rod length

[Kowen117]

what rod length do you use for 1.cranking

2.topwater

3 jerkbait

why do you use the length that you do

[J Francho]

1. 7'

2. 6'-2"

3. 6'-2"

I'd go all 7'ers, but I'm not that tall, so a shorter rod doesn't slap the water when fishing hard jerkbaits and topwaters (same rod).

[Vinny Chase]

1. 7'

2. 6' 6"

3. 6' 6"

[KYntucky Warmouth]

6'10" for shallow cranks, jerkbaits, and topwater.

7' for deep cranks.

[midnighthrasher]

1-7ft

2-7ft

3-7ft

[Big Bait Fishing]

i like longer rods for cranking , 7'6"-7'11" (haven't used a 8'er yet ) and pretty much every technique for that matter . gonna have all the rods i get made be at least 7'6" , the only rod that i use regularly that is not that long is my 7' carrot stix . as for throwing crankbaits with a long rod , i like to make long casts and can really get the distance i'm after with the longer casting rods . as for topwater , i don't throw much except for frogs , and using the longer rods work great , i actually use my 2-6 oz. swimbait rod wich is 7'10" . as for jerkbaits , i only throw flukes , and also prefer the longer rods .

[BassThumb]

Cranks: 6' 6" and 7' casting

Topwater: 6' 6" casting

Jerkbaits: 6' 6" spinning

[Kowen117]

Cranks: 6' 6" and 7' casting

Topwater: 6' 6" casting

Jerkbaits: 6' 6" spinning

Why the short topwater and why spinning on the jerkbait

[Hammer 4]

7' for all of em..

[phisher_d]

Cranks - 7 foot

Topwater - varies by bait (buzzbaits and toads get 7', dog walkers and poppers get 6'6")

Hard Jerkbaits - 6'8" spinning

Why the short topwater and why spinning on the jerkbait

The shorter rod for jerkbaits and topwaters prevents you from slapping the water when working the bait with the rod tip pointing downward..

I prefer spinning gear for hard jerkbaits because I find that I get less wrist and arm fatigue when working the bait hard. Some days the smallies won't touch a jerkbait unless it is ripped real hard and fast.

[RoLo]

6' 6" is my favorite rod length for all chores,

in fact, every freshwater rod I own is under 7-feet in length.

Except for my fly-rods of course, where rod length is needed to cast the line (not the lure).

Roger

[islandbass]

Cranks: 6' 6" and 7' casting

Topwater: 6' 6" casting

Jerkbaits: 6' 6" spinning

Why the short topwater and why spinning on the jerkbait

I'll just speak on the spinning set up for jerkbaits. I happen to use both reel types, as it really depends on which rig has the jerkbait tied on.  With that said, there is is "comfort" or "ease" of use that I feel when ripping jerks with a spinning rig. I think this "feel" I don't mind experiencing might have something to do with the reel being under the rod and much of the reel's weight is nicely put below the rod. On a casting set up, we know the handle side is going to be the heavier side and the weight is on top and depending on how you're jerking it, that lopsided weight gets into the mix of my "feel" of the overall rig.

Sorry I can't explain it any better and my description is less than sub par as I can't really put it into words.

There other plus albeit minute is a spinning rig won't have an issue tossing the lighter, smaller, and/or less aerodynamic jerkbaits.

To the question, I prefer to use as long as possible as is comfortable. As already mentioned, the shorter rod is much more convenient to jerk in close quarter or tight settings and is less prone to smashing onto the side of boat or water.

@ 6' You'll feel like you're wielding a light saber.

@ 6'6" To me, it's the best compromise

@ 7' Just love the line control and casting increase for the same effort this length offers.

[ib_of_the_damned]

The crank, jerk, and topwater are thrown on the same rod(6'6" Vendetta M/F), I have only three rods, 2 casting and one spinning, all vendettas.

I wish I had a lightsaber rod... That would be awesome... They'd call me Darth Basstard, Dark Lord of the Fish!

