14 footers vs 16

I have 4, 12's and 4, 14 footers. Thinking about dumping the 12's and trying the 16's. I have heard many that think the 16's are a tad too awkward to use. I lose about 1.5 feet of the rods from my racks not being on the very front of the boat. I have an old MG troller and it vibrates a bit and isn't the quietest, I thought the 16's may help offset this a bit too. It really didn't dawn on my until I saw a guy pulling jigs and catching a lot more fish than I was since I was pushing. Granted he was covering a lot more area than I was with his Terrova, but it just got me thinking that I need to start improving my technique and possibly some equipment.

Anyone have any input on this?

I'd say to go for 2-16's. Part of it may be getting the bait a little further away the other part of it is your confidence that it'll work.

IMHO definately 16s. There not that hard to get used to.
I have worked my way up from 12s to 20s.

ended up settling in on 18s.

16's you will like.


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Three thoughts . #1 -how long is your boat ?#2---- Are you set up so poles lose a minimum of length due to where they are mounted ? #3 do you fish normally in water deeper than 10 ft ?

I like the 16 footers from Southern Crappie.
LittleJohn

Ima too old. I don't need a pole longer than my boat. Too much trouble gettin the fish in the boat.

Got a 17 footer. I fish all depths depending on where I am at.

Rod racks as far forward I can go without it being a PITA

https://i.imgur.com/v52PhIV.jpg

I wouldn't get all hung up on length of pole, I've caught a 3.5 pound crappie at Arkabutla right beside the trolling motor, so go figure...:dono I know nothing about your boat, but you may can mount a hand control tm on the transom locked in the straight forward position, wired to a foot switch up front, and only use the front tm when you have to turn and that way the tm won't spook the fish. :fish

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Originally Posted by crappie cowboy

I wouldn't get all hung up on length of pole, I've caught a 3.5 pound crappie at Arkabutla right beside the trolling motor, so go figure...:dono I know nothing about your boat, but you may can mount a hand control tm on the transom locked in the straight forward position, wired to a foot switch up front, and only use the front tm when you have to turn and that way the tm won't spook the fish. :fish

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My 14's handle cranks a good bit better than my 12's just don't want to buy 20 rods before I settle on 8. I may need a center section for my rod holder if I go to 16's though, the 14's are pushing it. I may just settle on 14's. Good idea on the troller. Sure would be nice if the foot contollers had a lock system on them.

The foot switches I'm speaking about can be bought at Walmart. I don't know if they have a constant switch or not. It's been a while since I've used them. Shoot I spider rigged for years with 12 footers and did about the same I guess. I'd use what you have and not spend no more money ...good luck. :fish

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Originally Posted by Hammmerhead

My 14's handle cranks a good bit better than my 12's just don't want to buy 20 rods before I settle on 8. I may need a center section for my rod holder if I go to 16's though, the 14's are pushing it. I may just settle on 14's. Good idea on the troller. Sure would be nice if the foot contollers had a lock system on them.

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I went from 14's to 16's. I'm not going back. One mention above was fishing shallow water. It's tougher to land a fish when you are fishing 3-5 foot deep with the 16's but the benefits outweigh the rest. Good Luck whichever way you choose.

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Originally Posted by arkcrappie

I went from 14's to 16's. I'm not going back. One mention above was fishing shallow water. It's tougher to land a fish when you are fishing 3-5 foot deep with the 16's but the benefits outweigh the rest. Good Luck whichever way you choose.

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Not so much a problem if you have baitcast reels with thumbars. And it's always good to have a long handled net handy, too, for those fish you don't really want to try and swing into the boat.
I've even seen people use spinning reels, and have the drag set loose enough to hand strip line off the reel in order to land a fish.

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

Not so much a problem if you have baitcast reels with thumbars. And it's always good to have a long handled net handy, too, for those fish you don't really want to try and swing into the boat.
I've even seen people use spinning reels, and have the drag set loose enough to hand strip line off the reel in order to land a fish.

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Thumbbars won't solve the issue with hard hitting fish in shallow water. I've used both type reels and keep my drag set appropriately whichever style reel I fish. Very shallow fish are tough to deal with on longer poles. I agree that if you can just swing them in the boat it's not so much an issue.

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Originally Posted by arkcrappie

Thumbbars won't solve the issue with hard hitting fish in shallow water. I've used both type reels and keep my drag set appropriately whichever style reel I fish. Very shallow fish are tough to deal with on longer poles. I agree that if you can just swing them in the boat it's not so much an issue.

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I'm just thinking that the thumbar would allow you to let line out as you bring the fish in, either to hand or net .... works for me.

I don't "personally" know about real shallow water, as I generally don't fish less than 8ft deep (unless I'm casting) ... I'm just going on what a member friend of mine does : 16ft rods - 1oz weights - 1+mph - <5fow = fish for him. And he rarely bothers with a net (unless pushing cranks and gets a big fish or "off brand" fish).

I guess I'm just not getting the gist of why a hard hitting fish would be any different, seeing as how they're more likely to get hooked good, it seems like you'd just have to lift the rod - push the thumbar button - let the fish down to within reach of hand or net. :dono

I have fished with Friends that use 14 or 16 foot Rods ... after seeing 16 foot poles in action you could not give me one. The 14s are alright, I use 10 and mostly 12 foot Rods. The 10 foot rod is broke out in Trees and fishing under Bridges -- the main part of my fishing is with the 12' Last month I added a 6 1/2 Dock shooter that has not been used yet

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

I'm just thinking that the thumbar would allow you to let line out as you bring the fish in, either to hand or net .... works for me.

I don't "personally" know about real shallow water, as I generally don't fish less than 8ft deep (unless I'm casting) ... I'm just going on what a member friend of mine does : 16ft rods - 1oz weights - 1+mph - <5fow = fish for him. And he rarely bothers with a net (unless pushing cranks and gets a big fish or "off brand" fish).

I guess I'm just not getting the gist of why a hard hitting fish would be any different, seeing as how they're more likely to get hooked good, it seems like you'd just have to lift the rod - push the thumbar button - let the fish down to within reach of hand or net. :dono

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CP, it's probably just me. I'm just not as fast as I used to be.

My 18 footers always put the most meat in the boat .