Longer rods = more boatside fish ??

I really believe that since I have moved to 8.5/9ft. rods that my boatside conversions have increased considerably and with much less effort due to the extra rod length.

In this clear river water, keeping the bait down and away from the boat has really helped over the past couple of years. Has anyone else noticed a difference in figure-8 fish and longer rods??

Since St. Croix does not (yet) make a heavier version of the Big Nasty, I am shopping for a 9' to 9'6" rod that will handle MagDawgs and the like. The Tackle Industries telescoping rod has me curious.

Anyone have any suggestions on a 9ft or longer rod rated somewhere close to 4-14oz or so??

I really like my Musky Innovation 9 footers that I troll with. It is rated for 1-4 ounce but they make a heavy action too. Not sure on the lenght but I do like the rods about the same as the St. Croix rods.

I did buy a spare in case something happens to one of mine that I have casted with and like it for casting but I didn't want to mess up my spare so quit using it.
Maybe I should get another spare for x-mas......:)

Something to look into. I heard they were going to make a 9.5 and also thinking of a 10.???

Wow i could not imagion a 9+' rod. I downsized my rods to 7.5' because anything else longer was so cumbersome in my boat/bushwacking that i would get so frustrated, fishing became work.

Without a doubt i am sure rod length helps with fish on the 8, but i have only had one fish go on an 8 and it soon released itself. So i am of little help there.

red, tackle industry rods are junk. a few of my friends bought a couple each and either they snapped inhalf or the bottom extension stripped out. i personally would look somewhere else. mike hulbert makes a 9ft rod but nt sure what the weight rate is

I might even have one built from a longer inshore saltwater blank from St. Croix. I am in no hurry because I want to wait and see if SCroix comes out with a similar rod to the Big Nasty but rated for heavier baits like they did with the Sling Blade/Big Dawg LT series.

Thanks for the help.

Check out the Musky Armor/ Mike Hulbert rod. I have that and an okuma 9'3" rod. The Hulbert rod is my go to though. Very light and nice fat cork... it's easy to throw anything up to mag dawgs. I don't throw anything bigger than that.

if you like the legend big dawg for heavy baits why not just have one of those built out to whatever length? keith at pro edge took mine out to 9' with a couple more inches of 1 1/2" thick rear grip syncork and it's been great for me. if you want an even "heavier bait weight rating" out of the dawg blank maybe talk to a croix factory rep and see what taking off a couple / few inches off the of a legend dawg blank will do for you. they helped me out in that respect before i cut a few inches off the top of my custom 9' legend swimbait rods in order to achieve less loading in the eight when using db 8's. talk about great customer service, when i called the factory the rep told me he would call me right back after getting a raw blank in his hands so he could judge where i should make the cut ! boy did i hold my breath before taking a dremel to them let me tell you but they were right on and i couldn't be happier with the result as it made a great rod perfect for my needs ! curious as to the physical weight of the saltwater blank you had in mind compared to the legend dawg?

Most all the XH saltwater rods are 5-10 ounces heavier than the Premier/LT rods which will not bother me at my current fitness level but most are 2 pc. rods and will have to be shortened from 10.5/12ft to 9-9'6" so that will likely not work.

If I have to get one built, I will want at least 94 inches (97-100 preferably) of rod in front of the reel seat like the Big Nasty. The last thing I want is to get a longer rod but have the extra length under my armpit instead of in front of the reel seat.

Stan,

After researching every rod on the internet, I might just have to take your advice as long as I can keep the 14" of rear-grip like is on the 9' Big Nasty and put the rest of the blank in front of the reel seat. 93-94 inches from reel seat to tip is as short as I want to go.

Do you think that is possible if using the Big Dawg blank??

Hey we should have some shirts made up saying........muskie fishermen have longer rods lol

let's see... the stock dawg blank is 102"...say with a 14" rear grip, 5" reel seat and 5" foregrip that leaves you with 78" of rod in front of the foregrip...in order to get you to 94" of rod from the end of the foregrip you would have to add 16" to the butt end of the blank...i am no rod builder, that's for sure, but keith added 12" to my swimbait rods to get to the 9' total length i wanted and that has worked great for those rods...maybe there is a "cut-off point" as to how much can be added to the butt while still maintaining the rods overall strength / integrity...i would assume there are various methods to "properly" add to extend from the butt end, but keith at proedge or other reputable builder would be the one to ask...

I found a local guy who can make the 8'6" Dawg blank into exactly what I want. He said he can make the handle as long as I want to give me plenty of rod in front of the reel seat.

I might have him build me out to a 9'6" or even 10 footer. I am convinced that more rod tip in the water = more boatsite fish, especially on pressured/clear water.

I agree, but I can't believe the trend is still on the rise. I thought 9' was the limit, but I knew someone would go for 10'.