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Best Frog Rod 2023 – [Buyer’s Guide]

Throwing hollow body frogs in and around heavy weed cover is one of the most fun ways to catch freshwater bass.

When bass hit a frog lure from below they do so with a lot power and speed. Knowing your tackle is up to the job is one less thing to think about.

This is no place for light weight spinning gear!

Your rod and reel need to be capable of running heavy braid without sacrificing either casting performance or hook setting ability.

But what size and power make the best frogging rods?

The best frog rod will have a heavy power rating and a fast action

A heavy power rating on a musky rod would not seen out of place, but it may seem unusual for those who are new to frog fishing for bass. 

Once a bass strikes your lure the first place they are going to make a move to the nearest heavy cover, most likely a the large weed bed or lily pads that they came from.

A fast action allows you to make your hook-set swiftly before they have a chance to turn their heads down, the heavy power means that if they do make it to cover then your rod blank has enough backbone to handle hauling them up through it.

Length wise look for either a 7 or a 7-1/2 foot long rod. Once you go under a 7-footer your ability to over lots of water with the reduced as the casting distance that a smaller rod brings can leave you short.

Best Frog Rods

1. Dobyns Rods Fury Series FR 735C

The rod itself is amazing and comes with a Fuji reel seat, high modulus graphite blank, and Kevlar-wrapped line guides.

The guides, by the way, are aligned perfectly. Plus, you can also look forward to the cork grip and the Hypalon butt.

You can just feel it when you hold it in your hand. It is painted black and we also liked the epoxy finish around the guide wraps, it was very clean and very consistent for a rod that is mass produced. 

This is arguably the best frogging rod we’ve used in a while. For the price you can’t beat it. We used it to cast worm/spinner jigs, and it handled them with ease. Those jigs were going through the heavy weeds like it was a knife through butter.

We got some pretty big bottom-dwelling walleye like it was the easiest thing in the world. We even got a 6 lb. largemouth in some weeds, too. One of our other crew members got himself a muskie with it. We would definitely recommend it.

This one is best for use with hollow body frogs and buzzbaits because it is wide enough to set a large frog hook form a pretty decent distance and pull that fish up through even the thickest weeds. You can also use this rod for flipping/pitching and small swimbaits too.

All in all, if you need a frogging rod that won’t quit, this is a good one that won’t break your budget.

Specifications:

• High modulus graphite blank
• Kevlar wrapped
• Fuji reel seat

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2. Daiwa Tatula Casting Rod

There will also be little to none blank twist. The finish is clear and glossy, but rather thin, as we noticed the bumps that arose as a result of being wrapped in plastic over the blank material used to hold the graphite in place while the rod bakes during manufacturing.

The rod features the Daiwa custom reel seat and an aluminum reel clamp nut in order to keep everything together. The ring guides are Alconite and you will also like the two-color choices for this sharp looking rod. 

The rod is superb-light and comfortable to hold for those all-day adventures. They come at a fair and decent price, and the sensitivity on these guys is comparative to some higher end brands.

The reel seat is very comfortable, and the casting we did with this was as easy as pie. Load ups are easy, and your lure will fly as far as you want it to. 

We liked the grip, it is made of EVA foam, is split in the back, and comfortable to hold. When we took this out for some testing, we found that it displayed a great casting performance.

The tip is predictable when it comes to loading, and you can use baits within the appropriate lure rating with ease. We used some half-oz jigs and had a great time with it. 

Lastly, we’d like to note the sensitivity of this rod. It was decent, but I have felt better when it comes to Daiwa products in the past. Don’t let that stop you from picking this up-it’s a good buy.

Specifications:

• Alconite guides
• Custon reel seat
• SVF graphite blank

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3. Berkley Shock Casting Fishing Rod

This rod was engineered to handle the strength of braided lines and you will feel it in the strong backbone. This will help reduce the probability of pulled hooks but still keep you well in control. 

The tip is a Shock Absorbing tip that aids in mitigating the lack of elasticity common with braids. The stainless-steel guides and titanium oxide inserts prevent cracking and grooving so as to provide a long life.

