Always shorter rod for kayak?

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

As of now I only bring one casting rod with me in the kayak, a 7’3 MH. It’s sometimes a little clumsy especially when frog fishing but I haven’t been having too many issues with it. I know lots of people like rods in the 6’0-6’6 range. I also saw that st croix makes their mojo yak line that’s specifically for kayaks. I’m curious what you use, and if you think it’s worth going to shorter rods.  

[LCG]

I fish from a sit inside kayak and the bank and use 6'8" - 7' rods. I think it's more of a preference thing.

[Pogues2300]

All I do is kayak fish and all my rods are at least 7’ with the longest being a 7’6” crankbait rod. Never been an issue for me.  The extra length helps with casting distance when I’m sitting down. Probably comes down to personal preference really. 

[Wprich]

I fish from kayak all times unless I make a bank trip with my mom or wading for trout.  My rods top out at 7'1" and the shortest is a 6'8" for jerkbaits.  I had some 7'3", 7'5", and 7'6" rods I sold them all just didn't work for me and way I fish I guess from kayak.  Like the fellas above I think it's all a preference thing.

[Backroad Angler]

The longest rod I've used in my kayak was a 7'1". Being in a kayak, it allows you to get into tight spots as compared to a boat, in this circumstance I could see a shorter rod being beneficial when you are under a tree or sorts of that nature. Other than that, I've never really payed attention to the length of my rod when I'm yaking. Fish with what your comfortable with. 

[FishTank]

It depends on how and where I am fishing so I usually take long rods and short rods, up to 6 total. They range from 6' to 7'6''.

 

If it's a short trip, I might only take two or three. Those rods will be more all purpose rods and less than 7'.

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

Yes, the rod length is a personal preference thing. There are several factors for consideration. My solution is based on my style of recreational ultra lite angling from my slightly less than 10 foot yak. It is comfortable and small enough to be easily portable for transport and also small enough to get in and out of the nooks at the various lakes.

 

I typically select fishing rods of 5.5 feet or less. These fit easily inside the double cab of my truck without the need to disassemble. There is less of an issue when I have rods on the deck of yak laying horizontally. There is minimal over hang so when getting in an out of places I'm not too worried about snagging with possible breakage. Even the rods in the vertical holders are not much of an issue as the shorter rods expose less to catch overhead branches.

 

They fit in the truck, they fit better on the smaller yak too. The shorter rods does not limit me by too much when it comes to casts. When I'm in the yak I'm more interested in accurate casts more than I'm concerned about long distance. Although I get good distance because of the UL configurations. So yes, for me, my solution is that 5.5 foot rods that work well for me. Of course your mileage may vary. Choose what works well for your style of angling.

 

Be well, and Cheers!

[bulldog1935]

Here's the kind of river water I kayak. 

 

 

6' MH graphite frogger, 3/4-1 oz

5' MM composite skip-caster, 1/4-3/4 oz

5-1/2' S-glass ML baitfinesse, 1/8 to 5/8 oz

Inshore kayak is different, where I'm typically fishing 7' to 7-1/2' rods, and mostly ML for shallow grass.  

 

Different boats, also - river kayak is 10' and spins, salt kayak is 16' and tracks like a razor.  

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

24 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Here's the kind of river water I kayak. 

That river looks awesome, what fish species are in there?

If I wanted to swimbait fish would it be crazy to bring an 8’0 rod? What’s something I could throw 2oz+ swimbait with that would be shorter? 

[Choporoz]

I don't use different rods in my kayak.  What advantages do you get from a shorter rod in a kayak?  Maybe more manageable around overhanging trees?  I don't fish rivers anymore (other than tidal), so the few inches difference around trees doesn't apply very often.   Longer rods theoretically give me better leverage for hooksets, which slightly offsets the disadvantages of sitting, awkward angles, and light platform, as opposed to being on a boat.

 

   I did use shorter handled rods in a couple of previous kayaks.  Molded seats and/or bulky PFD made longer handles a problem for me.  But, now, in a raised seat with inflatable PFD, I am not bothered by long handles.

[bulldog1935]

12 hours ago, August said:

That river looks awesome, what fish species are in there?

