Need advice on low budget casting combo.

[Henke]

Abu Garcia® Revo® SX Low-Profile Baitcast Reel / Berkley® Lightning Rod® Shock Series Trigger Rod

The rod is a MH 7' w/ braid eyes and the reel has a 18lb. drag. w/10 bearings @ 7:1 Retrieve. ( 31 inches )

I can purchase this new for $170.00. I want to build a FROG GETTER. I know the rod is not the " Piece to have so to speak " But my budget is $200.00 and that includes gas, lunch and confidence.

As Ronnie Van Zant would say, " Nuthin Fancy "

Thanks in advance, would love to pick it up next weekend.

Cliff Henke

[kennethdaysale]

Why not? you're basically getting the rod for free. Put the xtra $30 away, then add $10 a week to it. Keep your eyes peeled for a CL or EB rod and by the time frog season rolls around you should have enough $ to pick up a rod worthy of your reel.

[Bassboss]

I'd advise getting a revo S if you want revo because of the budget, it's slower, but still has a good drag.

You can also pick a Quantum Energy PTs reels off ebay for around 100 bucks. Good drag, fast, and very smooth! It's a salt water baitcaster, but it's exactly the same as the freshwater one. Just a deeper spool, and special corrosion resistant coating. It's a good reel and retailed around 200. It might not be as good of a frog reel as the revo SX, but it's a good deal, and a good reel. If you spend less on the reel, you can spend more on the rod. Something pretty basic would probably be pretty good. Never used one but I think the new Abu Garcia Vengeance would be a pretty good budget fog rod. Bring the total around 150-170 if you find a good enough deal.

Hope this helps!

[DVT Mike]

You could do worse. I don't favor mag brake only reels, but I do own some. The rod is decent for the price and can be upgraded later.

[lilmule]

Not a bad setup for a starter,above average on the reel.
The old lightning one piece grip was a great cheap c rig rod ,the shock series was designed for braid 30-50lb remember that braid will cost a bit as well.
Spool with small amount of mono to cover the spool then tie braid to it and fill wont slip when you set the hook.

[Henke]

Didn't get a chance to go to the tackle shop this weekend as I had planned but it worked out good anyway. The women folk got together and had another Christmas party for the ones who had to travel out of town during the holidays. Ended up having some good fellowship.

Still ready to go get my first frog rig and I'm sure on the Revo SX but now I'm studying this stick, E21 Carrot Stix Wild Cast Rod 7' Med Hvy, to go with the SX instead of the Berkley Lightning Rod Shock Series Trigger Rod.

What's your opinion on this ?

I have a question or two, is this a worthy rod for my needs ? Does this rod hold up to braided line well ? I have never seen one before, sorry for the basic questions. I sure would rather ask y'all than the sales person.

Getting anxious, thank God it's 38 degrees outside, that helps.

Looks like the budget just jumped $50.00 to $300.00. Two Christmas parties and patience sometimes might pay off ? Patience is one of my weak links but it's getting better over the years.

Anyway thanks in advance,
Cliff

[Tavery5]

With 300 dollars you should be able to build yourself a nice setup. In my mind the reel is the less important piece of a froggin combo. When your froggin the rod does a majority of the work, the reel is just picking up the slack line. With that being said you are still going to need a good quality reel, one with good drag and fast line recovery.

There are many good reels in the 100 dollar range that would work very well for this type of setup, PQ, Citica E, Lews, maybe the new Carbonlite. That would leave you will a good amount to invest in a quality rod.