Benefits of longer rods

[chris kowaleski]

I am entertaining the idea of getting a longer panfish rod.  Are they good for casting long distances?

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

HEY CHRIS,

  In my opinion they are a bit better for distance as long as they are not too fast an action. The size of the guides is of great importance too, Too small a guides , prohibits longer casts because ot the gathering ability of the bottom most guide on the rod. THe older style rods have a softer action and tend to be better at casting distance as long also, that you don't use line heavier than about 4 lb.

  Just 2 cents worth and hoped I helped. I'd say the upper limit is around 7' and the reason for this is simple, they just get too unweiledy to use . a 6 - 6 1/2' are about as long as I use myself.
  Lets see what everyone else says!!!!

  Good discussion Buddy!

[Dan Bippus]

I have a 13' BnM that I added 4 large guides from a broken spinning rod and taped on a underspin reel to it.  I  can cast pretty well with almost no added weight with it.  It is a little unweildy,  not for cast and retrieve all day, but good for bobber or bottom fishing.  Only problem I've had is that it collapsed once(its telescopic) when I had a big fish on.

[Tony Livingston]

I have always used a shorter rod, usually a 4.5'. A few months ago I started using a 6', solely to try and improve my casting distance with smaller baits/lures. I believe that it makes a difference in casting distance, and it certainly feels different with a fish on.

My biggest complaint with a longer rod comes from the lack of maneuverability in a tight bank fishing scenario... would not be an issue most of the time if fishing from a boat.

[Vince Fusco]

I use a 5 1/2 ft. spinning rod and like it a lot. My newest one has a fast action with micro guides, and I can see a good difference in my casting distance. Ut Oh have I opened a big guide vs micro guide debate???? A good friend of mine fishes nothing shorter than a 6 ft. rod. I find the 5 1/2 ft. a little easier to control with light lures.

[chris kowaleski]

thanks for the  responses guys! The reason i kinda want a longer rod  is because where i moved there are a couple big lakes, and i can only bank fish from a few spots, so i'd want to try to reach some deeper water. my main rod is a 6ft light action, and i have a 5ft ultralight usually for tight bank spots, but a couple of the spots on the big lakes are wide open, so i could definately use a longer rod without difficulty.  You guys think it'd be worth a shot to get an 8 or 9 footer?

[dick tabbert]

Its like every thing else. I have a number of 5' rods but were I fish the waters are clear so some times I do need a little farther cast so for that a longer rod does make a little difference. But like everything else you need to weigh it out and see if its worth it for you. The biggest disadvantage being cumbersome being harder to guide through obticles, weight and off coarse storage.

[John Sheehan]

Chris- I have a 2 piece  8' Zebco Slab Seeker that is very inexpensive if you want to start out with a small investment to see how it works out. I had to change the tip top as it was ridiculously poorly designed and I lost two floats until I discovered the line wrapped between  rings of the guide.The tip top I put on has no problem (very simple to do) .Very limber and sensitive at the end of the rod like you' d expect a Crappie rod to be and  good for casting 16th oz and lighter good distances .Cant beat the price !Using a Daiwa UL reel with 2 lb test on this rod I've caught Perch, Crappie Bluegill and small Bass using this rod . Even has a 10" ruler on the handle of the rod for Panfish measurement .I thought that was cool too! In this link I see 10' and 12' but not the 8' but do a search for an 8' if that's what you want .Hope this helps you and good luck!  http://www.cabelas.com/spinning-rods-zebco-slab-seeker-8482-rods.sh...

[David Dillman]

I like 6 foot rods.  They are not to long or short.  If your bank fishing, and need to get out far, you should use the spooning method of bill modica.  You can really fling that heavier spoon out their, and you have a small hook on the end for bluegill.  You just just count down to the depth you think the fish are and then reel in slowly.  It worked for me this spring before I could get in my float tube.

Dilly

[Dave Campbell]

One of my favorites for flipping out light bait rigs or small lures for both panfish and trout is a converted fly rod.  It was a 9 foot, five weight St. Croix blank that I had built out for fly fishing, and I managed to snap the last foot of tip in the brush only a month after I built it. Rather than dump it,  I got a little creative, stripped the fly guides and put on a set of ultra light spinning guides, modified the handle for a spinning reel seat, and put on a medium penn reel.  It's been great!  However, it takes some getting used to in tight quarters.  It also has advantages in the same settings though.  I can reach out to the side and cast around things ahead of me in streams, and actually dabble a bit with it when casting is just too difficult.  Because it is a slow action (being a light fly rod blank) and light weight, it's great with small lures and light bait rigs but hard to be accurate with heavier stuff.  It will throw a night crawler with a decent split shot a ways further than anything else I've got in the spinning arsenal, though.

[Troy Dorman]

Anywhere from 5'6 to 6'6 is where most bluegill anglers should be. The longer rods are good for bigger waters and the shorter rods good for small waters and ponds IMO. Short to me is anything under 5'6 and long anything 6foot or above.  I like the 6footers the best, as David said, not to long or short, just perfect. You can take up a lot more line when bottom fishing and you have to set the hook when a big redear hits it using a bit longer pole too. Short poles have a hard time handling big bluegill and redear IMO. I like light action versus ultra light too because it gives me a little more confidence in landing that trophy bluegill that a weaker pole might fail to do.

[Tony Livingston]

I dunno' Troy, I've landed some big Bluegills on my 4.5 foot ultralights.

[Walt Foreman]

I have also landed some big bluegill and shellcracker on a 4'6" rod.  But my main rod for bluegill fishing is 8' long, a spinning rod made on a fiberglass fly rod blank.  And I fish mostly ponds; size of the water body has less to do with it than preferred presentation.  If you fish with lures a lot, a mid-length rod is fine; for live bait, a longer rod will do a lot of things a shorter one won't.