WHAT SIZE ROD DO YOU RECOMEND

[jumbomvfd]

I HAVE A MANTA RAY 14 I HAVE BEEN USING A 5' ULTRA LITE WITH 8LB FIRELINE AND HAVE CAUGHT MANY NICE LARGEMOUTH NO SMALLMOUTH YET. I WAS WONDERING IF THERE IS SUCH A ROD 5' THAT IS MEDIUM ACTION ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT. JEFF I AM A MEMBER OF THE PRSC CLUB BEEN WORKING ALOT AND MISSING SOME OF THEIR TRIPS. YOU HAVE A GREAT WEBSITE.  JOE

[bassmanpete]

Joe, Gander Mountain makes a nice medium action 5'6" rod in their Guide series that I've used from my yak successfully. I prefer a 6 footer for my 12 foot yak though, as its short enough to reach the tip when needed, but long enough to let me guide a fish around the bow of the boat when I have a hard charger hooked.

[Yakfish]

The "long enough to clear your bow with a hooked fish" thing is something that I never thought of.  Maybe it's because almost all of mine are 7 footers.  It's a casting distance/stealth thing, not a kayak specific rod length thing.  Mike is making an 8 footer for me to cast small lures a long way.  You can certainly find a nice 5 footer in medium action. 

[Titowoody]

For me it is not necessarily length of rod but the length of the rod butt.  Anything too long sticks me in the ribs.  I am a big fan of short handles, MH action shorter rods ie 5 `6``.  The shorter rod length helps me jig better I find. 

For pitching lighter lures I use a 7` Medium action with the handle shortened  down and a bit of counterweight in the butt end to balnace out the rig.

Cheers

TW

[Yakfish]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I prefer a longer butt on the rod.  I'm having a friend custom build a rod for me, and I specifically asked that he extend the 7 footer to be 8 feet for long casts with a very light lure.  He said that he could make the reel up part of the rod longer if he just moved the seat closer to the butt.  I asked him not to make it with a short butt because I cast with two hands lacrosse stick style.  It helps me launch a great deal further than the usual wrist snap.

[blake]

Jeff, don't you also have problems with elbow/wrist pain? or is the two hand a response to your pain?  Long cast are great, but my weak shoulder does not allow full overhead cast.  I either sidearm or go half-way between overhead/sidearm.  I also find that I use a slightly softer rod than others, which helps load the rod better for me, gaining some of the distance back.  Besides I would knock myself over if I tried to 2-hand cast.

I like longer spinning rods (7+) but I find with a shorten rear grip the effective length of the rod (rod above the reel) is very similar.  I have a few customs with a 5" butt and 7' blank, they fish more like an 8' rod because of the increase effective length. 

[l1ranger]

when i had the 13footer, a 6 to 7' rod was enough, and I probably could've gotten by with a 5.5' rod as well.  now with an 8' kayak, rod length is not an issue. what is an issue is not getting the butt jammed up in my ribs, gut, pfd while fishing.  I can still do the two hand cast with a "short butt",,,which to me means that when gripping the rod, the butt comes no closer than about 2" of my elbow. 

Joe - if you can't find what you are looking for, lemme know and I'd bet we can work out a custom to fit your needs.  I've been doing them for about a year, have built 10 rods, and don't do it as a business at all.

[blake]

After installing an alternate rod holder (aka Tom Ehrhard style), I found that 7' rod sticks pretty far in front of the bow.  I had to be real careful not to knock the rod tips.  Note that the "float" I was on, we did as much wading as we did floating.  If I were going to use this a primary rod holder I would probably start using short rods (to avoid them from banging the tips).  However, since this is just a place to hold an active rod, I don't mind one rod hanging over the bow. (Rod holders on a crate will hold my "spare" rods).

[HookUp]

They're hard to find, but St. Croix makes an Avid that 5'6" and Medium power fast action. 

Awesome rod and I may build one if I find the blank.

[LoveFishing]

I would go with a 6 footer with medium action.  Great for jigging!