Quote Originally Posted by RWiske View Post
I've been using a pair of 7ft light action Shakespeare rods for tightlining. Yesterday, I picked up a couple of longer rods (9ft Mr. Crappie Slab Daddy's on sale ), ran home rigged them up, hooked the boat and headed to the lake. The longer, softer rods seemed to give me the extra time (fractions of a second, I'm sure), to recognize the bite and set the hook. I had a blast with these rods yesterday evening and am confident that my ability to hook more of the fish that bit had something to do with the change to the longer rods. They are much more sensiitve than the 7 footers I had been using before.
I agree, RW .... and that was my main point in referencing my change from 7ft rods to 10ft rods to the 13 & 14ft rods. The extra length & "give", of those more limber rods, seems to allow the fish to pull the rod tips down easier/farther ... not only giving you more time to see the bite & react, but also give the fish more time to commit to grabbing the bait & moving off.

... cp