How Did Long Rods For Bass Came Into Play!

[CJIII]

When I bass fish years ago I use Abu 5000 with 12lb test line and a 6' med action and landed a lot of bass and other fish before I sold the reel and gave the rod away. I pefer 6' rods for bass so would it hurt if I try a longer rod? I mostly fish with soft plastics.

[Scorcher214]

I'm not a fishing historian but I think long rods are not a recent thing, and by long do you mean like 7'? Yah a 7'M would be good for soft plastics.

[NBR]

Short rods were the norm when I started to bass fish. I can't remember the exact year but I caught my first on a red and white jitterbug and if the little reservoir still exists I could show you the exact spot less the wood that was in the water since that stick up is gone. My first bass was either in the spring of 1946 or 47.

My rod was probably 4'6" maybe 5" it was solid steel with a hexagonal cross section. I can't remember if the cross section tapered from the reeel seat to the tip but I would guess it didn't. Longer rods cast farther and are more forgiving to surges from the fish. In those times there was no graphite and little fiber glass and fiber glass rods were solid not hollow. If they made longer rods then I think they would have been much to heavy to use all day. So the rod length was in keeping with weight issues and manufacturing technology.

Today rods, reels and lines are so much better that when I see somebody dis a modern product I just smile. I have several old reels and I would bet that most of you would switch to fly fishing or golf before you took them to the lake. Line was even worse.

[Avalonjohn44]

Long rods help in many ways. They help fight the fish and take stress off of the line. You can cast farther. If flipping and pitching and using a pendulum type cast, you will be much more accurate with a longer rod. And if a crazy canada goose is charging you and hissing, an extra foot or so of rod it nice to swat at it with...

[CJIII]

Yes I am talking about 7' m or mh bass rods!

[flippin and pitchin]

Bass rods were generally at or less than 5'6" due to the materials available in the 70's and before. Steel, bamboo and glass were the materials of choice. Around 1979/80 Bo Dowden won the Classic fishing a jig with an unusually long rod of 7 feet. Cotton Cordell began to distribute them. It was about this same time Fenwick hooked up with Dee Thomas when Thomas was limited by BASS to a seven and a half foot rod as Flippin was born. As materials advanced, rods became longer to meet technique needs. Now 8 footers are available by most manufactures. Today, 6-6 and 7-0 models are still top sellers but 7-2 to 7-6 is gaining momentum.

[Sam]

With the research in bass fishing coupled with the professionals looking for new techniques plus the rod and bait manufacturers using physics to test techniques, longer bass rods came along last century.

(Sounds like a long time ago but it is only 13 years)

I have no idea of the exact time period the longer rods (over 7-feet) became the norm but Denny Brauer, the father of finesse fishing, wrote his book in 1997 and he discusses longer rods for flipping and pitching.

Of course Denny was using longer rods before he wrote the book so I would think that rods 7-feet and longer became the norm in the 90's.

Anyone out there know for sure?

[Jig Man]

Tom Mann was the first one I remember to use long rods. He used to use a 7' rod to fish plastic worms. At that time you rarely saw a rod even 6' long.

[0119]

Why worry about a longer rod? Ive had very expensive rods up to 8'6" and always go back to the 6' med. All because internet experts and "pro's" who drag bass across the water on tarpon tackle do it doesnt mean you have to. A true rod building expert will tell you the rods length has more to do with your height and arm length than lure type or technique. Ive spent what could have been a nice retirement nest egg on the latest and greatest for over 20 years to discover Im happier with the Ambassadeur and 6' med rod.

[Christian M]

I agree with the rod length to body proportion theory. I'm 5'9" and the longest rod I own is a 7'6" MH flippin stick, which is uncomfortable at times, especially in close quarter flipping & pitching situations. It's difficult for me to get enough leverage when I'm setting the hook on a fish close to my boat. I find myself mostly using it for big swimbaits, frogs, deep jigging, and punching. I've only recently begun to buy rod & reel setups that are "technique specific",and I use that phrase loosely because each angler has their own personal preferences. You dont need a rod to say JIG,SPINNERBAIT, WORM, etc. to know what you want. I mainly find it more efficient to put one rod down and pick up another rather than re-tying, especially something that takes up precious time during a tournament, like a drop shot or carolina rig. I also find it much more convenient to keep specific line types and tests on specific combos. That way I can take full advantage of my tackle. With that said I can, and do go out fun fishing a lot with just 2 rods, a 7'1" casting rig and a 6'10" spinning rig.

[CJIII]

I guess I will stik with what I been using.

[BrASSmonkey]

Why worry about a longer rod? Ive had very expensive rods up to 8'6" and always go back to the 6' med. All because internet experts and "pro's" who drag bass across the water on tarpon tackle do it doesnt mean you have to. A true rod building expert will you the rods length has more to do with your height and arm length than lure type or technique. Ive spent what could have been a nice retirement nest egg on the latest and greatest for over 20 years to discover Im happier with the Ambassadeur and 6' med rod.

