Why short rods?

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cdmoore
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Re: Why short rods?

#61

Post by cdmoore »

Here are some more reasons I love short rods:

--Super fun to cast and WAY less fatiguing casting a short rod for a day (when a lot of casts are involved...not always the case, I know)

--More apt for Belgian, Italian and Austrian casting styles. (You probably already do a lot of these casts, or something close, if you fish a lot of small streams, but it's nice to have them organized into coherent "styles", even if you only learn about these labels after the fact.)

--Many prefer them for bow and arrow casting as well.

--For me, much easier to land fish without worry for the rod tip.

--Can be more compact for transportation / hiking / biking, depending on configuration, of course.

--Great for kids, too.

--And, if you're a rodmaker...not so many damned NODES!!!

Webfly
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Re: Why short rods?

#62

Post by Webfly »

Hey OP, nothing wrong with a good debate or electrically charged question every once in a while. One way you can look at it, tho, is to let all of the short rod guys fight over and pay double for the classic shorty's and you can enjoy the bargains and equally purposeful longer rods on the bigger rivers for bigger fish at 1/2 the cost.

Woodlakejag
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Re: Why short rods?

#63

Post by Woodlakejag »

The concept of a short light rod and a heavy rod were different in 1903, but I still think Theodore Gordon was on point when he wrote
“There were several fine rods owned by members of the family, yet this little rod was invariably preferred. Why was this? For the simple reason that among a number of rods the lightest, if of good quality, will always come to the front and remain there. Go fishing where you please, to the wilds of Maine or Canada, for instance, where the trout run large. Take heavy and light rods with you, and in a few days the weighty weapons of say 8 oz to 10 oz will remain in their cases, and the little rod of 5 oz or 6 oz will do all the work. I have seen this again and again, and many other men have noted the same results.”
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kevinhaney1
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Re: Why short rods?

#64

Post by kevinhaney1 »

Well, as one that does not fish for multiple days, and rarely over a few hours at a time, rod weight has never been an issue. If it were, I wouldn't enjoy fishing those old greenheart rods and heavy English brass reels so much!

Kevin
Kevin Haney, Vintage Anglers
http://www.vintageanglers.com

Boo
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Re: Why short rods?

#65

Post by Boo »

Why not settle for a tweener, like a 7’9” rod? 🙂

rsagebrush
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Re: Why short rods?

#66

Post by rsagebrush »

Flykuni3 wrote:
09/25/21 21:09
sage, I was being gentle. it actually means hell, fishing in hell. As a beginner. I understand these work well on tenkara rods.

Image
Those are some pretty good sized daredevils', you should debarb them; I imagine they've put a pretty good set in your rods, remember to rotate your rod when using them. Once you get enough experience perhaps you can try using flies, they'll be harder to dap with though, don't forget to get a fly line too, sometimes it's a bit hard to get that thick stuff through the hook eye but it should work fine for the spoons.

I use lighter spoons, mine weigh 0.4 gram and cast pretty nice, although I use them only occasionally. Presso in Japan supplies these but I think they may be discontinued, if you're have good luck with the Daredevils' you should stick with it.

Your Japanese apparently is forgotten, perhaps you hit yourself in the back of head with one of them Daredevils.

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corlay
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Re: Why short rods?

#67

Post by corlay »

as an accidential test case,
I mistakenly brought the wrong rod to a small wild stream to fish, from my meager Leonard collection of three.

a Model 50 instead of a 7’ Duracane.

was I able to fish? of course.

was it as enjoyable? no.

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Flykuni3
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Re: Why short rods?

#68

Post by Flykuni3 »

Sage, see you on the brushy stream.

rsagebrush
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Re: Why short rods?

#69

Post by rsagebrush »

I love them, who could not.

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Flykuni3
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Re: Why short rods?

#70

Post by Flykuni3 »

corlay wrote:
09/26/21 13:35

a 7’ Duracane
Is a great rod.

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JohnMD1022
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Re: Why short rods?

#71

Post by JohnMD1022 »

kevinhaney1 wrote:
09/21/21 13:32
50 years ago, fly rods for trout were 7 to 8 feet in length.
I can't speak to the 1970s and later, but I think that 60 years ago and more, during the bamboo era, the standard rod was 8.5' or 9'. That is why they are so much more common in bamboo than the shorter ones. And I guess I just like to buck the fads, but if I don't have to worry about overhang, I'll almost always go with and 8.5' or 9', for the aforementioned reasons.

Kevin
I was fishing the South Central Pa limestone creeks in the late 60s and until 1978.

It was rare to see anything over 8 feet.

A couple of guys were fishing the 4’4” mini rods, butthere was no shortage of 7-8 ft rods.

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Stuckeysflat
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Re: Why short rods?

#72

Post by Stuckeysflat »

I have to admit my 5'/ 5wt Mitey Mite spends a lot of time in the back of my rod cabinet, but when I take it out for a day it's more fun than any other rod I own. It's a Madison grade kit rod that cost me $69 brand new in 1972 when I was in high school.

kakaryan
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Re: Why short rods?

#73

Post by kakaryan »

Thanks to all those prefer short rods, I could get long rods in much better prices. :)

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Flykuni3
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Re: Why short rods?

#74

Post by Flykuni3 »

Ahaha, that's so true. I remember how Phil Snyder and Art Warner always had a ton of 8 1/2's and 9's to offer. Good buys, some great rods...but you know.

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quashnet
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Re: Why short rods?

#75

Post by quashnet »

I have cane rods as short as 5'6", as long as 9'2", and everything in between. Why should I deny myself any of the enjoyment?
Please visit and bookmark the Paul H. Young Rod Database
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Other rod databases: Dickerson , Orvis , Powell

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