|
|
Posts: 292
Location: SW MI | What situation would you want to use a shorter rod? Gander has a 6'3" heavy action rod and I thought I would ask this question before I thought of picking it up. |
|
| |
|
| are you a midget? maybe in that case they make sense. otherwise short rods to me are absolete and offer too many disadvantages over long rods.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | They are easier to swing those WTD topwaters and glider jerkbaits than the longer rods.
Edited by muskie! nut 3/26/2008 11:25 AM
|
|
| |
|
| if you learn to work the rod to the side, rather than down for your wtd's and gliders you have a better hookup ratio imo. 8' rod is the shortest I will use. |
|
| |
|
Location: Sun Prairie, WI | Could someone please explain to me how a longer rod gives you a better hookup? Is it b/c of the increased distance the rod travels when setting the hook that gives a better/harder hookset?
I've seen this kind of statement a lot b4, but don't know if anyone has ever explained why hookups are better.
Thanks! Just curious so I thought I'd ask. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2024
| gtp888 - 3/26/2008 11:57 AM
Could someone please explain to me how a longer rod gives you a better hookup? Is it b/c of the increased distance the rod travels when setting the hook that gives a better/harder hookset?
I've seen this kind of statement a lot b4, but don't know if anyone has ever explained why hookups are better.
Thanks! Just curious so I thought I'd ask.
Theory is you can keep more tension on the line because the length is more forgiving and when a fish head shakes it is absorbed by the rod tip. You can also pick up slack line faster with a longer rod. |
|
| |
|
Location: Sun Prairie, WI | Thanks Sean! |
|
| |
|
Location: Athens, Ohio | River and stream fishing - both from the bank and from a boat - sometimes involves close quarters that makes shorter rods ideal.
My biggest fish just happened to come in on a 6 ft. BPS rod. Dang! I'll never try that again, what was I thinking???m |
|
| |
|
Posts: 457
| 6'3" is a tad short, but it does have it's uses. Jerkbaits and wtds are great on shorter rods. I will forever have a 6'9" in the boat with me. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | None of these post were made from me...although, I will add this....
I have no use for a rod shorter than 8'6. All the rods I use are 8'6, 9 and 9'6. All my client rods are 8'4 or 8'6.
Short rods are No Good for ANYTHING |
|
| |
|
| Gary,
here is my thinking on how long rods help you hook and keep fish pinned...think about a 3 foot rod, and a 9 foot rod, this is an over dramatization but it will help you get the idea...if you sweep both rods, say 45 degree's which one moves the tip of the rod a greater distance from start to finish? easy, the 9 footer...hence why I personally think I get better hookups with long rods...been using 8'6"s before most, (thanks to Lee T for that) and have never looked back...the only rod i use shorter is an 8 for gliders and wtd's and it works great.
If you like short rods fine, but there are so many advantages to long rods vs short to me short rods are pretty much useless. once you go long you never go back...I think I've converted at least 4 people to long rods in the last yr ...right Milia, Ruhman, etc etc!
short rods are good for .....ice fishing scoopers |
|
| |
|
Location: Sun Prairie, WI | Thanks Brad...that's what I was alluding to when I mentioned the longer rod moves further on the hookset creating more centrifugal force to drive the hook into the fish harder. I thought perhaps that was it, but didn't know for sure if there was something else I was missing.
I appreciate the feedback as always! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 159
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Mikie's comment makes a lot of sense. i do a good bit of fishing from brushy shorelines, and out of canoes and kayaks in places no other boat can go, and a shorter rod is wonderful. Esox, you yourself know what a hassle brushy shorelines can be with a flyrod. You could also imagine trying to do a figure 8 with a 9 foot rod while sitting in a kayak or tube. Short rods are a must in those kinds of situations. BUT if we all fished in big boats on open water like Hulbert, i'd bet we'd all be saying what he said. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | The load and energy release from any rod length depends on the direction from which the force was applied to the blank and the opposing force applied by the angler, the amount of load and flex the blank was designed to take and then release, and how much energy is transferred down the rod, through the line, and to the lure by the angler's hookset. I probably set the hook much harder with a 6.6' rod than many folks do with an 8.6' rod, but that's because I was schooled by Shag on how to pop 'em. I know I have to watch my drag setting or I'll rip hooks out of fish (open up too large a hole) setting the hook too hard some days. Most days a sharp pop and applied pressure hooks 'em up for me. I'm not saying a long rod is bad or good, I'm saying hooksets can be improved with technique and a shorter rod can deliver quite a pop. |
|
| |
|
| When I'm in my small boat I want the guy in the bow to have a shorter rod. Keeps him from nailing me on the backcast. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8772
| I can think of a few situations where a shorter rod is definitely better:
1. Fitting it in most rod lockers
2. Fitting it in your car/truck
3. Fitting it in a rod rack in your basement
4. Shipping it anywhere
As for fishing with them, I feel more comfortable with a 6'9" rod for working WTD baits, jerkbaits, and gliders. Not to say its the best way, just what I'm used to. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1710
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Short rods are No Good for ANYTHING
This is absolutely not true. Just because one person prefers long rods does not mean they are the best way to go. Go with a rod you are comfortable with. Ultimately if YOU do not like it, you will not use it. Short rods IMO are better for wtd type topwaters, gliders, and baits of that sort. Long rods are better for me when using large plastics, cranks, and bucktails.
