Your thoughts on 9 ft rods.....

when it comes to anything over 8 ft do you prefer one piece rods over the two piece rods?  Could you also state why you prefer one over the other?  Thank you,

Front of the boat fishing is much more enjoyable having a 9' over an 8.5'. Your back will thank you if doing quality figure 8 each cast or even half an 8. Back of the boat not needed as much and sometimes a 9' can be too long if working a jerk bait. Slapping the tip into the water each pull. That being said I use my 9' 99.99% of the time. Legend Tournament Big Nasty is light and never have an issue with it feeling tip heavy. In all reality when throwing Musky baits the lure itself will be what makes "heavy" an issue not the rod. Additionally the extra 6" does make a difference when casting. It's simply easier with a 9' rod. You won't notice it after 30 minutes but you will after 4, 6, 8hrs etc... 

One thing I could say about those 9 footers...seems like balancing them correctly isn't overly easy.

I had to put some weights in the handle of my St. Croix to get it to feel right along with my reel.  That little bit of extra length can make the rod seem tip heavy.

Eh.  Kindda splitting hairs when it comes to the figure 8.  Between and 8.5 and a 9.

I like both of my 9 footers better than 8.5 footers, but I think that is because the tip is a little more flexible and the handle is a little longer.

Took me about two days of casting to get used to the 9 footers way back when.  When I use an 8.5 now, it seems a little short.  And when I use my 7.5 foot jerk bait rod, it feels like a Snoopy Pole.

I thought I wanted a 9 for bucktails and mid sized cranks, but when my son got one I tried it and doing the figure 8 didn't feel as comfortable for me as it did with an 8 ft rod.  I'm not sure what the advantage is with the 9 other than wider turns on the figure 8.

Just a follow up from my post from a month ago.  I fished a week on Eagle Lake with my 9'3" Okuma.  It is a lot of rod, my 7' St Croix Premier that I use for jerks felt like a toy when I picked it up after using the Okuma.  The rod itself performed well and I'm glad I purchased it and would do so again.  The fore grip is big, I assume to allow the rod to telescope. I could see the grip being issue if you have Trump hands, and the bulkiness of the rod could cause fatigue issues.  

Just received my Okuma 9'3" heavy action rated for 50-100lb test and 2-10oz lures and cant wait to fish it!  I strapped my Revo Beast on it and tossed a 2 oz glide bait around the the yard.  Unbelievable how far you can cast and the power seems just right.  I plan to fish bucktails, topwater and rubber with it.  I'm not a big fan of overly stiff rods IMO with no stretch braid you need a rod with some give when fighting a decent fish. 

Personally, I prefer a one-piece rod. And that goes to any rods under or over 9ft. The top 3 main reasons are because:

1. So the removal top piece doesn't fly away when casting.

2. So when reeling in or casting, the top piece doesn't twist causing line to be all funky.

3. So when reeling in a bigger fish, the top piece doesn't automatically spins the other way.

Okuma makes some nice 9' rods that are telescoping and are very reasonably priced with lifetime warranty's.

I have had both 2 piece and 1 piece and only own 1 piece rods now  15 of them!  I have a problem I KNOW!  But my thought is the longer the better but that all depends on the baits you want to throw with each rod and how tall you are etc.  I am only 5' 10" so the longest I own is 9.0" Most of mine are 8'6" and I have two for my shums, glide baits, that are 7'6" as me being shorter those types of baits for ME are easier to work with a shorter rod

Hope this helps

Smithmerlin,

We have a couple of rods over eight feet long. One is a telescoping rod, and the other is a traditional one-piece rod. