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Posts: 38
| Hello all form a southern Muskie fisherman. Up till this point I have been chasing NC and TN muskie with a 10 wt fly rod and big flies that I tie. I have been looking at getting a rod for throwing bucktails, gliders, etc. My question is, The river I fish are normally very small. It seems that a lot of suggestions for rods are for rods that are 9 feet long , however, I'm guessing that most o those folks are fishing lakes or big rivers. I was wondering if folks would still recommend such a long rod for small rivers or would a shorter rod be better for the more confined nature of the rivers? What are you guys experiences with rod length for small rivers.
Matt |
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| How long in your 10wt? |
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Posts: 532
| I use 8.5' rod and I do a lot of fishing from the banks of smaller rivers. You learn to do a lot of pitching and side arm casts. For what its worth I carry a machete with me to hack my way in to spots. You can go shorter, I use to go 7' but found it to be about the same effort to do everything. I like the length to be able to stear my baits around stuff that can make a difference. Also I have less rod movement needed to give baits action with longer rods.
No correct answer here, get the length you feel would fit you the best. |
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Posts: 4342
Location: Smith Creek | 7'6"
6' to 6'6" for jerkbaits
A lot depends on what kind of boat you're using too. Jon boat you can get away with a longer rod, maybe up to 8'. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Much of my fishing is done on rivers small/large and I tend to use a rod just long enough as to not hamper my fishing(7'0" to 8'6"). The only time a really long rod hampers my fishing is when fishing from the floor of a small craft, or from shore, with bump and rise jerks, or short tap gliders/wtd lures. Otherwise, especially from shore, I really like a long rod as it allows me to 'steer' my lures towards and/or away from nearby structural elements while in a boat, and allows me to 'reach' out around brush or other shoreline related schmegma when fishing from shore(edit: just saw andys discussion on similar subject above). Now, if the river/stream is narrow enough that a long rod doesn't allow you to make casts to the opposite bank, or work your lures in close to the boat/where you're standing, shorten it up.
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Posts: 12
| I fish a relatively small river quite a bit. I spend most of my time wading, so figure 8's are out of the question. most of the time I am in water that is around waist deep and don't typically toss large lures. Because of this, I prefer a 7'6" MH rod. To me, wading at this depth makes a longer rod a little cumbersome while fishing with others. I get plenty of casting distance with that rod.
As stated before, there really is no right answer, but these are my personal preferences. |
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Posts: 38
| I guess I should have also said that I mainly fish out of a raft with a fishing frame , so I am pretty close to the water. BenR...my 10 wt is 9 feet so I certainly understand the comment. |
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Posts: 363
Location: Western U.P. | Use an 8'er most of the time on small rivers, and have a 7'6" as back up. I don't really feel the need for a longer rod for smaller rivers. |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | 7'6" st croix premier mh flippin stick, my all time favorite for small water |
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Posts: 555
Location: Tennessee | I still say go big unless shore fishing. For that I use a 6'3" St Croix with 4" added to the handle to get around trees and brush |
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Rods for small rivers