HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE BEST FISHING ROD LENGTH FOR YOU

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 5:33 am

I HAVE TRIED 6 ' TO 7 1/2' RODS AND LONGER ; AND GETTING SO CONFUSSED. I LIKE THE 7 ' PRETTY GOOD AND THE LONGER 7 1/2 ' GIVES ME MORE DISTANCE CASTING...... BUT I AM AT DELIMA............IT SEEMS WHEN I USE LONGER 7' OR 7 1/2 I TEND TO HIT THE BOAT ALOT WHEN RIPPING OR WALKING THE DOG TOP WATER ! I AM ONLY 5' 10" AND REACH IS END TO END 6' MAYBE I SHOULD STAY WITH 6 1/2 ' RODS AND SHORTER. IT ALSO IS HARDER FOR ME IT SEEMS TO DO A UNDERHAND CAST WITH LONGER RODS, SINCE I AM BUILT CLOSER TO THE GROUND !!!

SO WHAT IS THE STANDARD TO MEASURE . TIRED OF SPENDING $$$ AND GOING BACKWARDS FORWARDS HAVING 11 RODS IN THE BOAT WHEN I COULD PROBABLY GET BY WITH 4 IF THEY WERE SET UP RIGHT ??

Bill K · Post by **Bill K** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:07 am

Jigs. I do not know a official manner to measure your comfort zone for rod length, other than use them and settle on the length that works best for you. I know that I prefer the 7ft rods and most of mine are that. I do have a few 6-6 and one 7-6 flipping rod that I do use, but for me 7ft works the best and just feels good. Bill K

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:10 am

THANKS BILL

Rod Martin · Post by **Rod Martin** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:11 am

jigs I used 7' & 7'6"for jigs, worms & pitching or flipping and used 6' for jerks,spooks & topwater that required walking. But now my smaller boat maxs out at 6'6" in the rod locker, so I traded down to 6'6" and havent noticed any difference. I did keep my flipping stick for carolina rigs. at 5'7" this seems to work for me.

P.S. that 15 rods in the boat went down to about 5, and my lack of fish catching stayed about the same.

Jeff C. · Post by **Jeff C.** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:23 pm

I like a 7' rod for most applications. I've used a 7'6" for flipping but my current boat doesn't have a rod locker that'll hold such a long rod and I think 7' is a comfortable length given my height (5'10"). My cranking rod is 6'6", although if I had to get another I would probably get a 7'. The only reason I see to go with a shorter rod is for topwater. Like you say, it's hard to "walk the dog" with a long rod, probably the same with ripping. I don't have a dedicated top-water rod, but if I did I wouldn't go for longer than a 6 foot rod.

froteur · Post by **froteur** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:29 pm

man, what a tough question. i've thought about this a lot because i'm only 5'2". that being said, i fish a lot of 7' rods but also have 6'6" and a few 7'6"s. i've ripped and fished topwater with 7' rods but have thought about going shorter. i "do" like the longer rods (7' min and usually 7'6") for flipping and pitching.

-perry-