"asadi" wrote in message
. com...

"Bob S"
Been lurking awhile - snip -

Detailed perhaps however, all information was relevant, certainly though
and not without little thought it is my opinion, if I may be so bold as to
offer in the midst of these fine, respectable gentlemen who represent the
North's and the South's most excellent manners and wit, among whom are
not in the least most well read gentlemen, I would like to say that I did
not think it in least, from any perspective of those present, long
winded.....

john

Hm......

Yep.

Anyway, the minority report:

Shorter is better......always......well, nearly. Longer rods are better for
dapping. That's o.k. if you're going to be a dapping specialist.....most of
us aren't. Theoretically a longer rod will also allow you to make longer
casts. In fact, improving your technique will make a much bigger difference
than does another foot or two of rod length. Besides, most people spend way
too much time making casts that are much too long to do them any practical
good in catching fish. Nothing wrong with making long casts if that's what
you're there for.....but it isn't the way to catch a lot of
fish.....generally.

Short rods are easier to pack, easier to carry through the woods, easier to
swing in tight quarters, and easier to control. There is a pervasive and
pernicious conventional wisdom that says a longer rod is better for fighting
fish because you get more leverage. This is as wrong as it can possibly be.
The fish has the long end of the lever. Since the fulcrum and the short end
remain constant (more or less), the shorter the rod, the less mechanical
advantage the fish enjoys. Leverage is also an issue in casting.....the
shorter the rod, the less work to aerialize the line. Short rods make it
much easier to bring a fish in close enough to grab or net when the time
comes. Short rods are lighter.

I've got a four foot rod I built out of the tip section of an old busted up
glass rod I found in an abandoned house. It works beautifully on small
overgrown streams. It has also served me well on larger, more open waters.

Wolfgang