Hey Ken, you should add some long poles to your arsenal. 9 or 10 footers are the easiest sizes to handle in these, and seem to be more sensitive than the 12 or 14 footers. You can still use these shorter lengths to Spider rig or drift effectively too.Originally Posted by kenmc77777
Many people will reccomend B & M on this board, and several here are sponsored by them. I think they are good poles, but they break way too easy for my shallow pockets. I personally have used most all of them on the market. For the money/quality ratio, the Outlaw poles are hard to beat. I don't get anything by reccomending them either. I just give the nod to stuff I believe in - sponsored by, or not. I do have a good contact that you can get these from at a better than average price too if you are interested.
I personally prefer graphite poles. They are more sensitive, lighter, but can be fragile,and break somewhat easier than fiberglass. I like top notch reel seats, and am not really picky if the rod has a foam, or cork handle. There are advantages to both styles. A hook keeper is a nice detail to have as well.
Another important thing to consider when you buy your longer poles, is to macth up reels that will balance well with the rod's tip weight. A rod that is improperly balanced so that it has too heavy, or too light of a tip, will decrease your bite detection considerably. For 10' poles, a reel that weighs around 9 or 10 oz is about optimum.
One thing that may take some retraining on your part, is getting used to pointing the rod tip to the sky so that the fish will come up to hit you in the chest, or slide into the net by the boat. It is just natural to try to reach for the fish with your free hand. Don't reach, let the rod bring the fish in close to you. Sounds kind of obvious to say, but you would be surprised just how many people has this very same problem when they start using longer poles.
Full baskets, and luck to ya. Let me know if I can help you with something
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