The handle design is comfortable and designed with ergonomics in mind, you can hold this textured rubber handle all day long and not get tired or sore.

Now we would not go ahead and list this rod as being the top of the line. It is a nice rod, but this would be best for somebody who wants to start out with frogging and see if it is for them.

This is a nicely priced frogging rod that you can really use to fish top water frogs, jig fish heavy grass, and fish up some pretty good-sized catches. 

Our crew did just that and we did indeed fish up some 2-4 lb. fish in the nearby lake. We used braid line on it, everything went off without a hitch. We noticed that the rod was rather stiff, so do keep that in mind. But, if you have the urge to use your frogs and get into some deep cover, this is your guy to start with. 

Go into this one with the understanding this is a value-priced rod and you will no doubt have fun with it.

Specifications:

• Shock absorbing tip
• Titanium oxide guide inserts

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4. St Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rods

We got this rod pretty fast and decided to take it out on the water. These perform really well for the price. One of our crew members was using a Bass Pro rod that was comparable to this one, and we handed him this rod to do a comparison.

This one performed a lot better as far as casting went and that crew member also felt that he could cast a lot better. We also used a willow-leaf spinner bait, and unfortunately did not catch anything but still enjoyed how it felt. 

The rod is very lightweight and responsive one. It is easy to carry around all day long and casting is a breeze. You could easily stand out on the boat or dock all day and cast and not worry about your arms getting tired. The sensitivity of this rod is on point, and the backbone is super strong.

Altogether, these rods are going to be ones you will love to add to your arsenal. The great price point plus the many different applications you can use these rods for make them really worth your money.

You can use them for chatter baits, swimming jigs and buzz baits depending on the model. They load up very well and the hook set has enough power that you don’t fear tearing the bait out of the mouth of your fish. 

Specifications:

• High modulus SCII graphite rod blanks
• Kigan Master 3D guides
• Fuji ECS reel seat

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5. Abu Garcia Veritas Casting Fishing Rod

The Abu Garcia designed locking micro click reel seat design will provide a tight and secure connection between reel and rod. It is also very comfortable, and you will be able to hold this one all day long with no cramps or soreness in your hand.

The titanium alloy guides with Zirconium inserts will make for a great way to keep your line in place with no fears of tangles. There is also great Abu Garcia hook keeper that suits all bait applications. 

Provided you pair this blank to the right lure type, you can count on it being very sensitive. We went ahead and decided to test this guy out on the dock, things worked out pretty well and we caught a few fish.

One thing we wanted to note was that it was not as fast of an action when we went about setting our hook, so we missed out on some fish thanks to not so good hook setting. 

We tried out a hollow body frog over a heavy weed bed. Eventually we landed some four-pounders and felt good about the rod at large.

Again, we will state that the sensitivity was easy to feel even in about 15 feet of water. We sent it off with one of our crew members and he even managed to grab a catfish with this rod so it has plenty of backbone for larger fish.

To sum it up, this one is a good rod at a fair price.

Specifications:

• 30 tom graphite
• Reinforced fibers through the blank
• UP reel seat

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6. Falcon Rods HD Casting Rod

Made in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, this is a one-piece rod and a great brand. We have had the pleasure of using several Falcon branded rods in both fresh and salt application, and we find them to be sensitive, quick to respond, and amazing hook setting capability.

This particular one is a real pleasure to use. It felt very strong in our hands and we were impressed with the great build quality. 

We compared it to a Fenwick that we had and found that this one performed a lot better during testing. We tried it out with some smaller soft frogs. The rod itself was lightweight and easy to hold, we did not go out for the day but could see ourselves using it all day with no soreness in the arms. 

The sensitivity was great also, we felt everything that was going on below the surface. The tip really aids well in helping you feel the bites on your jigs. This rod has a great backbone and will not have any trouble handling the big guys that come your way.

