Is 6' too short?

[Drewski]

What do you guys think? I currently have a 6'6 L, 6'6 ML, and a 7'L for crappies, and I'm thinking about getting a 6'UL for casting jigs n plastics.Do you guys think that's too short?

[CrappieAttitude]

A 6' would work just fine for you. As you probably know, the shorter the rod, the less able you are to cast the lighter stuff great distance. I love my 7', but I also have a 5.6 shorty that I have used a lot.

[CJH]

I have a 6' ultralight and it works fine for what you suggest. I can't cast it a country mile, but I wasn't planning on it either!

[Chode2235]

Thats all I use. Its my panfish/trout rod, and it gets a good workout all year.

[Scott M]

My lightest action jigging rod is 5'6", if I'm casting I go with something longer with more backbone. Sometimes the buggy whip UL is overpreached IMHO.

Good luck with whatever you decide drew.

[half-dutch]

Drewski,

I fish 5' UL all the time. No problem with that length on the casting distance I need for crappies using 32nd ounce jigs and 4# test GAMMA. On 16th and 8th ounce weights the distance is far more than adequate. Then one can actually go up to 6#, at least on the 8th ounce, and still get good distance.

Not all UL rods have the same action; length isn't the real issue, it is how the rod loads and delivers the payload. The line is part of that; the lighter and limper the line the more the weight is at the end and the more leverage you get out of it. My 5 footers do that just fine for the weights I use. I always keep at least one in the backseat, usually a couple.

[Drewski]

Well I ended up getting a 7'L Cabelas prodigy and I couldn't be happier. It's really light, and the exposed blank really allows for great sensitivity.

[carpmanjake]

i love shorter rods, especially for flipping under docks, and into caulverts/ boat tunnels

i have a 5'er and i LOVE IT

for general jigging i use 6-7'ers

for float fishing, i love the slab seeker rods

for vertical jigging i love the 12' slab seeker models, especially when jigging straight down in cover like laydowns, and weed beds

[Foreverfish1]

I have a 7 foot UL but for some reason I always get line twist when I cast with it. I've tried different lines (trilene, stren, silver thread) and different reels on it but it doesn't seem to matter. It does have very small guides on it especially towards the end. Would that matter or am I just doing something wrong?

I have also tried taking the lure off and dragging all the line behind my boat to reduce twist and it seems to work for about an hour of casting and then the twist comes right back. I've lost 3 full spools of line because of this and I need to figure it out!

Any tips would be awsome!

[carpmanjake]

forever fish.

are you fishing with a float? or cranking in jigs?

live bait or plastics?

alot of times, if you dont right the plastic tails completely straight, they will roll on the retrieve, causing alot of line twist.

it could be the reel you are using, a cheap reel is much more suceptible to line twist then a quality reel.

another thing to avoid t is propperly loading the spool.

Place the supply spool on the floor or any flat surface so that it is static and dooes not turn but the line can come off the side of the spool. The line should come off in an counter clock wise direction. Then thread line through the rod guides, and then hold the rod tip three to four feet above the feed spool. Make 15 to 20 turns on the reel handle then stop. Now check for line twist by reducing the tension on the line. Always apply light pressure to the line when spooling any reel. Do this by holding the line between your thumb and forefinger with your free hand. Continue filling the reel to within 2 - 3mm of the lip of the reel spool. If you under fill, you'll lose distance and control on your casts. If you overfill, the line may come off the reel in a tangle. If your spool is too deep for the line you have to fill it properly, use a backing line to bring the level of the line up to the lip on the spool

also, if you set the hook and your drag slips, that means your drag is to loose, which will sometimes cause line twist.

if none of these are the problem, try spraying your spools with WD-40 or real majic after you get back from every trip. that helps with the line memory, which can contribute to line twist.

then before you go out the next time, soak the spool in warm- hot water for about 10 minutes. that makes the line softer and much more managable. also it gets rid of most of the line memory

[ozzie]

good info carpmanjake!

[carpmanjake]

thanks

[Reaper8]

I use a 6" UL for Crappies and a 6.5 L I love them both!

[Foreverfish1]

carpmanjake,

Thanks for the advice, lately I've mostly been casting small tube jigs or twister tails and just reeling them in slowling giving them small twitches. Its been working but the line twist is not fun...

I may be spooling it on wrong so when I respool my rod again tonight (4th time this year lol) I'll make sure I'm reeling it off the spool the right way.

[fisherdog19]

Another line twist issue is closing the bail. If you turn the handle to do so after you cast, you put twist in your line. It's become second nature to me to close the spool with my free hand as soon as the jig hits the water. You can also try running a small spro swivel as well. If you use bobbers you will get a lot more twist, just hang your line from the tip of your rod every 5-10 casts to let some line twist out.

[Drewski]

Another line twist issue is closing the bail. If you turn the handle to do so after you cast, you put twist in your line. It's become second nature to me to close the spool with my free hand as soon as the jig hits the water.

Same here. It really helps on reducing line twist.

[MN BassFisher]

Agreed. I used to run into that problem as a kid, now for the last 7 or so years I just manually flip the bail. Alot less line twist.

I have a 5' Ultra Light and I love it. Like most said, distance isn't the best but I didn't plan on it being the best. It travels a good distance with a weighted bobber. I used it yesterday when I was fishing for bullhead (to use for bait with Catfish) and when I ran into some bigger ones, it was a heck of a fight!