Why is a 36″ rod prefered for hole hopping?

Is it because you can stand up and keep your rod tip down near the hole out of the wind so your line does not billow? Or are there other reasons?

Longer the rod, the more leverage you have for better hook sets. But once you get real long it can hinder the ability to make controlled subtle movements to your jig with wind. 36″ seems to be about the perfect length.

Depending on your preferences, you can gain a lot.

* less bending over and less fatigue

* Better line control

* With quality rods, better sensitivity

* With the correct blank, better visual of tip movement (or lack of)

* Depending on the blank and action, your rod displaces the stress and strain relief as a long lever. The fish fights the rod more than your hand and you can use lighter line in some application.

* Easier to work a larger portion of the water column with less movement in your arm

* Better presentation or control on jigs

* In shallow water, you stay further from the hole.

* Looks awesome doing a “Big C” with a noodle rod

Pictured is a 42″ Crappie noodle I build.

For me, its just a matter of being able to stand away from the hole more so you are not crouched over it with a kink in your neck. It does have a lot of fighting advantages as well.

Even inside i use 35 plus inch rods. An added bonus is it is just more fun to fight a fish on a 36 inch rod as well!

thank you

I make my own rods and use 42″ rods with inline multipliers or spinning reels for water deeper than 12 feet. In shallow water I use a 48-54″ rod with a black betty or similar reel. The long sticks are far superior in my opinion for jigging gills and crappies shallow. Once you get used to fishing long rods you’d never fish short rods outside a shack unless in a gale force wind. I am able to adjust my jigging motion to the length of rod from experience. The only time I use short rods is inside a shack or peching in 50-70 fow using pencil weights.

36″? That’s a short stand up rod, 60″ is the way to go! Take the same blank they use for the thru blank still fish type rods, put some single foot fly rod guides on it, build a cork handle then tape on a smoothed up Schooley, ad a little hi-vis line and a H-T spring bobber and get to hoppin’.

Duke

Duke

thanks for your input, I hope more chime in here; I would like to get an idea of what most people like. I am thinking I need a hole hopper and don’t want to get it wrong.

If you stand ice fishing long rods are the only way to go, especially when hole hopping, then you don’t have to reel up the line when moving just lift the tip and the jig comes out of the hole and drop it down the next. I never fish in a shack so I have no need for short rods, don’t own one a rod under 44 inches myself, 3 or 4 are homemade. As noted also leverage is a huge plus as well. Seems to me (again just my opinion) like the industry is shifting toward longer style rods, I see a lot fewer of the 18 to 24 inch rods nowadays compared to years ago more of the 26-36 range these days.

Quote:

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Depending on your preferences, you can gain a lot.
* less bending over and less fatigue
* Better line control
* With quality rods, better sensitivity
* With the correct blank, better visual of tip movement (or lack of)
* Depending on the blank and action, your rod displaces the stress and strain relief as a long lever. The fish fights the rod more than your hand and you can use lighter line in some application.
* Easier to work a larger portion of the water column with less movement in your arm
* Better presentation or control on jigs
* In shallow water, you stay further from the hole.
* Looks awesome doing a “Big C” with a noodle rod

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Well put

I like a 32″ rod but figured it was just because of the way I fish. Tend to be a bucket sitting while hole hopping. Knees dont like kneeling on ice. Like to be a little closer than standing to get a good view of the flasher. Bucket works good for carrying a extra brew and put fish in and that 32″ rod seems to put me the perfect distance from the hole. I also use a in line reel and that 32″ works pretty good for grabbing line at the end of the rod and stripping it out.

Would imagine that one length rod might not be a good fit for all of us. We all fish differently, are different heights, arm lengths and most likely fish a little differently than each other. This has been a good post to read and has me thinking my next rod might have to try a little longer. Got ahold of a shorter one this winter and not happy with it.

Also realized in a hurry this winter that if you are going to carry two rods while hole hopping they should be the same length or you may end up making adjustments every time you switch between the two. One of the presentation that goes well with sitting on a bucket is laying the rod on your knee/leg to hold it perfectly still and then just tapping it with a finger for very light action. Good trick for those sunnies that want no movement of a jig. Start switching rod lengths and the tip of the rod might be past the hole or on the side of it.

This year I finally built my first 30″ rod, before everything I fished was 24-28. Having used that rod now for awhile I have 4 more on the bench and not one is less than 30 and two are 32. Even inside my shack I don’t have a problem with the longer rod and I can slide back a little farther from the hole and don’t have to worry about a sore back at the end of the day. I will slowly be building an entire new line up over 30, I will have a few shorter for site fishing but for the most part everthing in my rod box by next year will be over 30″ for me its just more comfortable than shorter rods.