There seems to be some bias in your opinion there. And your post suggests that all rods should be built the same length since it is based on angler height rather than technique.

I am no rod building expert. But, while one's comfort using rod's of a particular length will be very closely related to the angler's own physical dimensions; some of the physicical benefits and detractions of a long rod will remain constant regardless of angler. For example, a longer rod will always move more line on a hookset than a shorter rod. It is physics. A longer rod may not fit into a rod locker. Longer rods allow an angler to cast further, but give more leverage to the fish. All of these things are true regardless of angler height.

IMO, a good rod builders will take the above into consideration in addition to a customer's preferences and physical attributes when recommending a length to a customer. A 7' rod may be perfectly comfortable to one angler, while it may be completely unwieldy to another.

So, while I agree that you should not take recommendations on length on good faith; I do recommend that you learn the reasons particular lengths are recommended. Then go to a store, pick up some rods and determine for yourself a) whether they are comfortable; and whether you agree with the reported reasons that a longer rod are superior to a shorter rod in a particular circumstance.

[J Francho]

I use rods that are 6-2 to 7-11 for bass. Use what feels right to you.

[CJIII]

I always thought a 6' med action rod was right me!

[Gotfishyfingers?]

I always thought a 6' med action rod was right me!

That depends where and what conditions your fishing. Bank vs boat. Shallow vs deep. Drop shot vs flipping. etc.. Different set-ups are for different techniques/conditions

[CJIII]

I fish from the bank, I also caught most of my bass from a farm pond.

[stkbassn]

My swimbait rod is 7'9 and my deep cranking rod is 7'11....I love em' both!

[WookieeJedi]

Short rods were the norm when I started to bass fish. I can't remember the exact year but I caught my first on a red and white jitterbug and if the little reservoir still exists I could show you the exact spot less the wood that was in the water since that stick up is gone. My first bass was either in the spring of 1946 or 47.

My rod was probably 4'6" maybe 5" it was solid steel with a hexagonal cross section. I can't remember if the cross section tapered from the reeel seat to the tip but I would guess it didn't. Longer rods cast farther and are more forgiving to surges from the fish. In those times there was no graphite and little fiber glass and fiber glass rods were solid not hollow. If they made longer rods then I think they would have been much to heavy to use all day. So the rod length was in keeping with weight issues and manufacturing technology.

Today rods, reels and lines are so much better that when I see somebody dis a modern product I just smile. I have several old reels and I would bet that most of you would switch to fly fishing or golf before you took them to the lake. Line was even worse.

I remember my Grandfather fishing with a 4'6" True Temper rod with one of the old baitcasters strung up with dacron line. The handle would spin when he cast it, and it weighed a few pounds. That's probably why his forearms looked like Popeye.

[LgMouthGambler]

Its all in what feels better for you. I have tried using 7'6+ rods, and I dont like them. I have more accuracy with my 6'6-7ft rods. Most of my rods are 6'6, it just seems to be the happy medium for me with accuracy and distance. I can see where people say the extra length in the rod gives some more give to control the fish. Obvious geometry says that a longer rod will give you more take-up for a hookset, and longer rod with more flimsy tip will allow you to sling a bait further. So, do you have to have this, no. Like I said, I am more accurate and comfortable with a rod that is 6'6 in length to get the job done. Other things to take into consideration is your reel. You can have a 8ft rod, and a crappy reel, and that bait isnt gonna go very far. Again, you need to find that medium. I can fish all day long using my Curado 50E mounted on a M action Berkley Lightning Shock rod. Thats a decent combo, that will give great performance for a reasonable price. I now have it mounted on a M action Clarus rod, and it does give me a little more distance with the softer tip, and is 6'8, so not a big difference in size. It just takes some testing to find out what works best for you. Remember, if there was the perfect setup, we would all be gearing towards that.

[flyeaglesfly5186]

I've used a 4'6" Ultralight for bass. Use whatever you feel good using. Wanna go longer? Go longer.

[Dave P]

Most of mine are 6'6". I have a few 7 footers and I 7'6". I bought my first 7' rod (Diawa) at a PX in the 1980s for "flippin".

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Well for 4 years now Ive been using an 8' rod for 90% of my fishing I'd say. This came about from needing a longer rod to reach over weed/brush growth shore fishing. I however got so accustumed to the rod now even on my boat or shore where its open this rod is with me and used the most.

[flippin and pitchin]

Tom Mann was the first one I remember to use long rods. He used to use a 7' rod to fish plastic worms. At that time you rarely saw a rod even 6' long.

Mann was almost exclusive spinning too.