While in my opinion 7' is short, I know many guys that use 6'3 rods for a "short rod application like I talked about above. They are also nicer when fishing in stick ups since long rods extend further from your body on a cast, you are more likely to hit a stick up.
It also depends on the stiffness of the rod. If it is 6'3" and like a pool cue......you may consider a different rod. A 9' rod that is really whippy is not going to do you any good on a hookset. From my experience, longer rods take more effort to set the hook deep enough penetrate the jaws. Short rods allow you to pop the hooks in and then let you play the fish accordingly based on that rod/reel combo.
Think back 10 years when the longest rods were 7' long. Did people catch muskies? Yes. Do people catch muskies on long rods? Yes. Will a short rod work? Yes. There are times and places for both long and short, but don't rule it out of your arsenal because someone tells you it is good for nothing. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 756
| A question for some of the guides here. Lets say your clients are a father and son tandem, the youngster maybe 10 -12 years old first starting out. Would you still recommend using a 8.5 footer for him? A couple of years or so down the road between my brother and myself, I want to start fishing with my son and nephew. Throwing musky baits in a boat with them can get a little dangerous. I just think a 6 to 7 footer would be easier for the kids to handle. What would you recommend? Another use for the shorter rod? KDAWG |
|
| |
|
Posts: 90
| "Shorter Rods are not good for anything" That's a pretty bold statement. I personally fall in the mid range by preferring a 7'6" over all others. Out of all the rods I have, I never leave home without my 2 favorite St Croixs, a 7'6" MHF and a 7'6" HF. Does that make me a bad person? When I first started Musky fishing 6 ft rods were the norm, and I even had a 5 1/2 for awhile. Clearly there are advantages to both, the most obvious being comfort of the angler. 14-16 hours a day on the water is a lot longer with a rod you are not comfortable with. For me that is a rod no longer than 7 1/2 ft. However if rods under that length are obsolete as someone mentioned, then perhaps someone should notify the major rod manufacturers, St Croix, Diamondback, G Loomis to name a few, all make rods for 2008 that are under 7 ft. There is an application for every rod and an angler for every application. I respect your preference for for super long rods, please do the same for others with varying preferences. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 375
| To each his own! Personally over the last 4 years I've carried 5 st. croix muskie rods in my boat of various "actions", medium light to xxheavy and various lengths from 6 to 7 1/2 foot thinking I "needed" them all. The beginning of last season I went the "long" route and purchased a musky innovations 9 footer since st. croix doesn't make any that long. I realized that I really liked the added length compared to my others and "learned" how to work various baits with it but, although it's a nice rod "for the money", it weighed much more than any of my premiers and that I didn't care for. I looked into the st. croix legend "stock" rods and after reading and chatting with a few gentlemen on this site concerning longer custom rods, I decided to call Keith @ ProEdge Rods concerning custom legends. He took the time to ask me many questions concerning what exactly I wanted the rods to be able to do and "fitted" the right rods to my needs. He ended up building me two custom st. croix's built off the 8' legend bass mega swimbait blanks rated at 3-8 ounce baits, extended to close to 9' with the new syncork handles and upgraded guides. I found out I wasn't asking for the moon in wanting two identical 9' rods, to take the place of the five I had, that had the ability to throw a wide range of baits with a softer top end than most xheavy muskie rods have. Keith guided me to this blank stating that in his opinion as a musky fisherman himself, it was the best all-purpose st. croix legend blank for musky fishing and it's not even listed as a "musky" rod according to st. croix! I've tested the rods on the back yard snow muskies throwing 1 ounce to 9 ounce baits and they handled them all incredibly, something I can not honestly say when trying that same experiment with any of the premiers! Even at 9' they are as light if not lighter than any of the premiers too! I don't have any pounders, yet, but I am betting these rods will handle them ok too! Their will be an old technology, "gotta have many rods for the different applications" thought process and the manufacturers will continue to build for the "masses" because they want to sell as many different rods as they can and the custom buiders like Keith will "take care" of those who want the latest in technology and then some! Personally I wanted just two pretty much all-purpose 9' musky rods in my boat and I found them!