[BassThumb]

Cranks: 6' 6" and 7' casting

Topwater: 6' 6" casting

Jerkbaits: 6' 6" spinning

Why the short topwater and why spinning on the jerkbait

I like a short topwater rod because I rarely feel I need long casts with a topwater lure, aside from buzzbaits. Short, precise casts seem to works better. Most times the action of topwater lure is best when you keep the rod at the 4-5 o' clock position when you twitch it, which keeps the line on the water and straight instead of in the air, flopping and blowing around.

I like to use a spinning rod when I toss jerkbaits because they are generally lighter lures, ranging from 3/16 to 5/8 oz. I don't fish them in heavy cover. Mostly over deep rock piles and weeds, gravel bars, suspended fish, etc. Casting distance and covering water is important with jerkbaits IMO, so a spinning rod helps you toss the light ones easily.

[J Francho]

You know what's funny, I can cast plugs the farthest on my short topwater/jerkbait rod.  So far, no way I'm guaranteed a hookset.  That's probably more a function of the bait's weight and the reel, though.

[roadwarrior]

I prefer 7' for everything except jerkbaits and

topwater. 6 1/2' seems to be easier to control

when working those lure classes.

8-)

[Lucky Craft Man]

1. Cranking - 7'5" (for Deep) & 7'1" (for Medium, Shallow, and Lipless)

2. Jerkbaits - 6'9"

3. Topwater - 6'9"

[Skunked in DR]

1. 7' but will probably move to a longer rod when I buy my next crankbait rod.

2. 6'6" or 6'3" spinning - depends where I'm fishing

3. 6'6" spinning

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

In the most general terms longer = more distance shorter = more accurate. This only applies when all else is equal. I prefer 6'6" rods for tip down presentations (Jerk baits, spooks), 6' for spinner-baits thrown to targets and 7' for cranking.

[RoLo]

In the most general terms longer = more distance shorter = more accurate.

Right you are, but there's more.

Given two identical outfits, the longer rod will cast a bit farther because of its greater

circumferential "speed" (greater radius). But 5 seconds on the electric motor would dilute the discrepancy.

Moreover, what the shorter rod lacks in speed, it makes up for in 'power'.

Although long rods are often associated with 'leverage', the fulcrum is located at the reel,

so it's the fish that benefits from the leverage of a longer rod, and the fisherman who foots the bill.

With regard to "line-handling" and hook-setting, rod-length is a two-way street.

When working in a spatterdock field, I would surely appreciate a little extra rod length

to prevent the line from draping over a pad and aborting the entire retrieve.

On the other hand, when working in close quarters among 8-ft tall bulrushes,

the shorter rod maximizes my maneuverablility.

As a bonus, a shorter rod is always more portable in the car, in the boat and in the home.

With regard to "hook-sets", the shorter rod provides more power but the longer rod moves more line.

The shorter rod would be better for game fish with bony mouths,

but the longer rod benefits anglers who use nylon, copolymer or flurocarbon line.

The extra line movement generated by the bigger arc of a long rod helps to override the stretch in the line.

On the other hand, anglers using non-stretch braid do not require a long-stroke hook-set.

Roger

[new2BC4bass]

In the most general terms longer = more distance shorter = more accurate.

Right you are, but there's more.

Given two identical outfits, the longer rod will cast a bit farther because of its greater

circumferential "speed" (greater radius). But 5 seconds on the electric motor would dilute the discrepancy.

Moreover, what the shorter rod lacks in speed, it makes up for in 'power'.

Although long rods are often associated with 'leverage', the fulcrum is located at the reel,

so it's the fish that benefits from the leverage of a longer rod, and the fisherman who foots the bill.

With regard to "line-handling" and hook-setting, rod-length is a two-way street.

When working in a spatterdock field, I would surely appreciate a little extra rod length

to prevent the line from draping over a pad and aborting the entire retrieve.

On the other hand, when working in close quarters among 8-ft tall bulrushes,

the shorter rod maximizes my maneuverablility.

As a bonus, a shorter rod is always more portable in the car, in the boat and in the home.

With regard to "hook-sets", the shorter rod provides more power but the longer rod moves more line.

The shorter rod would be better for game fish with bony mouths,

but the longer rod benefits anglers who use nylon, copolymer or flurocarbon line.

