Lately, I've been seeing more and more specialty rods for panfish. Some are 10 to 15 feet long, and I thought that a rod that long was only useful for fly fishing and surf casting, but it had never struck me that a 10 foot rod was useful for panfishing. I fish for the little buggers a couple times a week with a normal 5 foot UL rod and do just fine, so is there really an advantage to having a 10 foot pole for panfishing?

If you are casting from shore I would say no. Trolling or vertical jigging from a boat the length allows for separation between the boat and other baits. These rods are not new, they just seem to be getting more press lately. Tom

Tom,
I have never disagreed with you and I do read your posts reguraly.On this subject I would like to make some points."Noodle rods" have been around for a long time and I have used them in a wide range of siduations. Trolling, bank, and casting.
Where they have out preformed, was casting from shore while fishing for line-shy steelhead in the eastern rivers in NY (salmon river).These fish would best be fished with 3 or 4 lb test line! You would get many more strikes on the lighter line then say 10 lb test. The long rod serves as a "drag" and keeps the line from breaking. A small reel with a good drag is a must especially in cold weather.I used a 13 foot rod and tiny Shamino reel to land fish over 5 lbs with no problem. However when trolling on my boat, without a partner I had trouble getting a fish to the net because it was too far away! I have seen fisherman land bigger fish with this set-up too, 10lbs and even 14lb steelies.
As far as using them for pan-fish I dont really see the need. I know they make , or use to make crappie rods 14 - 15 feet or longer and some did not even have reels attached, just 10 or 15 feet of line,and they would haul fish in just using the rod! I believe in rivers where there is not much room to cast, but just drop the bait into places with lots of obstructions. Mostly in the south where they have lots of growth all year long.

Bulltrout: You are absolutely correct about using a long rod for casting for trout and salmon. I was refering to using a 10-15' rod for casting for panfish on a lake shore. I have a 7'6" noodle that I use in early spring, as well as an old school 13' crappie pole(no reel, a modern bamboo pole) that I use to stay away from the bank in early spring and these are about as long as I will go. The crappie pros down south use the long rods for spider rigging, usually with 4 rods per side of the boat increasing in length from about 8' up to as much as 15'. Keeps the lines from tangling while you troll. Tom

Tom.
I follow what your saying. I just don't feel there is an advantage of a longer rod unless as you say, your "spider rigging" for crappies and such.On a boat I can see a the need to keep your lines apart, but on shore I don't see an advantage unless your sight fishing or in a slealth mode.
Since I don't target pan fish, I may be missing something here! I have "specialty" rods for walleye and trout and any of them catch pan fish. Mabe if I fished for perch,sunnies,and crappies, I'd propably have a half dozen specialty rods myself! Hope I didn't make too much of an ass of myself here.

Joe

Us boys down South do use the long crappie rods for spider rigging but for a lot of other things if you are looking for a real rush.  Try a 12-14 foot crappie rod rigged with a small reel spooled with 6 pound line and a number 8 wire hook. I built some for Dad ten years before they hit the market.  My Dad is 83 years old and catches everything from pan fish to bass.  Often he has been reeling in a bluegill to have a large bass inhale the bluegill and give him a ride (sometimes thirty or forty minutes).  The combination of limber rod and light line seem to be worth while.  He has landed several bass in the 6 to 8 pound category, channel cats in the 25 pound category and four or five grass carps in the 50 + pound category.  I get so amused when I drop in to check on him and he says:  "Have you got your camera with you?"  I'm not sure you could get one of those Great Northern Pike to bite but if it did wouldn't it be a RUSH!  Good luck and good fishing.  Tom, if you are ever down this way look me up and we'll try it together.  Uncle Tom

Joe: If you look at my post again, I never mentioned long rods from shore except in very limited circumstances and the only real use I had found was spider rigging! Aside from my crappie pole, the longest rod I use for panfish is a 7'6" noodle, and that is put away by mid May or so. A 5' or so rod is really about all you would need for panfishing unless you had extreme circumstances. We are basically saying the same thing in different ways. Uncle Tom: Did you see my response to your post with an email addy? Tom

Tom,
I guess we are on the same page. Thanks buddy.

