Hello all. I have a Poke Boat which is very similar to a kayak. This fall I plan on floating down my favourite river and casting spinners/spoons and float fishing for steelhead. I'm going to build a rod for this task.

For those who have fished for steelhead from kayaks - or fish from kayaks in general - do you use the same rods as when bank fishing/wading or do you go shorter in length? For example, I typically use an 11 foot rod for most of my steelhead fishing but could see how that length could be a little cumbersome in a boat.

thanks
Tom.

I don't go to different lengths just for the boat type sake, but everybody is somewhat different. I find it helps to have a standard length rod, particularly when you need to lead a fish around the bow or stern.

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Tom

I would keep the length from the reel seat to the tip standard but I would shorten the butt length. Having a long grip can be cumbersome in a kayak. One of my rods has a 5 inch grip and does not get in the way of anything. You will be surprised how comfortable a short grip rod can be.

Good Luck

John

I'm relatively new at building rods, although I do most of my fishing from kayaks and had a smilar question when I 1st moved over to a kayak. One thing I was told by several more experienced kayak anglers when I 1st started out, in a kayak you do most of you fishing, and fighting of a fish sitting down, unlike a boat you cannot get up and move around to keep the fish clear of tangles on the bow or stern as was mentioned in a post above. I use mostly 8 - 8 1/2 foot poles in my kayak, I find that length is manageble, but still allows me to keep control of the fish around the boat. I'm assuming your situation is a little bit different becaust you can stand and move. That being said, I watched a video of a guy fighting and landing a tuna on a Barbie pole and reel.

Thanks for the feedback. I see the point about the shorter butt length. That was one of my concerns as on my 11 foot rods they can be pretty long which would be a pain when sitting in a kayak (I think).

At the minimum, why not try one of your current 11 foot rods in your kayak. You'll know pretty quickly what you may need to change and what can stay the same.

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At the minimum, why not try one of your current 11 foot rods in your kayak. You'll know pretty quickly what you may need to change and what can stay the same.

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That's a very good idea. I have an 11 foot rod with a handle with sliding rings so I would also be able to determine the best length of the butt grip (if needed).
Thanks.

Hi Tom
This feels like a problem we had to solve out here in Africa. we have a lot of guys here fishing offshore in the Indian ocean from paddle ski`s and have the same problem as regards rod length.At present the guys are using very short rods with short butts. Rod about 4.5 ft to 5,5ft but unusual blanks with major tapers ie from 24mm to 2.2mm tips.These paddle ski fisherman regularly catching fish of 15kg plus with bags up to 60kg.As a rod builder for these guys the action comes from the dramatic taper and the capability of gaffing and boating these fish.The answer in terms of movement is mathematical ie how far from the bow of the ski and how long are the arms of the fisher ie the fish runs around the ski?Understand that this is still a fishery being developed but for me I`ll build the rods and learn.
regards
Rob

I fish 13'-15' rods mostly from shore and 9'-11 1/2' rods when boat fishing steelies/trout/salmon.

Regards
Dave

Fishing is Life the rest is just Details

Unless you plan to do a lot of high sticking you had better purchase a net with an eight foot handle.

I use a Rainshadow IST1025F, the versatility for most techniques, the durability and power to get the fish to the boat under more awkward condition I find in my canoe, pontoon boat, or whitewater inflatable kayak.

frist couple of times out use what you have on hand you might like it or change it all what I like it is me , what you like it is you an could be a difference or the same , what I an trying to say is who knows ?? the only thing that counts is to be able to go around the bow if need be , most of the time you just back up a little , try what you have first then change if you want

William Sidney
AK

There are significant differences between a rod length suited to land an 8 lb. fish on the rod from a kayak and one suited to land a 30 lb. fish on the rod from a kayak. As long as you are close enough to shore to land the #30 fish, or your agility and leader diameter allow you to land 30 lb. fish from your kayak, or you have a very long landing landing net your rod length is not important.

There are significant differences between a rod length suited to land an 8 lb. fish on the rod from a kayak and one suited to land a 30 lb. fish on the rod from a kayak. As long as you are close enough to shore to land the #30 fish, or your agility and leader diameter allow you to land 30 lb. fish from your kayak, or you have a very long landing landing net your rod length is not important.

There are significant differences between a rod length suited to land an 8 lb. fish on the rod from a kayak and one suited to land a 30 lb. fish on the rod from a kayak. As long as you are close enough to shore to land the #30 fish, or your agility and leader diameter allow you to land 30 lb. fish from your kayak, or you have a very long landing landing net your rod length is not important.