Once again I have a question. I would like to throw the Slammer and like lures. Mono OR Braid and why.
The second question is why don't you see longer rods than 8' for swimbaits. Its about have your lure in the water for as long as possitble isn't? If you would have a 9' rod you could cast much further.
Thanks again for the info.

Mon: you want a bit of a shock absorber and braid will not only break on a hookset but you are playing with fire casting a high dollar sinking bait with braid. One little loop and bye bye bait. Plus, at 25lb to 30lb test you will get the power you need to drive the hooks home.

Long rod: I would love to have a 9' rod so I would have better hook setting capabilities. There are rods our there, but I think in general most swimbait rods are 8' so that they can be used legally in tournaments.

Dale...

Some guys I know use braid since you are fishing Slammer type baits on top. I don't fish braid myself because I like a little bit of stretch in my line. Primarily if the fish surges right at the boat.

As for rods longer than 8 feet. Most guys use shorter rods as manufacturers typically limit the length due to tournament regulations. One thing to remember though, if you are making a longer cast and hook a big one, you have very little control over the fish at the end of your cast. If the fish doesn't come to the top, she has a chance to get into any piece of cover or structure between the fish and your boat.The only situation where I would want to make a longer cast is if I was fishing from shore.

If you are set up on structure correctly, you will get plenty of distance out of your cast with an 8 foot rod. Up until about 5 years ago, I used to use 7 foot rods exclusively and had no problems catching fish and getting the distance I needed. The only reason I changed is because I am fishing the rods I developed for Okuma.

I prefer mono for almost all of my swimbaits. I fish a lot at night and picking out a backlash with braid at night is horrible x( . The mono allows for some stretch with is nice. I have not related any lost fish to using mono line. I personally use Izorline XXX and have had zero problems with it. It has low memory and casts perfectly with good abrasion resistence. (no affiliation I just like the stuff)

I have tried to use a 9 foot salt water jig stick for fishing swimbaits. To be honest with you I could not cast the bait that much further for the added weight of the rod. Most rods you will see are 8 feet or less to remain tournament legal. Several organizations have rules stating that the rods have to be less than 8 feet. That is why you'll see a lot of 7'11" rods out there.

Thanks for the info Guys. The question about the rod length came up when I was watch guy work an are of grass that was really large. I felt if he had a longer rod that he would have been able to work the area much faster.


Thanks again

I like the big game premium its a newer silver big game I am sure theres better line but this is cheap and I can change it everytime I go out without regret and it works great.

Hey let that Bass go I wanna catch her some day
http://www.calfishing.com/gallery/v/members/tmcustoms/