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Posts: 64
Location: Minnesota | Hello!
I just wanted to write a quick question regarding rod length and power to which lures are the most suitable for them. I have an 8' XH that I plan on using for small blades and jerkbaits, I have an 8'6" XH that I'm not too sure what to use for which kinds of baits and presentations, and then I have a 9'6" XH that I plan on using for everything except jerkbaits probably. I'm curious as to what people use on an 8'6", and whether I should change my approach or not when it comes to the setups I have.
Thanks for any pointers,
Alex |
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Posts: 330
Location: SE Wisc | Length of rod tends to be personal preference but for XH action I use them for lures up to about 10 oz. Magnum bulldawgs or larger cranks the 86 XH is what I use, or for smaller baits that I really want to rip hard like a standard bulldawg through weeds. I like a 86 or 9’ H for most bucktails ( or medium size rubber/cranks) and a MH for smaller tails/lures. I like going to rods in the 8’ to 76 length for jerks/ gliders. A MH is also great for many prop style topwaters |
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Posts: 205
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota | Once you get used to how to work that specific rod you can throw any bait on anything if you want to. If I could only have one rod I would have no problem throwing any style bait on my 10ft xh predator. All about how it feels to you. Shortest rod I own is a 9’. For me I twitch cranks and fish jerkbaits on a 9’ mh or h. Fish smaller blades under 9’s, most topwaters and more straight retrieve cranks on a 9’10h predator, throw giant rubber like pounders/husky dusas on a 10ft xxh predator, and pretty much any bait I own on a 10ft xh predator. It is not necessary to have that many rods, I am seriously considering getting rid of my 2 9 footers as i can fish all those baits on my predators and it’s just extra clutter in the boat. Once your used to how a rod feels in your hand you can throw whatever you want on any length. When I got into musky fishing I made the mistake of thinking it was like bass fishing where you want 20 rods rigged on deck each for specific baits. Get a 9’-10’ heavy and a xh and just learn to use the baits on those. |
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Posts: 1180
| Like most everybody I fish 8-9 foot rods XX or X heavy and I have a rod that's like a down sizer. With that said we all have a bunch of 7 foot bucktail rods laying around from yesteryear. My favorite of these is a rod I got from my dad when he passed is a Daiwa 7' 3" bucktail rod from the late 90's and is light as a feather. I dumped the 5600C he had on it. And put a System 13 A3 in it's place. With this set up I like to throw a plan Mepps #4 (no tail) or Mepps #5 dressed with squirrel tail (this is smaller then a single Mepps Musky Killer) or 22 short or long, rattle trap, beefed up bomber shad, buzz bait, or lighter glide bait like a Mini Tap Dancer. This works in the spring or on places that have only smaller sized fish. My dad did catch our largest fish or this rod but it destroyed the 5600C. |
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Posts: 64
Location: Minnesota | Lots of great info on here. Thanks to the commentors for that!
I wanted to ask another question related to this same topic as well. With that 9'6" XH Predator I have, will I be able to throw pounders and bigger? I'd love to throw the Monster Swimmin Dawgs, Ultra Dawgs (1.5 pounder), 2 Pounders, etc. I know some guys say that the 10' or 10'6" XXH Predators are the best in the business for those baits, but does anyone know if the 9'6" XH could handle em as well? I'd like to know before ordering any $70 lures  Otherwise, I guess I'll have to invest some more cash into a new rubber rod.
Again, thanks for any help. |
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Posts: 1675
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | I throw pounders in my 9’8” xh predator. Rod is made for them IMO. I wouldn’t throw ultras or anything heavier on it though. |
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Posts: 977
| Weiseyyy - 3/31/2022 10:24 PM
Lots of great info on here. Thanks to the commentors for that!
I wanted to ask another question related to this same topic as well. With that 9'6" XH Predator I have, will I be able to throw pounders and bigger? I'd love to throw the Monster Swimmin Dawgs, Ultra Dawgs (1.5 pounder ), 2 Pounders, etc. I know some guys say that the 10' or 10'6" XXH Predators are the best in the business for those baits, but does anyone know if the 9'6" XH could handle em as well? I'd like to know before ordering any $70 lures Otherwise, I guess I'll have to invest some more cash into a new rubber rod.
Again, thanks for any help.
you'll want the XXH pred or the Chaos moab for those baits |
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Posts: 3774
| I've never been a fan of rods over 8' for two reasons.
