No, you're correct. This comes up every couple years. Google "Fishing Rod Leverage" and you'll find lots of people claiming longer rods have more leverage, but they don't. Longer rods have many advantages over shorter rods, but leverage isn't one of them.
"...You'll see that a fishing rod is an example of a Class 3 lever. Class 3 levers always have a MA < 1, therefore they would not be used to gain output force. In fact, the further the load (rod tip) is from the point of "input force" (you holding down by the reel) the more effort is required on your part. Subsequently, the longer the rod, the less leverage you have over a fish. In fact, the fish actually gains leverage on you. This may not be apparent to the average basser hauling in 3 and 4 pound bass over weed mats, because the loss is small relative to the size of and force applied by the angler, and easily compensated for in such instances. It becomes much more obvious at the extremes, for example deep water ocean jigging."
"To test out this long rod/leverage thing, here is a simple experiment you can do. I learned this one in grade school. Get an old fashioned straw broom and lay it on the floor. Put a small canned good on the straw part using it like a platform. Now, grab the broom handle right next to the straw and lift. Not too difficult really. Now move your hand halfway down the handle and try again. A little more of a struggle. Lastly, slide down and grab the very end of the broom and try to lift the canned good off the floor. Could you even do it? The weight of the small can didn't change. Bass on the end of your rod are no different...the longer the rod, the less leverage you have and the more leverage the bass has."
http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/long-rods-and-leverage-it-aint-so.html
