Kayak Frog Rod

[jerkbait22]

I do mostly kayak fishing and looking at getting a dedicated frog rod as I want to do more frog fishing this year. Mostly I'll be fishing milfoil mats, pads, and the edges around them. Money is not a concern but at the same time I don't feel it would be necessary to spent $500 on a frog rod.

I do want something that is light and will be comfortable to fish with. I was looking at the Expride 7'2 H and 7'3 XH. I read a comment from another member on here who said the 7'3 XH was actually too stiff to get a good hookset fishing from a kayak.

Frogs I fish are 3/8 - 5/8 oz. Since I'm on a kayak and limited to the amount of rods I can bring, it would be great if the rod could also handle some pitching and punching with 1/2oz - 1oz weights.

[CGrinder]

I fish the Bully Wa 70 on the 72H Expride and it handles it really well. It's also fine with a 1 oz weight and plastic. I was planning to replace the Expride with an Enox or Orochi last season but I ended up liking it a lot for the Bully Wa, which is the frog I prefer to throw if they're eating it. I also liked the gen 1 Zodias a lot in the same power and action; I imagine gen 2 is worth a look as well.

[jerkbait22]

I fish the Bully Wa 70 on the 72H Expride and it handles it really well. It's also fine with a 1 oz weight and plastic. I was planning to replace the Expride with an Enox or Orochi last season but I ended up liking it a lot for the Bully Wa, which is the frog I prefer to throw if they're eating it. I also liked the gen 1 Zodias a lot in the same power and action; I imagine gen 2 is worth a look as well.

Good to hear on the 7'2H expride. Which Orochi were you looking at? I checked out the ALX Enox but the micro guides are a turn off to me since it would prohibit the use of braid to leader if I want to use the rod for something other than frogging.

[bwjay]

I fish from a Topwater 120PDL, and the 7'3XH Expride isn't necessarily hard to get hooksets with (maybe a little), but what I have trouble with is accurate casts. It is listed as a fast action but you would need to load it up with something heavier than a 3/4oz frog (typically throwing 1/2-3/4oz) to get a nice whip to it. I am always throwing it everywhere except where I want to cast, so I end up pitching the dang frog just so I can get it where I want it. I'm always targeting little holes in milfoil mats so making the cast really counts. It's an awesome rod for horsing fish through said milfoil, which is why I wanted it, but... it didn't turn out to be the perfect frog rod for me. I'm casually hunting. I was considering trying the Orochi XX Mat Bucker Type-L but didn't pull the trigger, and now it's not even listed on TTT anymore. I may go back to using my 7'HXF Helium3 which I thought lacked a little hooksetting power/requires homerun hooksets, but makes better casts.

Whatever you choose, please keep this thread updated, as I'm quite interested in other options as well.

[jerkbait22]

I fish from a Topwater 120PDL, and the 7'3XH Expride isn't necessarily hard to get hooksets with (maybe a little), but what I have trouble with is accurate casts. It is listed as a fast action but you would need to load it up with something heavier than a 3/4oz frog (typically throwing 1/2-3/4oz) to get a nice whip to it. I am always throwing it everywhere except where I want to cast, so I end up pitching the dang frog just so I can get it where I want it. I'm always targeting little holes in milfoil mats so making the cast really counts. It's an awesome rod for horsing fish through said milfoil, which is why I wanted it, but... it didn't turn out to be the perfect frog rod for me. I'm casually hunting. I was considering trying the Orochi XX Mat Bucker Type-L but didn't pull the trigger, and now it's not even listed on TTT anymore. I may go back to using my 7'HXF Helium3 which I thought lacked a little hooksetting power/requires homerun hooksets, but makes better casts.

Whatever you choose, please keep this thread updated, as I'm quite interested in other options as well.

I was close on the Mat Bucker too, but one of my buddies has one of the XXX baitcasters and said they are pretty heavy (expride noticeably lighter). St. Croix has a 7' legend tournament heavy action rated 3/8 - 1.5oz but I know they traditionally have a softer action so not sure that's best for a frog rod. I may end up with the Expride 7'2 H which seems to be a good fit but haven't ended the search just yet.

[CGrinder]

I fish the Bully Wa 70 on the 72H Expride and it handles it really well. It's also fine with a 1 oz weight and plastic. I was planning to replace the Expride with an Enox or Orochi last season but I ended up liking it a lot for the Bully Wa, which is the frog I prefer to throw if they're eating it. I also liked the gen 1 Zodias a lot in the same power and action; I imagine gen 2 is worth a look as well.

Good to hear on the 7'2H expride. Which Orochi were you looking at? I checked out the ALX Enox but the micro guides are a turn off to me since it would prohibit the use of braid to leader if I want to use the rod for something other than frogging.

Perfect Pitch or Tour Versatile were on the radar. Mat Bucker too. The guides on the Enox aren't bad depending on knot and line diameter. BMJ throws a Spro or Pad Crasher just lovely but can't seem to drive the Bully Wa home; the Strike is on the radar but as I said, pretty happy with the 72H Expride for frog and jig duty.

[MCROUT14]

Tour Versatile or X4 Mat Bucker. If you're looking for versatility I wouldn't go for Megabass though.

[jerkbait22]

Does the 7'2 H Poison Adrena have the same power as the Expride? I love my 6'11 M+ but I remember people saying the PA 7'2 H is a little on the lighter side. If it has the same power it would be an easy decision for me to move up to the PA and call it a day.

[jerkbait22]

Since rods have been so hard to come by this year I jumped on the Expride 7'2 Heavy. I should be out with it later this month and will post some feedback on this thread.

[CGrinder]

72H Expride is a solid choice. It's hard to argue with the performance at the price point.

[Mang]

Id bring my XX perfect pitch but my bro smash it on the rod locker. 1st gen too. I pretty much frog and light punch with it.

[LowRange]

Id bring my XX perfect pitch but my bro smash it on the rod locker. 1st gen too. I pretty much frog and light punch with it.

I love my gen 1 PP and IP68 7.3:1 HLC for frogging. So much so that I'm going to keep it out of the kayak and get some cheap frog combo. Probably a Elite Long cast spool in a Fuego CT on Lightning Rod 7H XF.