12' versus 14' Spider Rig Rods

[Shad]

Is it really worth it to use 14' rods versus 12' rods for spider rigging? I have 8 of the 14' Southern Crappie rods. They are great rods but the length is such a hassle in my boat especially with 8 of them. I am thinking about selling them and getting some 12' Southern Pro rods. Thoughts?

[jwilson48]

Most everything you read will say yes it's worth it. With that said, I haven't noticed a bit of difference. Granted we just recently got into rigging more serious and haven't done it in clear shallow water. Imo there is a time and place where you will miss your longer rods,how often that is will depend on where you fish

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["G"]

You will get used to them....then you will be glad you have them.

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[Boa3]

The guys fishing tournaments wouldn't use 16 foot rods if 12 were just as effective.

[quadlee]

If fishing shallow yes. 16 ft are becoming the most popular length now. if fishing 10 ft or deeper i think it dont matter as much then. General rule of thumb in shallow water the farther you can get that bait out in front of the boat the more bites your going to get.

[DHC]

I went to 16's this year and I really like them. Does it always make a big difference? Probably not, but on the days when the fish are really spooky the further I've got my baits away from the boat the better IMO. Like was said above if you fish deeper water most of the time they're probably not that necessary but if you fish shallow, they are in my opinion.

[Cray]

I fish both. Keep a set of 14's and set of 12's on the boat all the time. If catching bigger fish and they are nailing it I'd rather have the 12 for control. Lighter bite I'd fish the 14. Fishing mostly by myself makes it a lot easier in my boat to handle fish with the shorter pole. If you fish mostly by your self or in a 17 or less boat it's just a lot easier. Tried a set of 16's and you couldn't give me another set. Didn't even like em with 2 people in the boat. Have caught just as many fish with 12's as I have any other pole. Now I'm not a semipro tournament guy so maybe that's the difference.

[Rees Guide]

I fish a lot of different sizes, biggest thing I see is boat size, bigger the boat easier to handle the longer rods. I fish 14s most of the time but in real shallow or applying the secret tactic I prefer the 16s
If owning one set of rods I would say 12s would do fine, find myself with about 5 sets now.

[trypman1]

I went back to 10 & 12' can't tell any difference. Single pole users get right on top of crappie in shallow water with no problems, most use 9' poles. The pros use what they given to advertise. my 2ct

[BigKyd]

I fish a lot of different sizes, biggest thing I see is boat size, bigger the boat easier to handle the longer rods. I fish 14s most of the time but in real shallow or applying the secret tactic I prefer the 16s
If owning one set of rods I would say 12s would do fine, find myself with about 5 sets now.

I agree 100% on boat size. I fish out of a 16ft aluminum bass boat and I will not use anything longer than 14ft, and the 14 footers can be a pain sometimes in my boat. If I get snagged or tangled and have to break off and then the line falls back through a guide or 4 it can be a real pain trying to re-thread the line back through the guides. Or if you are retying or need slack in the line and you are on the bow at the tip of the rod, and reel is at the stern and you need to flip the bail or hit the button if you are using bait casters or you flipped the bail or pushed the button and then the rod rolls over and flips the bail back or turns the handle and clicks the button back and then you got to walk back to the back of the boat again to flip the bail or hit the button again it gets old quick.

Its probably fun to watch when its somebody else though.