The extra line movement generated by the bigger arc of a long rod helps to override the stretch in the line.

On the other hand, anglers using non-stretch braid do not require a long-stroke hook-set.

Roger

This sounds like excellent information from someone with plenty of experience. I did a lot of fishing from 5 until 20 years old, but never considered what the benefits might be of various rod lengths. Now that I am getting back into fishing, I am trying to learn all I can about the basics that probably everyone else on here doesn't give a second thought to because it was learned years ago.

I pay particular attention to details that suggest a rod is suitable for several uses since funds are limited. I'd be in deep doo-doo if my wife knew how much I've spent the past month on fishing equipment. I'm sure it is much less than some spend on a single order, but....

Anyhooo..thanks for your take on the subject.

[David P]

what rod length do you use for 1.cranking

2.topwater

3 jerkbait

why do you use the length that you do

If they had the rods, I'd use 7'6 - 8fters for them all, unfortunately the 7'6 Dobyns Crankin rods aren't out yet, so for now I use 7fters for them all.

Longer rods = Longer Casting distance, with all the baits you listed, the longer the cast typically the more effective the retrieve will be.

[phisher_d]

In the most general terms longer = more distance shorter = more accurate.

Right you are, but there's more.

Given two identical outfits, the longer rod will cast a bit farther because of its greater

circumferential "speed" (greater radius). But 5 seconds on the electric motor would dilute the discrepancy.

Moreover, what the shorter rod lacks in speed, it makes up for in 'power'.

Although long rods are often associated with 'leverage', the fulcrum is located at the reel,

so it's the fish that benefits from the leverage of a longer rod, and the fisherman who foots the bill.

With regard to "line-handling" and hook-setting, rod-length is a two-way street.

When working in a spatterdock field, I would surely appreciate a little extra rod length

to prevent the line from draping over a pad and aborting the entire retrieve.

On the other hand, when working in close quarters among 8-ft tall bulrushes,

the shorter rod maximizes my maneuverablility.

As a bonus, a shorter rod is always more portable in the car, in the boat and in the home.

With regard to "hook-sets", the shorter rod provides more power but the longer rod moves more line.

The shorter rod would be better for game fish with bony mouths,

but the longer rod benefits anglers who use nylon, copolymer or flurocarbon line.

The extra line movement generated by the bigger arc of a long rod helps to override the stretch in the line.

On the other hand, anglers using non-stretch braid do not require a long-stroke hook-set.

Roger

I can see what you're saying about the power and leverage, but how often do you find your self being "overpowered" by a bass, even with the longest of rods?

There is something to be said about the shock absorbing ability of certain long rods, especially when dealing with the treble hook lures (think of steelheaders in the streams with tiny hooks, often fishing 10-12 foot rods and light line). With late running fish, especially smallmouth, the extra length (and shock absorbance) could be the difference between torn out hooks and a landed fish (a smooth drag obviously comes into play here as well). With braided line (no stretch), this effect becomes even more important.

Given two identical outfits, the longer rod will cast a bit farther because of its greater

circumferential "speed" (greater radius). But 5 seconds on the electric motor would dilute the discrepancy.

While this is true, sometimes it's important to keep your distance from the fish in order to get bit. Also, with crankbaits, longer casts give your bait more time at its intended depth (ie: with two 30 yard casts, your bait spends less time in the "strike zone" than with one 60 yard cast).

With regard to hook-setting power, I can see what you mean, but I think there are more important factors to consider. If the difference was significant (relatively speaking), I don't think that we would see as many people fishing heavy hook baits like jigs and texas rigs on long flipping sticks. For me, when fishing baits vertically in cover (especially deep weeds) I find that a long rod allows me to stay in contact with the bait more easily, because of the longer arc length over my typical range of motion. In my mind, this alone outweighs any loss of power.

For "long cast" baits like cranks and jerkbaits that have light hooks, I would guess that power becomes less important and line movement becomes more important (due to the bow in the line caused by drag in the water, even with non stretch line).

