Any regrets going from 14' to 16' trolling rods??

Been thinking if 16' rods can help catch few more fish if it worth extra trouble dealing with extra length. My boat is 18' and my transport rod holders are Driftmasters and really like them. The way I have them mounted about 2' of the rod tip hang past the boat transom whith 14' rods which has not been a problem because motor is couple feet past transom. If I leave my Driftmasters where they are currently mounted I would have 4' of rod hanging over transom and 2' past motor. That could be a problem?? Welcome any advice. Thanks

I am just going to stick with my 14s.

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I tried it with two 16 footers to. My set up is with drift master tips savers like yours. After running into them several times I gave them to a fellow member. If I had a longer boat then might stick with some longer poles. However, to be honest I’m just used to and happy with my set up now. Hope this helps buddy.

Went from 16s to 18s several years ago and I use a rod carrier on a 17' boat and 3' or more hang over the transom.
I like the longer poles.

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I run (6) 16s in a 15ft Xpress with no issues. They transport just fine and I only have two sections on my rod rack. Attachment 327348

Stick with the 14' and lay off your trolling motor as much as possible. The extra 2' is not going to help much, but they are a pain to handle. My 2cts

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Originally Posted by trypman1

Stick with the 14' and lay off your trolling motor as much as possible. The extra 2' is not going to help much, but they are a pain to handle. My 2cts

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I live on my trolling motor bc more times than not there is wind to fight lol. I had this same dilemma before I bought mine. I remember someone told me “there is a reason most all the pros use 16s” and that made a lot of sense to me so that’s what I went with. I’ve fished 14s in buddies boats and they are perfectly fine but I can’t tell a big difference in ease of handling.

I have a 19 ft boat. I use 16ft rods. I have 3 monster rod holders down the side of the boat that i made pole storage out of. 1 1/2 pvc wedged into the bottom with slits cut into it. It holds 6 16ft rods great. Very secure and separated so no bangging around. If I could figure out how to post pictures , I would show them to you guys

i have an 18 foot boat and use 16ft rods. my racks are tipsavers as well but i use three instead of just two. my rods hang off about 3ft. what i do is take one of the small gear gripper bungies and sinch the tips togather. they don't flop this way. i put my rear tipsaver as far to the back of the boat as i could get it.

Scott
The 14 footers will be better for your Dad They handle fish better they are lighter and more compact.
I fish both most of the time 6 -14’s and 2 16’s this enables me to cover about 4 more feet of water . When fishing customers I fish 14 ‘s. When I tournament fish I fish all 16’s.


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