Buggy whips

Recently some people have expressed an interest or commented about the panfishing rods Mike/HOF and I use.
One person even referred to them as buggy whips.
Our rods are 9 feet long, two piece, 3 fly weight, top of the line St. Croix blanks. Fitted of course with an Okuma Metaloid 15 with 4 pound test.
Why do we use these long flimsy rods?
Because they are PURE FUN!!! You can cast a country mile with just the flick of the wrist, no need to put a lot of arm into the cast. You can outcast a conventional 6 1/2 footer with half the ease.
Don’t know about you, but when catching fish, I like a little fight and lots of play in the rods action instead of a broom handle with no give.
These longer rods do an excellent job of providing a lot of wiggle and waggle so you really think you got a big one regardless of size of the fish.
Oh you can bring them into the boat as fast as the shorter rods, without putting too much stress on the fish. They just are bouncing all the way.
Not to worry, they can handle big fish as well. Mike watched me land a 5 pound carp and the rod performed perfectly.
Hook set is quick. Trust me, raising a 9 footer up in the same amount of time as a shorter rod, will set the hook faster.
The lenght of the rod also allows you to use regular floats instead of slip bobbers in some instances.
Very sensitive when straight line jigging.
The tips are so soft, you can see the slightest nibble, however, the butt is stiff enough for a clean hook up.
HOF custom makes these beauties. You can go with a fancy wrap and wooden handle, or get a plain Jane for a couple less dollars.
Mike and I have both agreed, we will never go back to the shorter panfish rods, these longer rods are just too darn much fun.

I have seen these rods in action many times. In fact I asked Mike to hand his rod to me one time and I made a cast, ok made many casts, with it as I wasn’t done playing with it yet even though he wanted it back. They are alot of fun. And they certainly catch fish.
Thanks, Bill