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I was wondering what length rods you guys use. Does using a 7' rod compared to 5'6" to 6'6" help out at all? Any input appreciated.

BTW this is a very helpful site, I have been reading questions and comments on here for a couple of weeks now.

Tlaw,

First off, thanks for the complements on the site, it is nice to get feedback from our visitor's.

For me, rod length, action and power are always decided by the technique and situation I will be fishing. There is a good article written by one of our ProStaff members (Frank Lapinski) called "Tools or Toys", here is the link:
http://www.bassinusa.com/busa/articles/ ... s_toys.asp

The article mainly discusses lure selection, but the concept applies to all tackle and equipment.

7' & 7'6" Rods give you more leverage and help increase your casting distance. For flipping/pitching & cranking, I like to use a 7' rod. Everything else has its own size for a reason, but if I can get away with a 7' rod for a certain technique, I will go with a 7' rod mainly for the 2 reason I mentioned above.

One example where I would not use a 7' rod would be when using a jerkbait. I stick with a 6' rod. Most of the action used when fishing a jerkbait is downward and when ripping the bait hard, I found with a 6'6" rod, the tip would hit the water before I was able to move the jerkbait far enough.

At first I thought it might have something to do with me only being 5'5" tall (short0, but after speaking with a few other guys who are over the 6' mark in height, they also agreed that they have the same problem when ripping.

There are also times when a 7' rod can be used for special techniques. A good example would be fishing deep diving crankbaits. I was fishing a two day tournament last year and was cranking my bass off a hump in 35' of water that came up to 10' at its highest point. I found that in the morning the fish would come to the very top of the hump to feed and then pull off to the first drop on the hump which was about 22' deep. My crankbait was only getting down about 18' and I was not able to connect with the bottom. This is where the 7' rod really helped. By "kneeling and reeling", I was able to get the crankbait to make contact with the bottom and when it did, I would connect with a solid bass.

(If are not familiar with the “kneel & reel” technique, it is simply kneeling on the deck of the boat and sticking the rod tip straight down into the water when cranking. With a 7' rod, you can pick up an additional 4' to 5' in lure depth)

Anyway, I think I put in my 2 cents (actually that was more like $1.75). Hope it helped...

BC

TLaw,
Welcome to the site. When selecting a rod I prefer about a 6'-6" model, the seven footers are too much for me. Most of my rods eventually end up being shorter anyway after shutting them in the car door!! One important aspect to consider is balance. I always take my reel with me when shopping for rods, I mount the reel on the rod to check for balance, fit and comfort to my hand, I always hold the reel not the rod actually. Some rods over-power reels and vice-versa. That kneel and reel really works, try it sometime. I do it a lot, got flat knee caps from it! Johnnie

I break my choice of rod length down based on the type of fishing I'm doing. If I'm in a boat, 6ft to 7 ft. If I'm wading, usually 5-6. I keep head clearance in the back of my mind because I fish in some tight places and don't want to break rods.