First, both safety and success are dependent, in part, on minimizing fatigue. Longer rods require more energy to fling. May not seem like a big deal in your first couple hours on the water but it becomes increasingly important after 6 or so hours of flinging baits. Especially important when doing loner marathons into the wee hours.
Second, I have two sorta short rods, one dedicated to glide baits and the other to Suicks and weighted-to-suspend Grannies. These lures want downward strokes/snaps but I don't want to smack the water with my rod tip each time, especially at night. So, these rods are as long as possible, but, the closer my feet are to the water the shorter the rod. I need two rods because the glide rod has a 240# straight wire leader and the Suick/twitch rod has a 80# fluorocarbon leader.
Hope that's useful.
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Posts: 64
Location: Minnesota | Ronix - 4/2/2022 9:35 AM
you'll want the XXH pred or the Chaos moab for those baits
That’s kinda what I figured. Would you pair one of those rods with a 500 Tranx or would the 400 also work? |
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Posts: 253
| 500 will be more durable, and the faster retrieve rate of a HG could be useful.
But the 400 already has enough line capacity for 100m of beefy braid needed for these lures and is already fairly durable.
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Posts: 205
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota | Ranger - 4/2/2022 5:25 PM
I've never been a fan of rods over 8' for two reasons.
First, both safety and success are dependent, in part, on minimizing fatigue. Longer rods require more energy to fling. May not seem like a big deal in your first couple hours on the water but it becomes increasingly important after 6 or so hours of flinging baits. Especially important when doing loner marathons into the wee hours.
Hope that's useful.
Length preference at the end of the day is up to the person but a well balanced 9 or 10 footer is easier to cast than an 8. The difference in weight is more than made up by the fact you have to move a long rod less to get the same casting distance. It’s just physics that your hands don’t have to move as much with a 10 as they do with an 8 to give a bait the same speed. I have significantly less fatigue throwing baits on a 10ft than I did throwing an 8’6, especially once you start talking rubber |
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Posts: 3774
| Hmmm, not sure I can buy that. What about figure 8s? Seems the longer the rod under the water the more energy required to do the 8s. In any case a 10' musky rod seems totally unnecessary. For sure they don't work for me with glide and twitch baits. My current boat has covered storage for 12 rigged rods but none over 8'. I dunno, never had a rod over 8', most of mine are between 6' and 7'6". Maybe if I had some experience with longer rods I would have a different opinion. But I doubt it. |
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Posts: 330
Location: SE Wisc | As a side note I’ve never been a fan of rods laying all over the floor of a boat. Not sure how many boat manufacturers have 10’ rod storage, let alone 10’6”! So storage may also be a factor when choosing rods, but like I said earlier it’s personal preference. |
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Posts: 479
Location: Northern Illinois | The same weight is going to feel heavier (and therefore exert more force on your shoulders and back) on a 10' rod than an 8' rod. This is more so when you add the weight of the rod. |
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Posts: 205
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota | My whole point is that it’s a longer fulcrum. Say you are casting an 7’ and a 9 or 10’. If your rod goes from 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock position, there is significantly more speed at the tip of the rod with the longer rod. In turn that means that less energy needs to be put into the cast to have the same speed of the lure at the beginning of the cast. Again it’s personal preference on what you prefer length wise but ease of casting and much better figure 8’s is kind of the whole point of long rods. Granted I throw really high end rods for the purpose of them bring light and well balanced. If I was throwing lower end 10’ I might feel differently about it with how much heavier the rod would be.
Even if we took casting out of the picture the figure 8 benefits would be enough for me to use a 9+. With a 9-10 again you are covering significantly more water than with a shorter rod. With a 10 if you do the exact same figure 8 as you would with an 8’ that is 2 extra feet in every direction that your covering. For me personally it is much less fatiguing because you don’t have to bend over at all with a 10’ to get a good 8. I’m just using 10’ as an example because I use them but the exact argument cloud be made for a 9 or 9’6 |
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Posts: 479
Location: Northern Illinois | I agree with your 2 points about casting and figure 8. I use a 9' rod most of the time. I know some guys who won't go with longer rods due to diminishing returns of benefits vs. effort. |
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Posts: 408
Location: MN | IMO, as longer rods have become lighter, a lot of the value of specialization has gone away. The 9'6" XH predator for example is sort of an ultimate all purpose rod - enough power to throw pounders, but light enough that fatigue is not an issue with lighter lures or twitch/jerk lures that require fast repetitive motion.