If I wanted to swimbait fish would it be crazy to bring an 8’0 rod? What’s something I could throw 2oz+ swimbait with that would be shorter? 

Thanks, those are 2 different rivers at extremes of the TX hill country, west, to north.  Full range of sunfish species, native northern largemouth, and endemic spotted bass

 

I've spent most of my life busting in and wading the limestone runs with a short glass fly rod, 6' to 7-1/2' - red-ear, yellow-belly sunfish (yeah, big hens)

  

Rio Grande cichlid are native in all hill country rivers

my largest endemic bass hen (would have been the state record in 2005, but would have required a liver biopsy for feral smallmouth genetics - I released her instead - she's the screen saver on my desktop)

sight-fished largemouth, and a striper that flooded over into trout tailwater

 

our coldwater fishery at easterm end is another story... (8-lb rainbow buck)

 

Regarding 8' rod for swimbait, I've fished rods as long as 9' in salt kayak - tall tip helps to keep heavily weighted paddletails in the zone above the grass.  

[FryDog62]

For me, sit inside kayaks got the shorter rods - but sit on tops (the majority of fishing kayaks today) I use all the standard rods I did with my bass boat. 

[TNBankFishing]

When I was running tournaments from my yak I had a 7’11 punching stick. Worked for me, but I know a lot of guys run shorter rods because of the distance to the water. Hard to sit and cast, but I stood on mine a lot. 

[GReb]

13 hours ago, August said:

As of now I only bring one casting rod with me in the kayak, a 7’3 MH. It’s sometimes a little clumsy especially when frog fishing but I haven’t been having too many issues with it. I know lots of people like rods in the 6’0-6’6 range. I also saw that st croix makes their mojo yak line that’s specifically for kayaks. I’m curious what you use, and if you think it’s worth going to shorter rods.  

For your style of fishing, what advantage does the 7’3 rod give you over a 7’ or 6’10 rod?  What disadvantages? 
 

For a MH all purpose rod I don’t see any real advantage other than distance.  There’s no need to throw spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, squarebills, worms, etc on anything over 7’.  Just my simple opinion 

[Fishingmickey]

I don't use anything shorter then 6'10". My longer rods are 7'3" - 7'6". I like having a long enough length for being able to go around the bow if the fish swims under the kayak or across the bow. 

FM

[casts_by_fly]

I fish 6'6" to 7'6" rods in my kayak.  Like frydog, I'm in a sit on top and I stand to fish, so no difference for me compared to bank or boat.

 

If you're in a sit-in kayak, the rod length still isn't critical, but the rear butt grip length might be.  Most 8' rods and especially ones designed for big swim baits have long rear grips.  I don't like really long rear grips anyway and I could see where they would get in the way if you're down in a sit-in.

[Bankc]

I don't think rod length really matters on a kayak.  I think it's one of those things someone thought of, said something online, and it just took off without anyone really questioning it.  It makes sense, but only if you don't really think too hard about it.  Space is limited on a kayak and a smaller rod does take up less space.  Unfortunately though, a short rod doesn't really give you more usable space or make things easier or less cumbersome. 

 

I have a few old 5'5" rods that I've used on my kayak in the past.  I didn't find them any easier to use than a 7' rod.  I think you've have to drop down to something like a 3' rod or shorter to really gain any serious advantage.  Something that wouldn't stand up above your head when seated, and something that you could point down towards the water and not touch the water while standing.  And in a kayak, you're going to need a crazy short rod to do that, unless you're a center in the NBA.  And a rod short enough to create an advantage would create other problems in the process that would most likely outweigh any advantages you gained. 

 

These days, I prefer 7' rods, exactly, when I can get them.  The reason being, I find that keeping all of my rods a consistent length makes casting more accurately a little easier.  But that's just me.  From the bank, boat or kayak, I use the same rods. 

[bulldog1935]

photos borrowed from my #1 kayak-fishing bro, hill country rivers from kayak

 

vs. shore fishing a navigation channel

and a tide pass

noteworthy, finesse rod length that doesn't equal 7' is part of success formula, and the same rod doesn't work in both niches.