8ft vs. 7ft Live Bait Rods for YT ?

[Racksticker]

Fishing for YT, do you prefer 7ft or 8ft live bait rod ?

I plan to heading out for YT for the 1st time next season. I'm wondering if the longer 8' deckhand rods are more of a hassle or benefit fighting YT ?

[Hunters Pa]

Just make sure whatever butt cap it has on the end will fit in your rodholder

[addicted2sp33d]

I use 8' so I can reach the tip around the bow on my yak without having to release my non-cranking hand.

The longer rod also takes the line that much further away from my paddles when I'm trolling an iron. :paddleersmilie:

[rossman]

Just make sure it is long enough to get around the bow whole fighting a fish

[danjor]

Either as long as it let's you reach across the bow. And don't try to go light with 15lbs test.... Lost a yellow yesterday on 15lbs test, thought it would be fun for fighting rockfish on a party boat until I hooked into a yellow and it broke :(

[makobob]

Either as long as it let's you reach across the bow. And don't try to go light with 15lbs test.... Lost a yellow yesterday on 15lbs test, thought it would be fun for fighting rockfish on a party boat until I hooked into a yellow and it broke :(


Rock a bye baby or drag just too tight?

[chris138]

The lenth isn't as important as the action. You need a light action rod (15-30lb rating) for spectra, even up to 65 or 80 # braid. You need the soft rod cuz the braid has no stretch so the rod needs to absorb slack in the line.

If you'll be fishing mono on it, then you can use a heavier action rod. If you're truly targeting the big coastal YT, IMO there is no reason to go any lighter than 30lb test.

Personally I like 7' bait sticks. But an 8'er is good for flylining and it can double as a jigstick.

[Iceman]

7 footer makes way more sense to me, the extra foot is only helping cast the bait, not usually the way we fish bait from the kayak. Now for casting swimbaits I'd rather have the 8 than the 7.

[Cadillyak]

I like the 7ft for bait. Don't really cast bait so 7ft works for me. But as all have stated, make sure it clears the bow.

[Racksticker]

Thanks for all the replies. I learned a lot. Glad I asked, before spending the cash.

I've been looking at the Seeker Pinhead rods, 7' and 8', 12-30lb, 15-30lb & 15-40lb deckhand models. They seem light, strong and good for livebait. I'll be buying 2 and now I need to match them up with Avet reels. Its only v more money right ? ;)

I'll be making a better decision now. Thanks for the advice

[danjor]

Rock a bye baby or drag just too tight?

Stale mate for a while, decided to do a bad thing and bump the drag slightly past strike and pop

[taggermike]

Longer rods help with casting, not fighting fish. Like others said, the rod needs to be long enough to go around the bow of the yak. Any longer and it's just more leverage on the fish's side. Mike