Misunderstandings are way too common in this world. I would fish with you anytime (well, at least once!) I really wish that fishing hadn't gotten so complicated (yea, I know it's only as hard as you make it). I at one time went out with 2-3 combos, spent the day fishing and actually caught some fish from time to time. I probably have 6-7 thousand dollars in tackle (don't tell my wife) and I use maybe 5% of it on a regular basis! Went to get bait today at a local trout farm/pay lake and while waiting watched a kid with a bamboo pole outfish some dude with a fly rod and all the trappings! This guy sure looked funny in the vest, hat etc while the kid was catching fish. Tom

been there and done all of that.....the long rods for panfish, trout, bass and yes even pike. i use my long rods all yr. do great with them. i've cast so many lures over the yrs. that i need to replace my 9'er.

of coarse during the heat of the summer, the best place ta use the long rods is in a boat or on the rivers.

i agree with ya tom and joe about the long rods.

been there and done all of that.....the long rods for panfish, trout, bass and yes even pike. i use my long rods all yr. do great with them. i've cast so many lures over the yrs. that i need to replace my 9'er.

of coarse during the heat of the summer, the best place ta use the long rods is in a boat or on the rivers.

i agree with ya tom and joe about the long rods.

I have used long crappie rods 9' to 12 ' for years and years. The best part of the long rod either from bank fishing or in a boat is when you are fishing brush or pads. You can reach out and fish the in between limbs or whatever without nearly the amount of snags you would with a short rod. You can verticle jigs these opening instead of having to pull towards you.. You stll will get caught up here and there but far less and when you do you can reach out and get unsnagged so much easier. When you start using a long rod and see the advantages it has try switching back to shorty. You will be saying to yourself. How in the world did I ever fish with this thing.

Often, I use a 9', 12', or even 15 rod.  In the beginning they did not come with a reel seats.  Since we use ultra-light spinning reels with 6 lb. line it seemed a reel seat would be nice instead of electricians or duct tape.  I took several cork and foam handles apart and added reel seat.  At least, twenty years back I sent the blueprints to L & M.  Asked them if they could add it to their line or rods.  Their reply was no--probably because most of these rods are built out of country and it takes a while to make a change in them.  Boy, was I surprised a couple years later at a big wholesale tackle show in Alabama that in the L& M display was the rod I had asked them to build.  I like the Wally Marshal rod but it is generally much heavier and back then I thought fishing was something you did all day.  With a little practice you can throw it as good as that 5' or 6' rod.  They also work well skipping them under docks or sling shoting them under docks.  Walking down a creek or river they often put you in reach of brush or wood piles you could not otherwise reach and they work great allowing you to drop that jig in small hole in lily pads.  Give it a try--think you might be a convert.  Uncle Tom Good luck and good fishing!

A long rod is also an advantage when fishing a slip bobber. When the fish takes the bait and you try to take up slack a short rod is at a disdvantage because slack line must be tightened prior to the hookset. With a long rod, you can just reach up and take all the lack out with the rod and you will get a much faster hookset.

I tried slip bobber fishing with a 5' ultralite and was too slow on the hookset and missing alot of fish (even with a circle hook). When I switched to a light 8'-6" steelhead rod, I caught many more fish.

You could use a crappie rod or shop european tackle companies for a "float rod". They are from 11'-15' long and are used with very light lines.

When ever i go panfish fishing i use a small rod and it works fine if not beter then a longer rod.

I can see where a long rod for fishing panfish from the bank could be a plus. It would be handy for reaching past weeds and other hook snagging hazards.

I generally use a 5 an a half or 6 foot UL rod for crappie. Keep reading about long rods and then I saw one in action. This older gentelman was wade fishing like the rest of us but was able to dip his bait in the middle of cover. I had an old fly rod and spinning reel and carry the combo in my boat until mid summer. Works like a charm in the right situation.

Hey, Skewl, what's up? Personally, I don't have rods under 5 1/2' nor much over 7' long, but I also do a lot of shore fishing where overhanging trees sometimes prohibit the use of those 15 footers. But I've got a fishing buddy who uses rods from 10 to 12' long (he makes them out of fly rod blanks and uses cork handles with slip rings to hold the reel), and he swears by them. Says the fish fight is a lot more fun on a longer stick, & the longer rods act like a much better shock absorber for the lighter lines. What it really boils down to is personal preference. The only hard-and-fast rule about fishing is "it has to be fun". If you want to try a longer rod out of curiosity, hey, go for it. You might like them like my buddy does.