It always comes down to a trade-off of benefits and drawbacks, but I prefer 7'+ rods for almost all applications, with the exceptions being tip-down jerking techniques (jerkbaits, poppers, dog-walkers), shallow crankbaits around cover, spinnerbaits around cover, and skipping.

That said, it really just comes down to personal preference

Cheers

Dave

[RoLo]

I see what you're saying about the power and leverage, but how often do you find yourself "overpowered" by a bass, even with the longest of rods?

It's not so much about being over-powered, but more about equipment that makes the job easier

and more pleasurable. I enjoy wrestling bass using only my rod arm, but I've encountered pigs

that tried to break my wrist, and using a longer rod only magnifies the strain on the wrist.

That's why commercial fisherman use hand-lines (no rod), which offers maximum power.

In the recent past, all my spinning rods were 6.0 ft long, and whenever I got snarled

in heavy cover, I literally pumped the boat over to the snag using the rod (my mistake).

With my 6'9 Kistler though (my longest rod), I point the rod-tip at the snag

then pull the rod backwards, parallel to the waterline. In effect, I'm hand-lining the lure,

by reducing the rod length to zero.

     Larry Dahlberg often uses a long rod, BUT Larry divulged his secret for fighting big fish.

With strong fish, Larry swears by using a series of short incomplete rod pumps,

so he doesn't run-out-of-gas (power vs. speed). In essence, Larry is making a shorter rod

out of a longer rod (Larry IS the Man).

There is something to be said about the shock absorbing ability of certain long rods, especially when dealing with the treble hook lures.

That's true.

The flipside of moving more line is flexing more blank.

Whereas line movement benefits the angler using stretchy line,

blank movement (flex) benefits the angler using treble hooks and non-stretch lines (like braid).

I'm not averse to long rods, and use them for fly-fishing and surf-casting,

but have gotten away from them for freshwater spinning. On more than one occasion

I've cast trebled plugs with a 6-ft spinning rod right alongside boat mates using long casting rods.

At no time did I ever feel disadvantaged, and an onlooker probably wouldn't notice any difference between us.

While this is true, sometimes it's important to keep your distance from the fish in order to get bit.

That's what I hear, but it flies in the face of flipping, pitching and the casting style that I prefer.

In Florida, you need to be a target caster, and rely heavily on your visual perception of cover.

By limiting the target setback to 20 yards, you're able to see minor detail

like a hidden weed pocket, merger of plant species, submerged weed patch, sunken stump,

hidden cypress knee, ad infinitum. In addition to the visual advantage of playing close to the vest,

the shorter setback offers more accurate splashdowns, better retrieve path control

and more hook-sets beyond the barb. As the setback between the boat and target is increased,

all four attributes are progressively degraded. Bass in gin-clear water typically lie deeper

than bass in dark water, therefore water clarity is pretty much a wash, and has little effect

on the setback of my boat. Ironically, in some of the clearest lakes, the depth sounder

plays the major role, where the boat may be anchored directly over the heads of bass,

which is up-and-down fishing that requires no casting distance. On the flipside (excuse the pun),

in dense stands of bulrushes you may need to get within 15 ft of your target to do business.

Bass are surprisingly tolerant of the presence of a boat, even in gin-clear water,

unless of course, someone drops a coffee thermos in an aluminum boat...LOL

Who hasn't caught a pig that busted the surface so close to the boat that you

jumped out of your skin? The next time you're anchored in crystal-clear water,

lean over the gunwale and peer beneath the boat. You may be surprised to see

bass huddled in the wedge of shade directly beneath the hull. I've seen this with spotted bass

in Lake Lanier and Dale Hollow, smallmouth bass in Georgian Bay and 1000 Islands,

and largemouth bass in many waters. Most of my life has been spent casting

from a seated position on the bench seat of a pike boat (still my favorite boat).

Today, anglers stand boldly upright on an elevated deck...is it any wonder why rod lengths have been creeping up?

That said, it really just comes down to personal preference

You bet.

Rod length should be suited to the angler's personal style of angling,

but he first needs to understand all the Pros and Cons to make an educated decision.

You might say, the Long and Short of it

Roger