question about rods

[quickfire67]

I'm somewhat new to crappie fishing and I thought you used light and ultra-light rods and reels for crappie.But on these forums I see where most people use long rods up to 12ft.I guess my question is should I scrap my ultras.And why not use plain old cane poles if you are going to use such long poles.Hope I dont sound too ignorant.
Thanks

[olelucky]

Don't scrap the ultra-lights. Cane poles would work if you don't have anything else, but the new graphite poles are a lot more sensitive.

[crappster]

People use the long poles to get the lures or bait out away from the boat as they are trolling. I fish out of a canoe, so ultralights are what I use. I also just enjoy using ultralights more than anything else. I get a much better fight out of a fish that already doesn't fight too hard. But when I move up in the world and get a larger boat, I may try the longer poles for trolling.

[PIGINTHEPIGPEN]

I have only been useing long poles for about 6 years now. For the type of fishing that I do and, I don't even troll. It would be hard for me to go back to a short pole. I still use them though certain times of the year or when conditions leave me not much of a choice ''WIND''. I keep 2 UL rods in my boat at all times a 5'6'' and a 6' I would for sure hang on to them. As olelucky stated they make some super sensitive long poles nowadays. Depends how you like to fish really. If your in the market for a long pole BnM or Wally Marshall would be a good place to start

[socolais]

I use the longer poles when wading so to stay off the beds. Also, comparing to regular cane pole, besides being a little lighter, make sure you get one that has eyes along the pole. This way you can pull the line from the rear of the pole lowering the tip to the hangups and hopefully free the jig without disturbing too much. If you ain't hanging up you ain't in the right place. Keep the UL's, they are always needed. When spring fishing I put a little bobber about 9-15 inches above the jig, cast out and slowly retrieve, twitching the bobber every so often. I love to watch that bobber disappear when a slab hits it.

[Crappie Chaser]

I use the longer poles for when fishing brush, docks or other cover, or when trolling so I can fish farther away from the boat and lessen the chances of spooking the fish. I like the shorter rods for dock-shooting, casting & retrieving spinners, and the UL's especially for ice fishing. I'd hold on to your poles, so you have a variety of poles to choose from to fit your style of fishing in certain situations. JMHO

[quickfire67]

Thanks for the replies.