Fishing Longer Rods

[Maico1]

Yep, my point was mainly that length does not determine backbone, blank design and construction does.  My 6'8" MH jig rod has TONS more backbone than my 13' centerpin trout rod.

I couldn't agree more.......same with my 5'10" Topwater Rod and 6'3" CrankBait Rod I use for ripping lipless cranks through the grass. Tons of backbone over my longer rods ,it is all about how the rod is put together.

[BrettD]

That why I said usually Im must going by two rods I have the are the same exact rods one is 7-7 mh fast and the other is 6-9 mh fast and the 7-7 rod has more backbone. This could be just this an isolated incident but they are the only two rods I have that are the same except lenght. 

[J Francho]

That why I said usually Im must going by two rods I have the are the same exact rods one is 7-7 mh fast and the other is 6-9 mh fast and the 7-7 rod has more backbone. This could be just this an isolated incident but they are the only two rods I have that are the same except lenght. 

 

That's exactly right - isolated example, two specific rods.  The point made above was a generalization that longer rods have more backbone.  Way off, flat wrong.  What longer rods? What power, what action, brand, model?  See what I mean?

[BrettD]

A shorter rod does yield better leverage, but IMO leverage and backbone are different issues and I believe given identical rod stats the longer rod has has more backbone.  A very common ploy when using a longer rod to aid in leverage is moving your hand up on the foregrip or shaft itself, can be a big help in pulling fish out of cover or in my case pulling them away from pilings or offshore when they go under the boat. 

The part in bold is what I agree with atleast in my experience. Maybe we are both flat wrong.

[J Francho]

They aren't identical.  They are different lengths, lol.  The statement makes NO sense.

[ColdSVT]

Every rod I use is 6'6" regardless of technique or cover being fished. I just change power and action according to what I'm doing but the length is purely based on comfort, ease of cast ability, distance of cast, and accuracy of cast. 6'6" provides a good balance of all that for me.

this is my reasoning for all of my rods being 7ft. 7 footers are just what i like

 

i do have one 6'8 however. my 6.8 MHF is for close quarter combat cover fishing!. works great around docks and blow downs. there is a jig tied or creature tied on that rod 99% of the time

[The Rooster]

They aren't identical. They are different lengths, lol. The statement makes NO sense.

He didn't say they were identical, he said they had identical stats, meaning the same power and action ratings, but he was talking about two different length rods rated the same otherwise. That's what I got from it. It's like, say two rods rated as MH/F, but one being longer than the other, then the longer one usually has the most backbone. I've observed this myself, but it also has been with two rods from the same manufacturer as well when I've seen it. For a long time when my rod shopping was limited to just a few places, this was almost always the case. Now that I get around a bit more and can travel to BPS and Cabela's and other big name places for rods, I've also seen it go the other way as well, where the shorter rod had more backbone than the same exact rated rod in a longer length.

[J Francho]

That logic would only work if both rods where of a constant diameter, the whole length.  Then yes, the 7' would have more tensile strength.  Fishing rods are not built that way.  There is very little "equal" about two rods that are different lengths.  Are you assuming that the shorter rod was cut out of the longer rod?  OK, what part?  The top or the butt end?  Since the taper is progressive, then the answer of which has more backbone isn't so simple.  Even if the taper was constant, then if it's the tip you remove to make a smaller rod, then the action will be slower, and power will increase.  Take it off the butt end, then the opposite.

 

There are too many factors, and the tapers are always going to be different.  The notion of "sticking to two exact rods" is nonsense, anyway.  My 7' M crankbait rod has less backbone than my 6'2" M jerkbait rod.  And they're both Avids!  There's just way too many tapers, and powers to make that generalization, and I'm not even sure how it would help someone?  Someone help me out with that.  How is any of this an argument for a longer rod?

 

The long and short of it is, rear handles have grown, by quite a bit.  The "business end" of the blank isn't really much bigger than when everyone fished a 6' rod.  Today's typical 7' rod is much the same length from the reel seat forward as the 6'6" rod from a few years ago.

[.ghoti.]

 

The long and short of it is, rear handles have grown, by quite a bit.  The "business end" of the blank isn't really much bigger than when everyone fished a 6' rod.  Today's typical 7' rod is much the same length from the reel seat forward as the 6'6" rod from a few years ago.

And there, in a nutshell is my problem with longer rods. I put my Dobyns 7'6" Champion up against one of my Setyr rods, a 6'6" model, and from the reel seat forward the Dobyns is a little less than 6" longer. The rest of the difference was in the handle. A handle of such length that it was, well, unhandy.

[flippin and pitchin]

Personal preference. Fish what's most comfortable for you.

[BenB54]

Most of my rods are in the 7'+ range. The only two that I have that are shorter are a 6'6" m-mf for traps and a 6'9" mh-f that I use to flip and pitch docks and tight cover.

[SirSnookalot]

I know alot of stand up off shore fishing rods are short because they are used in boats with t-tops or cuddy cabins. When we fished offshore I couldnt count how many times I hit the t-top even with a 5-6 rod. Also trying to get a long rod in out of the cabin is next to impossible.

 

 

I couldn't agree more, I mostly fish off a Polar 21 and a 28' Sailfish, casting is very difficult as the bimini top is always in the way.  I sit on the very tip of the bow when I cast and my rods are all 7'.  I have fished in some longer center console boats with more walk around room and it's a lot easier.

[Hooligan]

They're tools, period. All have their place and time. I use 7-11 and 8-0 crank rods because of the increased casting distance. I use 6-3 and 6-5 rods for top water and jerkbaits because of their control. I have rods that range from 6-0 all the way to 8-0 for a variety of tactics. I have no preference for length other than in those situations where accuracy is needed or distance is needed. Those times are t so much preference but dictated more by the situation.

Also, in response to Snooks advice on moving your hand to the blank on long rod to add backbone- be careful with that one. Doing so can increase the strain on the rod in places it isn't meant to carry that load leading to catastrophic failure. I've seen it and done it, it wouldn't be my recommendation. Then again, to each his own. There are those who say an ugly stick is the best rod made, and those who say they'll fish with nothing less than an NRX...