Rod Butt Length

[Katron]

I don't hear this topic discussed very often, either on kayak forums or tackle forums. What do you guys consider the perfect butt length on your rods when fishing out of a kayak? I personally will always prefer a longer butt (10+") for crankbaits, soft swimbaits and large spinnerbaits, a medium butt (8-10") for swimbaits that require a jerkbait technique, and a short butt (>8") for worms, jigs, smaller spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, etc. What factory rods fit the bill nicely for the techniques you utilize?

I have only fished out of my kayak about a dozen times and am quickly getting sick of the 10.5" butt length on my jigging rod, and thus I am building a worming/jig rod with a 7.5" butt length. One of the things that bothered me about the length even when fishing from a standing position was when I went to pitch, often the long butt would get caught on my clothing or some such. The only advantage I found was balance, which can easily be compensated for when building a custom.

Kaleb

[MiniVan]

When Im bass fishing, it doesnt make a whole lot of difference to me. The only thing is actual rod length because I am only 5'1" tall so I always hit stuff (rods in the back, back of the kayak, cooler, trees, etc) I mainly use 6'6" to 7'6" rods with various butt lengths but it is true....shorter lengths help keep from snagging. When Im fishing offshore in the kayak, I want a LONG butt length for power.

[angry john]

everyone fishes a diffrent way, but i like shorter rods when fishing from a yak or canoe. I am a tall guy at 6'5" but still like a rod that is 6'6" or less. I do some river fishing, and the shorter rods are great for the more accurate casts, that are common in river situations. I fish with another angler in both situations, so the shorter rods work best for my situation. Seems to be counter trend, condiering 7+ rods are the norm now. Considering my arm length i dont have a but length issue most of the time, except when using long rods like my 7' st croix musky.

[dcorp]

I need a short handle when fishing from my yak, otherwise the butt is jabbing me in the ribs, i guess it is just the way I fish. When I fish from my kayak I mostly use my Kistler rods becasue they have really short handles. I have found the 6'9" Kistler multipurpose rods to be the perfect kayak rod for me. You really can use them for almost anything which is good because I bring 3 rods max with me on the yak, usually 2 of those are the 6'9"s.

When I fish from my boat I switch to Dobyns because the longer handles dont effect my style. BTW, you can find info on some kayak fishing sites of how to shorten the butt of your rod. Seems like it is pretty easy to do but I am too scared to cut into one of my rods....

[Katron]

Well, after using my new jig rod with a 7.5" rear handle I decided it was too short. I cut off the butt cap, inserted an aluminum tube and glued on two more inches. This decision came because I have been using a LC rod for my frogs and heavy t-rigs and liked the 9.5" rear handle, it didn't get in the way as much as I thought it would. I have a Diablo and it has a 10.25" rear grip and amazingly enough that little extra is just enough to get in the way. For any technique with the tip down anything long is fine (cranks, jerks, frogs, swimbaits). Rods for lighter techniques can obviously have a shorter rear grip as generally there is less torque needed (lighter drags, hooks). With jigs, you have to modify your technique a little bit and lift your arm with the rod while keeping your wrist stationary. I actually think this might be a better technique for working jigs as it is less hard on your wrist and gives you better feel in "weighing the line". I fish jigs 75% of the time so this information is very important to me, hopefully it will be of use to others.