Rod Lengths

[Bassassin1969]

My first post. This is a question for fun and not validation. After 40+ years of fishing I have finally arrived at a conclusion. My sweet spot for rod lengths is 6'6"-6'9". While I have lots of rods over this length, I find that I always reach for my GLX BCR803 and Kistler HE69APC. They just feel right. I'm relatively tall at 6'3" and always fish from my boat. The only time I use longer (7'+) rods is for Carolina rigs and flipping. Otherwise I hate the extra length. Seems the prevailing theories are different. What say you folks?

[RB 77]

My sweet spot is 7'. I only use shorter or longer rods for technique specific stuff when it is advantageous for me to do so (Top Water Walkers, A-rigs, Swimbaits, etc). Everything else gets 7' (Worms, Jigs, Cranks, Spinnerbaits, etc).

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard! Another 1969er!

 

My sweet spot is 5'9" - 6' with 6'6" being my max.

Just prefer shorter rods. I'm more accurate and 

don't usually worry about distance fishing out of a

kayak.

[RB 77]

5 minutes ago, Darren. said:

Welcome aboard! Another 1969er!

 

My sweet spot is 5'9" - 6' with 6'6" being my max.

Just prefer shorter rods. I'm more accurate and 

don't usually worry about distance fishing out of a

kayak.

When kayak fishing I love the control of the shorter rods, but also love the longer rods for getting them around the bow more easily. For me its a catch 22 for sure. Boat fishing is a whole other story.

[MichaelJ7]

I carry around 20 rods in my boat at all times and most of them I have set up for technique specific applications. I am 5’8” but love a longer rod. As long as I can get away with for the presentation. My shortest rods are my (2) 6’4” jerkbait rods and my 6’8” drop shot rod. Other than that it ranges from 7’-7’9”. The longer the rod the longer the cast. I also like to pitch with a 7’6”. Everyone is different though. 7’4” for me is perfect to walk a frog and have the rod low but not hitting the water. You have to find what you like but when the long cast matters, the longer rod will help. 

[Deleted account]

21 minutes ago, Bassassin1969 said:

What say you folks?

It really depends on preference, and specific situations, there is no right or wrong rod. I use 6'6" through 7' most of the time for most things, but I always fish a popper with a 6' rod, a JB with a 6'6" to 6'9", and chuck and wind with a 7'. Larger baits, flipping and if I'm really looking to launch things, a 7'6". I'm only 5'8", and I always lean to the shorter rod for the job, and work my way longer as required by the situation. 

[WI_Angler1989]

I'd say that I'm a minimalist compared to a majority of the other anglers on here. I fish out an Old Town Osprey canoe or from the bank. I have all of 3 combos, all spinning, that i chase my river smallies with. I'd say that my sweet spot is 6'10". I always get the best performance out of my St Croix Legend Tournament Bass 610mlxf. That's probably a by product of how much I use it, but my 6'6" and 7' foot weird compared to the LTB.

[bassguytom]

My sweet spot is 6’6” to 6’10” also. I’m 6’4” and don’t really like longer rods. I have longer rods but like the shorter ones better. I fish from a boat also and for whatever reason the longer rods seem to get in the way. 

[Darren.]

26 minutes ago, RB 77 said:

When kayak fishing I love the control of the shorter rods, but also love the longer rods for getting them around the bow more easily. For me its a catch 22 for sure. Boat fishing is a whole other story.

Yes, the longer the yak, the more this can be an issue.

 

In my 12' yak it really isn't *too* much an issue, but 

there have been times when I stage my rods and they

hang over the bow a few inches. A bit more stretch is

required to get around them.

[Boomstick]

Around 6'9" - 7' is good for bottom contact lures where distance is less of an issue. I like a slightly longer rod, maybe 7'2" to 7'4" for moving baits for extra distance where I really want to get into the target zone but I feel the really long cranking rods are a little bit overkill. Try casting that from the shore and hitting a tree.

 

If I owned a kayak or canoe, I may prefer rods even shorter as they're often easier to manage.

[Columbia Craw]

If you are comfortable, cast where you intend, work and feel the bait and have a good bite to land ratio, don't change a thing.  Welcome to the forum !

[WRB]

Older bass anglers like me started with 5' to 5'6" pistol grip rods bait casting reel combos. My 1st long rod was a Fenwick salt water 7' popping rod with trigger grip handle before straight handle rods were popular for fresh water bass fishing. I still use 7' crank bait rods. The rod in front of the reel length hasn't changed that much, a 6' pistol grip rod is nearly the same as a 6'8" trigger grip handle rod, the difference is behind the reel seat.

My custom jig and worm rods are 6'10" because I like that length and  fits my front deck perfectly. Crank bait rods are 7', swimbait/wake bait rods are 7'10" to 8', frog rod 7'5". Finesse spinning and casting rods 6'8" to 7'. 

I use my jig and worm rods about 80% of the time on the water.

Tom

[Team9nine]

6'8" to 7'2" here, at least for baitcasting. On spinning, I prefer a bit shorter, closer to 6'6" as the standard, or a couple inches longer/shorter.

[LCG]

4 hours ago, Bassassin1969 said:

My sweet spot for rod lengths is 6'6"-6'9".

X2

[Catt]

6' 10" medium heavy extra fast ?

 

That's my sweet spot for Texas Rigs, Jig-n-Craw, & spinnerbaits.

 

The only difference is my spinnerbait rod has a longer handle for two handed casting.

 

[MassYak85]

It really depends on the technqiue. I like longer rods and will pretty much not buy anything under 7' now. 

[bigfruits]

mine range from 6'6" to 7'6". depending on what im using it for.

[BuzzHudson19c]

For me 7ft is perfect for casting rods. I like 6'6 for spinning. Anything longer than 7'3 I don't like as I am fishing from a kayak and it's especially hard to to use walking baits in a seated position with a long rod.

[bigturtle]

6'10 to 7'4 for me, with only 1 rod over 7'4, and thats a big swimbait rod at 8'
long rods just arent that comfortable to me

[Finnz922]

610 to 75

[Czorn]

Other than a jerk bait rod, all my other rods are 7' and over. I love longer rods and I find that I'm most accurate with a 7'6" rod. 

[new2BC4bass]

Like Tom, 6' was a long rod back in the day for me.  I still prefer 6' to 6'6" for spinning, but when I got into baitcast reels 7'-7'6" became my favorites although I do have a few below that that I like a lot.  Only one is 6'6".

 

[PatrickKnight]

I wade fish a river or inshore salt water 99% of the time I am fishing and I use spinning gear only. I don't like fishing with rods under 7 foot and prefer 7'6" if I can get away with it. I don't even bother to look at rods under 7 foot anymore.

[NYWayfarer]

Shorter rods 6’-6’10” when Kayaking

 

Longer Rods 7’+ when bank fishing unless there are low hanging trees

[Mike L]

All my bc rods are 7'-7'2, it just worked out that way. 

Sometimes I wish I had a 6+ something or a 7'3"+ something but I make em work. 

 

Dont use spinning for anything. 

 

 

 

 

Mike