Thanks: 
HaHa: 
Reply With QuoteIt's not an art. It's a nightmare.Originally Posted by Tenn_Archer
I don't think your 10' rod will help you like you think it will.
Stick with your short rods from the kayak.
Slabmaster
10' + rods
I just want out throw this question out there. To set it up, since I have started kayak fishing, I have found downsizing has been the name of the game. My two 7' bait casting rods have been parked in the basement and the 4'6" and 5' foot ultra light rod and reels have been the mainstay tackle of fishing. It may have taken a few minutes, but I have landed a few healthy (broad-shouldered) smallmouth and largemouth bass on 4lb line. My last fishing trip to Douglas Lake in East Tennessee produced 20-25 crappie but not one keeper. While researching why this happened, I read one problem may have been that larger crappie, if they feel resistance, will spit the bait before the hook set. I have a couple of 10' noodle rods I used to fish from the bank that will help with less resistance.
Has anyone perfected the art of using a 10' rod in a 12' yak???
Thanks,
Crappie.com Legend
It's not an art. It's a nightmare.
I don't think your 10' rod will help you like you think it will.
Stick with your short rods from the kayak.
FSR LIKED above post
Slabmaster
Thanks man. I took my float n fly rod once and it WAS a nightmare. Thought I would ask if there was a trick.
Crappie.com Legend
We fished a lake in Ga. many years ago and it was overpopulated with small crappie. There was no size limit and you could keep 50 each. Because the fish were so stunted they encouraged to keep all we caught and we often caught 100. Cleaning them was a nightmare but they ate well.
Could overpopulation be the problem in your lake? In this lake they averaged
around 7-8".
Mark 1:17 ...I will make you fishers of men
Slabmaster
Hi SeaRay, When I first started fishing this lake back in the 80s, crappie were considered in the class of bluegills and there was no size or creel limit. I can't remember how long ago, there was first a creel limit of 20 fish, then 15. That's what it is now. Then a 10" size limit was introduced. I do not think it's a case of over population. I know many anglers catching limits of good size crappie. I think this is a case of me not being a very good crappie fisherman and needing to learn. I used to go fishing (most of my life) without a target species in mind. Since I got the kayak, I have been having fun learning how to target a species. Douglas is a great fishery. Thank you for your post!!
Crappie.com Legend
Try a 7' Shakespear UL or L action rod from Walmart, about $15-20 and a open face reel of your choice. Decent casting rod, good for longlining, good for bobbers as well. 7' is long enough to get something done with but still will fit in the yak while paddling or transporting w/o damage. They also have, or used to, mine are fairly old, 6 and 6'6" models as well.
GO BIG ORANGE !
I meant to behave, but there were just way too many other options available at the time.
Keeper
My 8ft jigging pole seems to be kind of a pain to deal with a lot of the time from my kayak or even fishing tube. I take that and my 4.6 UglyStik and most of the time the long pole just goes for a ride. I'm actually looking at a 13 Fish ice rod med./heavy action and it's only 33" long, perfect for my taste of fishing (vertical jigging). IMO my 8ft pole is a pain, can't imagine another two feet.
Slabmaster
Hey floaterguy!! Funny you should bring up the ice fishing pole!! Just today I watched a YouTube video (Hammering 16 inch crappie) where the guy is using a 26" rod with backbone. They are not expensive and I may try one. It was a Frabill rod. Thanks for your in put.
Keeper
Thats one nice thing about ice gear is it's usually a lot cheaper, with a few exceptions. The reason I thought of this is my Garmin fish finder has a flasher built in but will only pick up the jig about a foot or two from the transducer. My Marcum Showdown is what I use during ice fishing and that's straight down the hole so I figured they'ed be the same, so I figured a strong ice rod would be perfect for that out of my kayak.
Crappie.com 1K Star General
My opinion is 10' would be just right if you are spider rigging and the real limber tips are what you need. I have 4 12' rods that I am using but plan to downsize to 10' rods with real limber tips. I bought the 4 12' used and knew I could use them on my boat if they were too long for the kayak.
