What’s your shortest UL spinning rod?

I’ve gone full circle in my UL rod preferences.
I started with five footers decades ago when most Ultralight spinning rods were five feet or shorter .
Own rods fro 4’6” to 9’ .
At the moment I’m enjoying my shorter rods , those from 4’6” to 5’4” .
Leaning more toward moderate action rods as well , including a few glass rods .

I’m thinking of trying something shorter . Maybe a 3”8” one . I see where a couple are available from Major Craft .
I have a three creeks in my area where a short rod is necessary. IMO .
And I fish from shore 95% of the time .
Sometimes a bow and arrow cast is all I can use or a flip cast .

Anybody have any insight into UL or XUL rods less than 4’ ?

Out of my wheel house. Shortest I have is 410. Had I stayed in TN, and continued to fish Normandy tailrace, I would have tried some sub 4 footers. Those short rods on a creek or river bank are a Godsend.


Regards


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I got a Egeria Native in 4’11”. Fun rod to fish trout with. Never tried it on the lake for panfish. Perhaps I should.


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Yesterday I ordered a 3’8” Major Craft Finetail Glass UL and it’s already shipped.
Usually Takes about 10 days .
Can’t wait to try it out .
I just hope it’s not too short .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Yesterday I ordered a 3’8� Major Craft Finetail Glass UL and it’s already shipped.
Usually Takes about 10 days .
Can’t wait to try it out .
I just hope it’s not too short .

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Hope it works out well.


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GC ... shortest UL's I've ever had/used are a 5' Quantum UL & a 5' ESP Microlite. Longest "true" Microlite rods I've ever had/used are Mitchell Zero Gravity 7' rods.

Cheapest alternative rod under 4' would probably be a Zebco Dock Demon spinning combo (2'6" med power) at around $16 (but I think I'd also carry another UL reel as "backup") :ThumbsUp

Shortest I have is a 5'8" but my favorite is a 7'. Have a 6' Loomis Premier ultralight that I bought in the early 80's that still gets used quite a bit. Little stiffer than my newer ones, close to an ajing rod and rated for 1-4# test. Still a great rod after 40 years.

we have a no name rod that is just the you know what , the length is around 3 1/2 foot I think , super short and really light ....
the kids and wife love that lil shorty ....

Check out the kid's size combos before spending lots of money. One trip to Spring River in AR most everyone in kayaks had kid's combos and did very well with them.
The next trip to the auction house the vendor had a few different styles. I got 4 Hulk spinning combos for $14.

My PB crappie (17") - came on a 4' ultralight rod with an ice fishing type reel. Caught it on a minnow left hanging over the side while I rigged up my other rods.

My shortest UL rod is 5'. Can't believe I'm reading this actually. Sounds like shooter's looking for rifles under 5 lbs so they don't have to carry to much. Most my UL rods run 6'6" and for UL I wouldn't go shorter then the 5' or longer than the 6'6". Then too humans are crazy for always wanting the best there is but that is a personal choice and best will never be agreed on.

My shortest UL rod is 5'. Can't believe I'm reading this actually. Sounds like shooter's looking for rifles under 5 lbs so they don't have to carry to much. Most my UL rods run 6'6" and for UL I wouldn't go shorter then the 5' or longer than the 6'6". Then too humans are crazy for always wanting the best there is but that is a personal choice and best will never be agreed on.

It’s partly about weight , but mostly it’s about fishing from wooded shorelines , whether it’s from a creek , pond or lake .
I really enjoy my 4’6” to 5’ UL’s and was wondering anyone could shed any light on rods shorter than 4’6” .
I’ve fished some spots where a 4’6” rod was too long and I had to shoot my jig like one would dock shoot .
Guess I’m going to be a guinea pig .
My 3’8” has made it to LA today , probably going be about another five days .

Right now I have a 5’ Phenix custom build that I bought at Mudhole from one of the guys that works the counter. The handle is like an ice rod with very little behind the reel. Good balance and action and surprisingly strong for its size. You’ve all seen it in some of my pics, the one with some rattlesnake skin on the bottom just ahead of the grip. I don’t stand for long periods so bank fishing isn’t something I do much of. I like and use my 5’6” rods, of which I have a few. Everything I have is between 5’ and 7’. I’ve handled some of the longer ones and they just don’t have the feel that I like. Some are so parabolic that I don’t know how a person would cast them. Victor uses 7’6” rods for float fishing open water and I’d like to fish one before I decide about them. I had a 4’6” Shakespeare micro that was cool but I have storage issues for the forty rods I have now and it didn’t survive one of my purges to thin the herd. I like rods to be a little faster action than a lot of the UL rods I’ve seen.

Shortest currently is a 5’ 8” Fenwick River Runner. Years ago I had a nifty 5’ Zebco High Tech well I think that’s what it was but my memory is suspect. Anyway I well remember hurling a sparkle tail jointed diver off a sand bar and hooking a good sized white bass. That little rod was bent double and what a great fight it was.

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Originally Posted by Jiggertrigger

Shortest currently is a 5’ 8” Fenwick River Runner. .

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I have one of those rods . Nice rods . I don’t know why Fenwick discontinued the series . They had a good following from what I’ve read .
I need to get mine out and put it in the rotation for awhile.

I have a couple Shakespeare micro lite 4'6" rods I use under bridges in high water where you can't set the hook with a long rod .... landed an 8lb catfish on a tiny crappie jig with one!

I have several short rods, anything from 4' 8" to 5' 5" is what I mainly use simply because I do a lot of kayak fishing and it's a heck of a lot easier to land/net the fish with the short rods.

With boats/pontoons it's mainly 6' 0' to 7' rods
Bank/shore fishing gets 7' to 9' rods

Nothing big name with most rod/real combo's costing $100 to $150. One of my absolute favorites is the pflueger president spinning combo. A 4' 8" rod paired with their small #20 reel.
Pflueger President(R) Spinning Combo | Pflueger(R)

Attachment 495521
This, a recently acquired travel rod from Abu Zoom Safari collection in 4 piece 4foot ul.

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Originally Posted by LVSpinfisher1

Attachment 495521
This, a recently acquired travel rod from Abu Zoom Safari collection in 4 piece 4foot ul.

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I like that one !
Just placed an order for one once I found them on Amazon Japan .
I’m a sucker for UL travel rods .
Thanks for posting!

I cancelled my order after further checking the rod out .
I found out it weighs 2.8oz . IMO , That’s not a light rod for a four footer .

High glass content rod always is somewhat heavier but not by much. What i like about it is the collapse length of a mere 16 inches.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LVSpinfisher1

High glass content rod always is somewhat heavier but not by much. What i like about it is the collapse length of a mere 16 inches.

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How is the action of the rod ? Does it have a nice bend with a fish on ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

How is the action of the rod ? Does it have a nice bend with a fish on ?

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The action was good, but because of the length, it somehow feels stiffer than let say the Daiwa iprimi XUL of which i know we both have. The bend on the other hand was consistent throughout, but I've haven't caught big enough fish out of my dozen or so from my last SoCal pier visit to witness it. However I believe this Abu Zoom Safari 4ft UL is the perfect rod for float or sight fishing near surface off dock or in my case a local pier. I can literally see THE takes by hundreds of these jacksmelt pictured above.

I wound up ordering another Major Craft Finetail Glass UL rod .
I think the 4’6” is a sweet length for fishing the way I do .
Id told myself I wasn’t going buy any more rods for awhile .
It didn’t help my resistance any with Amazon dropping the price to below $100 today .