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Thread: Rod help???

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    Default Rod help???


    Hi everyone,

    This spring I'm planning to do a lot of bobber fishing on my new float tube. I've never done it before so I need a little help. At the moment I have a 6' medium action Ugly Stick that I inherited and I'm wondering if that will do the job. If not, I'm looking for a little advice on what type of rod would be best for this type of fishing (Brand, action, length, etc). I'm assuming a shorter rod would be more convenient to pack with me on my float tube, but then again I may be wrong. Thanks for your time!

    Taylor

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    That rod will work. I don't know as I'd go any shorter, though I might consider going "lighter" (as far as rod weight goes). A 6-8' graphite rod with large guides & tip eye will make a good "bobber" fishing outfit, paired with a wide spool reel.
    You don't really want a short rod, when using a bobber, unless you're fishing real close to it. The longer rod helps take up the slack & makes a stouter hookset from a distance ... without having to use your arms as much. Longer rods also allow you to use a fixed bobber (spring or clip, line attachment style) and cast/fish it as deep as the length of the rod. Even using a slipfloat, a longer rod still takes up the slack & sets the hook faster/easier.

    Brand & action are personal preferences, sometimes dictated by price, looks, recommendations from other users, and/or personal experience. But, whatever brand/action you choose ... be sure and pair it up with a reel that balances well with the rod. You don't want too small a reel, which will make the rod "tip heavy" .. and strain your wrist to hold/cast it. You also don't want too large a reel, which will make the rod "butt heavy" ... and strain your arm/shoulder to hold/cast it. A good rod/reel combo will balance on your outstretched finger, when laid across your finger at the front edge of the handle.

    Many 6-8' rods come in 2pc ... so "packing" them shouldn't be much of a factor.

    ... cp
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    With a float tube I would not get a rod longer than 6ft. The problem with a longer rod is unhooking fish while sitting in a float tube. You have to swing the fish toward you to land it. Try sitting in a chair and experiment landing a fish with different rod lengths. The longer the rod the more difficult it is.

    Reggie

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    Quote Originally Posted by Grainraiser View Post
    With a float tube I would not get a rod longer than 6ft. The problem with a longer rod is unhooking fish while sitting in a float tube. You have to swing the fish toward you to land it. Try sitting in a chair and experiment landing a fish with different rod lengths. The longer the rod the more difficult it is.

    Reggie
    Reggie ... though I've never fished out of a float tube, I can't conceive of any reason why a longer rod would be any harder to land a fish with
    Wouldn't you just have to leave a little more line out, than when using a shorter rod ??

    I would think sitting on the "floor" would be a better exercise in finding out the difficulty of landing a fish from a float tube, than sitting in a chair ... seeing as how, when in a float tube, you're basically waist deep in water (so you can't rise above the water's surface with your body, and the fish will be coming to you at waist level).

    Like I said ... ain't never done it, so I'm not disputing your word ... just curious as to how you came to that conclusion.

    ... cp

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    Your rod will do just fine. Like Pappy said, just make sure the Reel matches. If your using it now use it just like it is, then decide if it works for you or not. Landing fish just takes practice no matter how long or short the rod is. Lots of fly fishermen land nice fish in float tubes with light weight 8/9 ft rods.
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    Quote Originally Posted by CrappiePappy View Post
    Reggie ... though I've never fished out of a float tube, I can't conceive of any reason why a longer rod would be any harder to land a fish with
    Wouldn't you just have to leave a little more line out, than when using a shorter rod ??

    I would think sitting on the "floor" would be a better exercise in finding out the difficulty of landing a fish from a float tube, than sitting in a chair ... seeing as how, when in a float tube, you're basically waist deep in water (so you can't rise above the water's surface with your body, and the fish will be coming to you at waist level).

    Like I said ... ain't never done it, so I'm not disputing your word ... just curious as to how you came to that conclusion.

    ... cp

    I use to use a float tube to fish under bridges and a shorter rod made things much easier. Having a place to lay your rod while landing the fish made using a 7 foot rod doable. I never fished shallow water with a float tube so his experience may be a little different.

    Reggie

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    I tube a lot and generally use a short spinning rod or a 9' fly rod. It is more difficult to land a fish with the fly rod, but it's not that bad.

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    Quote Originally Posted by CrappiePappy View Post
    That rod will work. I don't know as I'd go any shorter, though I might consider going "lighter" (as far as rod weight goes). A 6-8' graphite rod with large guides & tip eye will make a good "bobber" fishing outfit, paired with a wide spool reel.
    You don't really want a short rod, when using a bobber, unless you're fishing real close to it. The longer rod helps take up the slack & makes a stouter hookset from a distance ... without having to use your arms as much. Longer rods also allow you to use a fixed bobber (spring or clip, line attachment style) and cast/fish it as deep as the length of the rod. Even using a slipfloat, a longer rod still takes up the slack & sets the hook faster/easier.

    Brand & action are personal preferences, sometimes dictated by price, looks, recommendations from other users, and/or personal experience. But, whatever brand/action you choose ... be sure and pair it up with a reel that balances well with the rod. You don't want too small a reel, which will make the rod "tip heavy" .. and strain your wrist to hold/cast it. You also don't want too large a reel, which will make the rod "butt heavy" ... and strain your arm/shoulder to hold/cast it. A good rod/reel combo will balance on your outstretched finger, when laid across your finger at the front edge of the handle.

    Many 6-8' rods come in 2pc ... so "packing" them shouldn't be much of a factor.

    ... cp

    Thanks for the help! For my birthday I went out and bought a light 7' Fenwick. It seems like a nice rod and the guy helping me said he thought it would do the trick. It balances perfect with my pflueger reel as well. I can't wait to hit the water.

    Taylor

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    St Croix Triumph in light or Ultralight is also good. I do more casting and I like a shorter stick. For the real light bobbers though the longer sticks work very well. A lot will depend on how much open water you have around you, whether you will be dipping into pockets, how close you can get to them, what kind of overhead you fish under or around. Things like that. Whatever, a 2 piece will make transporting your rig easier.

    (Edit: when I say short, for me that is between 4 and 5', no longer than 5.5 and can be as short as 24" - all UL or UUL, but I seldom float-tube either. Most folks like em longer than that.)

    Don't forget to fish beneath you and your tube. Unless you splash around crappies, even large ones, may come right up beneath you. Generally the quieter you fish the easier it is to catch crappies.

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    Quote Originally Posted by no1son View Post
    St Croix Triumph in light or Ultralight is also good. I do more casting and I like a shorter stick. For the real light bobbers though the longer sticks work very well. A lot will depend on how much open water you have around you, whether you will be dipping into pockets, how close you can get to them, what kind of overhead you fish under or around. Things like that. Whatever, a 2 piece will make transporting your rig easier.

    (Edit: when I say short, for me that is between 4 and 5', no longer than 5.5 and can be as short as 24" - all UL or UUL, but I seldom float-tube either. Most folks like em longer than that.)

    Don't forget to fish beneath you and your tube. Unless you splash around crappies, even large ones, may come right up beneath you. Generally the quieter you fish the easier it is to catch crappies.

    Thanks for the tip!

    Taylor

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