72H, 76H) would be a better option w/more tip to work the frog, but still a lot of backbone?

[DavidSA]

I think your question Russ gets at the meat of the matter. Most MH rods will work a frog great IMO. I used an old original Powell 703mh around Kentucky for years with good success then I started fishing Florida almost 100%. That MH was suddenly not powerful enough and some years later I would discover that longer rods are better around heavier grass. Even the difference from 7ft to 7'5 is significant. From there, I put my old Gloomis BCR 875 rod into frog duty. Both Power and length but working a frog was lost.

So at least 2 dilemmas. Putting the action on a frog vs. powerful rod. The second challenge is the ideal walking length rod is 7 to 7-3 yet a 7'10 clearly has far more leverage. Thus the reason most of these threads conclude you need 2 frog rods. One you fish most of the time, and the meat stick you pull out when you are on a clear pattern and the fish are in nasty stuff that I have only seen first hand on Lake Okeechobee or Guntersville certain years.

I've not fished a frog rod better then the Helium 7'3h. If I ever find that is not enough, I will pull my zbone 7'10H mod action and give that a try. If that one is not enough then fish was meant to be speared not landed