I like a 10' rod most of the time - easy to make long casts and deep wide figure 8s. I use the TI rods in XH and XXH with jig rippers. The TIs are a bit heavier than the best rods - I use the lighter XH when the bait works on it to reduce fatigue. If going with SC, TB predator, or Chaos 20/20, I would probably just do one power that was big enough to handle pounders (e.g. XH predator).
I have a 9' rod (TI XH) that I prefer for a few applications. WTD baits is the obvious one. I also like it for topwater, as doing a surface figure 8 with a 10' can be awkward. The third application is fishing bucktails in very shallow water, where I never want to figure 8 deep; the longer rod can get a bit awkward.
After getting used to working gliders and wtd topwaters on a 9' rod, I don't see any need to have a shorter special-purpose rod any more. I'd love to consolidate further down to just one rod that does everything, but I'm not quite there yet (9'6" 20/20 S&A w/ revo seat?). Note I do not throw super heavy (>14 oz) or light (<2 oz) baits - those may require specialized setups. |
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Posts: 64
Location: Minnesota | Again, lots of great stuff. Every time I read through this thread I end up having a new question.
If I were to get a rod specifically for massive rubber and incredibly drag heavy bucktails, which is the one to get? I don't really want to have to spend another $550 on a custom Predator rod if possible. I've seen Tackle Industries with a few good options, along with Chaos Tackle's 9'6" XXH Telescopic Shock and Awe and their one piece 9' XXH Shock and Awe. I'd really prefer to stick to a one piece because that's what I trust more and am used to, but I haven't been able to find an XXH that is 10' without it being telescopic. This brings me to my next point being this: though I'd really like a 10' rod for this kind of application, would a 9' or 9'6" suffice as well and be just as good?
Thanks for any pointers. |
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Posts: 253
| if you still aiming for 2 pounders and ultra dawgs, the shock n awe is not the rod for you.
it is possibly the best rod for 10 to 18oz rubber i have tried so far (20/20, 9 foot 6), but once you go over 20oz, the rod does not have enought of a backbone to cast well.. Go witht the 20/20 MOAB if you want a chaos tackle rod, never tried it but it looks nice on paper, dont see any reason why it would not performe well.
Regarding lenght options, chaos tackle moved to a "all telescopic" lineup, so the newer 9 foot + longer rod models only existe in telescopic.
Regarding lenght, i think your best bet would be to go to a shop and see what feels best for you with the rods in hand, since everyone has their own preferences. (personnely longer = better because i love casting distance) |
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Posts: 600
Location: Michigan | Ranger - 4/4/2022 8:52 PM
Hmmm, not sure I can buy that. What about figure 8s? Seems the longer the rod under the water the more energy required to do the 8s. In any case a 10' musky rod seems totally unnecessary. For sure they don't work for me with glide and twitch baits. My current boat has covered storage for 12 rigged rods but none over 8'. I dunno, never had a rod over 8', most of mine are between 6' and 7'6". Maybe if I had some experience with longer rods I would have a different opinion. But I doubt it.
How do you know longer rods don't work for you if you have never tried them? I find Figure 8's much easier with longer rods as the rod does a lot of the work so your body doesn't have to (don't have to bend down as much to figure 8 with a 9' rod compared to a 7' rod). |
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| While I have a 7.5 rod for certain jerk baits and wtd, everything else is 8.5 or 9. I started musky fishing with short pool cues. Really like the long rods for ease of casting and figure 8s. |
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Posts: 8717
| I know I say this every time the topic comes up but here goes:
It depends on how tall you are, how long your legs are, and how high your boat sits in the water. Generally speaking, longer rods are better for figure 8's. You can make wider turns, and that's important. It's also easier to cast, that's just physics.
But if your a shorter guy in a boat that sits low in the water, or you're fishing from shore, or a kayak you're probably going to struggle with longer rods. |
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Posts: 374
| I am 71 years old ... musky fishing for over 40 years. Like everyone else started with 6.5 - 7 ft rods. I have progressed to 9 - 9.5 ft rods. The weight of these rods is secondary to how much easier it is on my body to cast the longer rods all day long as well as leverage to figure 8 more effectively. Yes ... I have a couple of downsize rods for specific uses but 9 ft rods have allowed me to be on the water much longer. |
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