What casting rod Length is best for fishing for river smallmouth.

[Greyson]

I am fishing the Shenandoah River for smallmouth bass. It is a VERY rocky river and has lots of rapids. I am mainly curious with what size the rod should be. The river has a strong current in some places, but other spots are flat with little current. I almost always wade into the water when I fish considering that the water isn’t very deep. I rarely use a boat. There are three different rod sizes I’m looking at: 7.8, 7.4, and 7.2 . I am going to get the M1 casting rod by Phoenix. They are ale Medium Heavy Fast action rods which I I think will be best for flukes, tubes, and soft plastic swim baits, but what size rod best fits my needs?

[FryDog62]

My favorite river/smallie rod is a Phenix as well. I find the 7'1" MHXF Feather to work well for many lures - flukes, caffeine shads, tubes, Rugby jig/Hula Grub, Neko, Shaky, etc. It fishes somewhere between a Medium and MH. The extra fast tip paired with 10-12 lb fluorocarbon is great for sensitivity, bottom contact, etc. and the backbone can get fish out and away from cover or heavy current really well. 

[Finessegenics]

I’m not a fan of overly long rods but “long” is subjective. There has been a new trend lately where 7’3 has become the new 7’0, if that makes any sense. Longest rod I’d use is 7’6. Maybe if it’s truly a specialty rod I’d go longer but I see no need/advantage to a long rod for the way I fish right now.

 

In your case, i’d go with the 7’2. Even if you don’t have to deal with brush and trees while you’re casting, a longer rod can be cumbersome while wading. A longer rod is more likely to slap the water on your motion back during the cast. Doesn’t mean it will happen but I find shorter rods more comfortable when wading. 

[bowhunter63]

I have a Bass Pro Shops 7ft 3 Carbon light 2.0. Spinning rod with a Carbon light reel 8 lb braid to a 8 lb mono leader. I use hair jigs soft plastics and jerk baits. I wade a lot and it works perfect here in the Ozarks smaller rivers. Plus it works good on a float and fly set up because I never usually go deeper then 6 ft. 

[newapti5]

I wade in creeks for SM as well, and I'm 6' tall. For wade fishing, 7'2 or 7'3 would be my limit, rods of 7'6 are a little cumbersome to cast, unless casting distance instead of accuracy is the goal. I never used any 7'8 rods for wade fishing, spinning or casting.

 

Besides the casting inconvenience of long rods like others mentioned, I also find that 6'8 to 7' rods are much more accurate when you try to silently drop a finesse jig near a fallen tree branch or a piece of rock, even from a long distance. Trying to do that with a 7'6 rod is relatively difficult, at least for me. While wade fishing, I think accuracy is more important than casting distance in many scenarios. In hot summer days, a lot of times if I miss the mark by a couple feet, the SM just won't bite.

[Spankey]

I guess everyone's river is different. But we all have the same makeups of fast water, rocks, dams, points, wing dams, etc. along it in different sections.

 

I do fish some 7 ft. casting rods on the river but I prefer shorter on the river. 6 ft. - 6 1/2 ft.. Medium w/ Moderate action. Crankbaits are a huge part of my fishing. Slow drifting the bank and encountering alot of overhangs makes it much much easier. I'm not that tall so it makes the underhand casting easier. A longer 7 ft. rod works great for me at points, rip rap and open type docks. My spinning rods get quite the workout also. I try to cover all my bases.

[Boomstick]

I don't know the specific area of the river you're fishing so this may or may not apply, but generally rivers often have a lot of low hanging trees and points and if you are in a kayak, sometimes you have to get out and drag it past certain sections when the water is low etc.

 

So what I'm getting at, a shorter rod is usually much easier to manage in these situations. Basically rods between 5'6" and 6'6" (where I normally use rods between 6'8" and 7'6" on lakes), so the 6' rod is the new 7' so to speak. If your spots aren't obstructed by anything, since you said you rarely fish out of a boat then I think you could get the same rod you would use in a lake.

[leinad]

i fish the housatonic river in ct and it sounds like your river that you described. i wade myself, and use either a l or ml rods between 6.6 - 7 '( i have 6 setups for  river fishing ) i find i can cast a 1/15 ned with bait 60-70 ' no problem using a diawa regal 1000 (all 6 ) with 6#  mono. the shorter rods are easier to transport and for walking in woods to my favorite spots.i have the phoenix m1 6'9'' s light comming monday.