Long vs Short Rods?

[WRB]

The rods length depends on the lures being fished and your personal preference. The shortest bass rod I use the past few decades are spinning finesse 6'6" & 6'8". The longest rods are 7'10" & 8' swimbait rods. My standard jig & worm rods are 6'10" & 7'. Crankbait rods are 6'10", 7' & 7'5". 

Tom

 

[Dtrombly]

6'6" is lowest I prefer to go, personally. And that's a jerkbait/topwater rod.  7'3" for jigs/worms. 7' for frogs. 

[fishwizzard]

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

Most   rods have a handle that is to long for my liking . I have to hold them out further  it is uncomfortable and makes my  back ache. 

This is pretty much me.  I saved up and bought a GLX MBR and the longer handle on it is killing me.  I am going to fish it through until the spring to see if not having five layers on helps, but if not some on here is going to get a good deal on it used!

[OCdockskipper]

I fish from a smaller boat and am often sitting rather than standing, so rods in the 6' to 6'-6" range feel the most comfortable.  As for specialty rods, I do more skipping than long range bombing of lures, so most of those rods are shorter, not longer.  A rod that I can keep pointed straight down as opposed to some kind of angle yields longer & more accurate skips for me. 

 

I even have a heavy 5-6" spinning rod that I put 20 lb braid on that I use as a small frog rod (frogs that are really too light to use on casting gear).  The heavy rod & braid work well in the not-overly-thick weeds that show up in our lake in the summer and and the shortness of the rod allows me to fire the small frogs way back under docks on sunny, summer days.

[S Hovanec]

6 hours ago, scaleface said:

Most rods have a handle that is to long for my liking . I have to hold them out further  it is uncomfortable and makes my  back ache. My worm rod is 6'8" and the handle is about two inches shorter than other rods of its size . I have tried to replace that rod two or three times but keep going back to it . One of these days I'm going to get brave and take a hack saw to a rod handle . I'd like to shorten most of them . 

 

This is the exact reason I started building my own.

 

Don't use a hack saw.  Use a chop saw with a sharp blade.  I've hacked off quite a few rods with my chop saw.

[MickD]

If your priority is balance why would you be considering a 7-3 rod over a shorter one?  Given similar blank characteristics, the longer rod will always be more tip heavy.  I think other considerations take priority over balance, a characteristic that is affected dramatically by the lure you attach and the attitude of the rod (when vertical, all are in balance, when horizontal with lure attached, almost none is).

[Lures'n'Liberty]

I've got an 8'0 MH telescopic rod that's usually strapped to my tackle bag and sometimes comes out for frogs. It was cheap, it's on the heavy side, and it's next on the list to upgrade, but it's got braid on the reel and it makes a pretty good broom handle. I think it was $10 on eBay and it's a cheap POS with a main purpose in life as a backup for my catfish and carp gear, however it's relevance to the topic is key. The butt of the handle telescopes as well, and sliding that tube out makes all the difference in the world. The butt has a threaded cap and the tube has a little storage compartment for hiding your wee... um, small first aid kit. I put a 1/4" deep well socket in there, jammed in place with other stuff so it doesn't rattle or move and it makes a world of difference in the balance. sliding a couple big egg sinkers in the handle sure makes it nice when you're casting 3 oz of lead and a big hunk of cutbait, too. 

^^^So that was an awful lot of words to say long rod + weighted handle = better balance. Don't like the balance? try adding weight.

 

Beyond the frog rod, my longest in the bass arsenal is 6'6" and most of my gear is 6'0". I might not be the best example, as I use mostly spincast reels, but my goodness do I wish they all had pistol grips. Yes, my reels are probably heavier than yours, which makes all the difference in the balance, but wow what a difference. Seated, they're so much more manageable. While standing, flipping and pitching is more natural and the angled grip gives better control and feels like kind of a mechanical advantage, plus the lower reel seat puts the big button in a more comfortable spot. I think @S Hovanec is going to get some of my money this summer, and I'm going to get a 7'0" pistol grip rod built for topwater swimbaits and a 14 oz reel. 

[Quarry Man]

Here is another question for all of you:

 

Popular belief is that the "ideal" rod for a spinnerbait, or any other random lure is a 7'0" MH Mod Fast. While both rods are the same length overall, one has a handle that is 6" Longer than the other. Should we really be describing rods as ideal when they have "X" feet of tip and "Y" feet of backbone? I feel like a 7' rod with a 24" handle would be used for different techniques than a 7' rod with a 6" handle. In a way, that is like using a 5' and a 6'6" rod. even if they were both considered 25/75 rods (25% tip, 75% backbone, those are two totally different rods. 

 

 

I hope that makes sense...

[WRB]

There are basically 2 handle designs for bait casting rods; trigger stick & pistol grip.

Pistol grip handles are short between 6" to 8" from reel seat to butt for rods 5 1/2' to 6 1/2', trigger sticks are longer between 12" to 15" reel seat to butt for 7' to 7'4" rods. The rod length from the front of the reel seat to the rod tip is shorter for equal length trigger sticks verses pistol grips, however I don't know a 7' pistol grip rod being made today.

No standards exists for rod power rating or action, just generalized mfr labels.

Tom

[Yumeya]

6'11" is the shortest I have, that is my drop shot rod...

[JawjaBoy]

 Still have a couple of 5'6" and 6' pistol grips that get used fairly regularly.  I fish in some places that are just too tight for a long rod.  I also fish from a small boat so a rod much over 6'6"-6'8" is more of a hindrance than a help.  That said, my personal favorite is a 6'6" medium to medium heavy with a little give in the tip section.  Just a good feel to me and I can work a lot of lures well with it.

[AC870]

I’m really surprised how many guys on here like short rods. 

When I got back into fishing seriously nearly 4 years ago, anything more than a 6-foot spinning rod felt totally foreign to me. 

Then I got a 6-6 spinning rod and loved it and I started playing with baitcasters. My first baitcasting rods were 6-6. Then I bought a couple 7 footers then a 7-3 that I just love. 

Just acquired a couple 7-6 rods and I imagine an 8 footer is in my future.

I love the long rods. You can get a bait way out there and the length helps in playing fish too, especially with a parabolic action. Make mine a 7-3 to 7-6 every day. 

I do own a 5-6 ultralight for panfish but hadn’t used it in awhile because I favor the 6-6.  

[bigfruits]

i think a lot of the problem is that many rods are poorly balanced so the longer it is, the more fatiguing it is. a well balanced rod can feel way lighter than an unbalanced one even if it is considerably heavier. even after several hours of continuous use.

 

a well balanced longer rod can be a game changer. that being said, i like 7-7'3" for most apps. i am 5'10"

 

 

[leftcoastBASS]

Longer rods cast further and more leverage while shorter rods are easier to twitch for jerkbaits,  walking baits etc. I rarely bring more than 1 setup and i find 6'6 rods to be perfect

[Crankin4Bass]

On 12/25/2017 at 6:01 PM, DogBone_384 said:

Funny you had a 5'6" pistol grip rod in your youth.  I have a 5'8" BPS Pro Comp Graphite downstairs with a spin cast reel on it for nieces/nephews I might take fishing.  I'd guess it's early to mid '80s.

 

Lastly, Merry Christmas, and what part of MA are you in?

Merry Christmas! Waltham. Where are you?

[DogBone_384]

8 hours ago, Crankin4Bass said:

Merry Christmas! Waltham. Where are you?

 

I’m in Quincy but fish Plymouth/Cape Cod as much as possible.