Best rod size

[Boonethelunkerlander]

well the rod i have most of are 7' but i would have to say my favorite are 6'9. I think 6'6 is a little short for some things, but 7' is a little long for some things, so 6'9 hits the sweet spot for me.

[TBassMaster]

7'2 is a all round for me. I can do anything with it. Flip, skip, pitch, etc. No problem. ive fished 6'8-7'3. They were all either too short or too long. but the 7'2 worked the best out of all of them

[ogrich31]

^you just brought a thread back from the dead. From 2004.

But if we had a vote today, I'd say majority of us would vote 7' compared to 6'6" from a couple years back. I started with 6'6" as well as most of the fishing guys I know of. Now we regularly use rods that are over 7'. The only 7 footer I even use now are my smaller crankbait rod and my MBR843.

[fishingandfords]

since this is a 7 year old post, I'm interested if opinions have changed in time since the rods are getting longer. I'm a big fan of 7'2 but love the DX743

[smalljaw]

6-6 MH. Not much you can't do with that length and action.

6'6" MH/F has been my favorite set up for many a year and still is. I have a 6'9" spinnig rod and a 7' H/F flipping rod and I'm soon adding a 7' cranking rod but it is exactly as Zander said, 6'6" is an all around rod, techniques specific is were the lengths get longer. As for not doing much with that length and action, well I can pitch with it, I can skip with it, I can fish cover or open water. I can use spinnerbaits, topwaters, plastic and even shallow cranks...And I've won tournaments with that same length and action, but I guess it really isn't much.

[Mattman]

since this is a 7 year old post, I'm interested if opinions have changed in time since the rods are getting longer. I'm a big fan of 7'2 but love the DX743

I find this interesting too.

Custom builders tend to be on the front end of things like this because the consumer can't find what they're looking for off the shelf and have a custom built for them. That being said, back when this thread started, 7' was a very common request for a custom rod. And I extended a bunch of 6'6" blanks.

This past year, I've done more 7'6" and longer rods than I have in the past 5 years. And I'm extending more blanks than I ever have.

Muskie anglers are going longer too. Its hard to believe that 9' isn't long enough. I extended two blanks to 9'6" this season. When I first started building, 7'6" was a long Muskie rod.

[TBassMaster]

^you just brought a thread back from the dead. From 2004.

But if we had a vote today, I'd say majority of us would vote 7' compared to 6'6" from a couple years back. I started with 6'6" as well as most of the fishing guys I know of. Now we regularly use rods that are over 7'. The only 7 footer I even use now are my smaller crankbait rod and my MBR843.

ahahah! OH man I didnt even notice that! Thanks for sharing the info!! ahahah!

[cornmuse]

Funny to compare. From a fly fisherman's perspective, 50 years ago an 8' rod was long and the average fly rod was 7'6". Casting and spinning rods were 5'6" to 6'6" with few longer (and then almost only spinning rods). By the 1990's fly rods were 9' and some were looking to 9'6". Today 9' is a typical "standard" fly rod length, but those of us who are serious about the sport have begun to find utility in short rods. Personally I love an 8' fly rod for most of my warm water creek fishing. I was a heretic 8 years ago, but now Sage, Redington, Loomis, Scott and many others are releasing "new" designs in 7 to 8 foot lengths and appropriate (non-trout) bass weights.

In casting gear I'm a newbie, but my first rod was a 6'6" M and I really like that length. Moved to a Powel 683c and found my perfect "all arounder" for smallmouth fishing. Just got a Powel 733c for some different apps and can see the advantage of the length some of the time, but will still reach for the 6'8" for most of my wade fishing. My spinning gear includes 6' L and 6'9" ML sticks and I see very few reasons to carry more rod than that for fishing creeks.

Fishing from the deck of a bass boat would undoubtedly give me a very different perspective. And casting for distance from the shoreline of the Ohio R for hybrids will certainly be helped by a 7'6" boomer (next rod on my wish list), but with boots on the bottom I still think sub 7' is right most of the time.

Different strokes and a great topic!

Joe C.

[StevenNg]

all around rod 7'4.........

[Kaoma]

Without doubt, this works for me the best.
- 8 ft long one piece
- 10-25 lb test line
- fast action

[cjtoad]

7' medhvy fast.

[The Way]

I must admit, of the 6 casting rods I own currently, NONE are below 7 feet. probably going to grab a 6'9'' rod for jerk baiting at some point this winter, but thats about as short as I ever see myself going.

[frogman1963]

X2 6'9" rod

[Crankbaitmaker]

7 ft. MH

Crankbaitmaker

[panyafish]

There is a definite trend towards longer rods. Nowadays, 6'6" rods are considered short. Yet, I remembered in the 80's when 5' 6" pistol grips were common . I prefer the long rods because I do a lot of shore fishing and need the extra length for distance casting.