These rods also hold up remarkably well on the road too. We packed them up to head out to a local tournament, and anglers know how hard it can be to transport and keep all your gear in good shape.

These rods hold up like a dream. All you have to do is pair them with the right reel and you will be casting further than you ever thought possible. It’s a good rod at a price all of us can afford. 

Specifications:

• Fuji line guides
• Fuji reel seat
• Sensitive graphite blank

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7. 13 Fishing Omen Black 2 MH Casting Rod

This tight graphite construction also is the reason this rod is so sensitive. The Alps guides with zirconia inserts are a nice touch. The reel seat is an Evolve Engage model. There is a Portuguese full-cork premium handle and an Evolve hook keeper as well. 

The rod come in just one piece. It is a medium heavy fast-action rod and does just what it should. You can drag the bottom and expect great sensitivity. We used plastics and did well with it. We recommend ⅜to 1 oz lures as this is the recommended weight rating for this rod.

For the price, you really can’t go wrong. Even to create your own rod using a 24-ton carbon blank, you would probably be paying at least 30% more.

That already makes it cost effective. I’d also like to note that the rod is rather lightweight and features excellent sensitivity. The hardware is name brand and we typically see this on higher-end rods. 

Now onto the cork grip. This is a very durable and good-looking. The only complaint is that the tip is rather breakable. We did not break the rod during our test time, but we certainly had concerns it could happen.

Despite this, we still caught some bass with it, no trouble at all. Freshwater anglers all over will appreciate the balance, sensitivity and of course the value of this rod.

In sum, we think this is a fine rod for the price paid. It is also worth noting that 13 has a great customer service and warranty program should you experience a break during a trip.

Specifications:

• 30 Ton Toray rod blank
• Zircoia inserts
• Alps guides
• Evolve reel seat

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Frog Rods

A lot of folks may think that a frog setup can end up being expensive, whilst that might be true of the best musky rod and reel combinations that are commonly used, but when choosing a frog fishing pole you need not spend a fortune.

It’s all about getting the right balance between power, action and length.

Lets take a more in-depth look at what kind of attributes make the best frogging rods.

Type

The best bass fishing pole for use with frogs will be a baitcasting rod and not a spinning rod. Spinning setups are all well and good when you are using small lures and light monofilament, but they are not the best option for frog fishing.

Hands down the only sane choice is a casting rod combined with decent baitcaster.

A casting outfit allows you to make pin point accurate casts all day long with just the flick of a wrist.

Your aim should be to spot potential structures and hide outs were bass are likely to be waiting in ambush for any frog that happens to swim past. Weed beds and groups of lily pads provide great cover for bass and are also a natural hide habitat of frogs.

With a baitcaster reel you can be way more accurate than with a spinning reel. It is also way less tiring to cast over the course of a day that a spinning rod and reel.

Power

For most fishermen power will usually means how big a fish, lure and line that a rod can handle. But with frogging things are slightly different.

Having to haul a bass out of a heavy weed bed once it buries it’s head down in to it requires a rod that has a lot of backbone and stopping power.

Even a medium power rod will struggle a little so always stick to a rod that has a heavy power rating.

That and that fact that you should be using some fairly heavy braid means a heavy power rod is the only real choice.

Action

Action will generally describe how far up the rod blank that the normal bend in the rod starts once the line is weighted against the fisherman.

A fast action rod will start to bend considerably higher up the rod blank than a sloe action one.

Each type of action will have it’s strengths and weaknesses.

For example a fast action rod has great tip sensitivity and hook up characteristics but they do tend to cast slightly shorter distances than a slow action.

Whereas a slow action rod blank can be loaded with a lot more energy during the back swing portion of the cast allowing it to achieve greater distances especially when using heavy lures. It does this at the expense of sensitivity though.

Length

Shoot for a rod of length 7 or a 7’6 as this is pretty much the sweet spot for a frogging rod. It will result in a higher percentage of hookups and give you that little bit extra when casting.

A longer rod can be held up straight higher so you have a bit more control of the tip once a bass has struck your frog lure.