stan
Edited by STUSHSKY 3/27/2008 1:18 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 358
Location: London, England | Longer rods are great for many applications and it's easy to just keep using them for everything, but for the guys who are sold on long rods for everything, get the old 6'9" heavy out something and give it a go for wtd and glide baits. You'll see a big difference in how the lure moves. Whether that's a good thing or not and whether the fish care or not is another matter, but giving the old rod a go again you will be surprised at how differently it works some baits. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 159
Location: Stevens Point, WI | kdawg - 3/27/2008 9:44 AM
A question for some of the guides here. Lets say your clients are a father and son tandem, the youngster maybe 10 -12 years old first starting out. Would you still recommend using a 8.5 footer for him?
If there is room, give the kid a longer rod. Truth is, a 10 year old can probably cast a big bait longer into the day with a longer rod than with a shorter one. It does make handling lures a bit easier. If there is room. I may be wrong, but the size of the person does not seem to make much of a difference in how well they handle longer rods, either. I'd be inclined to give them the same rods, but that's probably just me. |
|
| |
|
Location: Grinnell, Iowa | This has been one of the better debates I have read in awhile. I use 6 1/2 to 8 footers. But that is because I don't know any better.
Good info from all. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 90
| in regards to the st croix "bass" rod do not throw pounders on that rod it will not hold up to it. i built that rod to 8'9 the first year it came out along with a couple of other people i know and now use it mainly for topwaters/bigger bucktails. be very careful when casting the magdawg as well, it can cast them, but i know of 4 seperate rods that have broken from dawg use with that blank. it is an awesome rod and i would agree that it is the best musky rod that st croix makes, pretty sad that it is a "bass rod" figured id give you a heads up
Edited by veha45 3/27/2008 2:20 PM
|
|
| |
|
| if you needed advice on the right clubs to choose would you listen to Tiger Woods or the local "pro" down at the 9 hole dust bowl golf course by your house?
if you take a peak at what rod lengths the guys that catch a ton of big fish per year, say your "big name" guides and pro's winning tournaments you will see long rods are the norm. that is not to say short rods don't catch fish, they sure do as 10 yrs ago, we all used pool cue's and did ok. but how many of us want to get better at catching fish? sort of like fishing pre gps days, some days I wonder how I did that. or the pre cell phone days. technology advancements in equipment such as long rods help us put more fish in the boat and less fatigue on our bodies. imo. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 375
| thanks veha45 i'll certainly keep that in mind! i do realize that everything has it's limits but in choosing these rods i'm hoping to cover alot of bait range territory and may add the legend big dawg version for the heavy-weights! That'll put me down to three rods vs. five before...but that's ok too:) |
|
| |
|
Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I doubt I'd use the same clubs at any golf pro, I don't golf. And if I did, I'd still suck at golfing.
I do fish for Muskies. Alot.
I like my 7' rods for some applications, my 7.5' rode for some applications, and my 8.5' rods for some applications. I might not fish my lures exactly like you or Mike, but I do just fine and am not -#comfortable#- with an 8 and a half foot rod working some of the lures I use the way I want to work them. I like being comfortable.
I balance every rod I own, and they are nearly effortless to use as a result. Now THERE'S something I won't fish without anymore...rod balancers. Since Beav got me my first pack a number of years ago, I've refined that a little and use them on every muskie rod I own, even my creature spinning rods.
|
|
| |
|
Location: Contrarian Island | Rod Balancers are a must Steve, on all rods, you nailed it....we AGREE! ; )
Edited by MSKY HNR 3/27/2008 2:47 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Wow, send up a flare!
Sharpen those hooks, HNR, the hydrophone wants to record a Madison Muskie strike... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1710
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Sworroll......where do you get balancers big enough to go over the butt sections of musky rods? The Larry Dahlberg balancer splits on my 8'6" MI rod and my 7' rod as well. Any suggestions other than cutting it apart? |
|
| |
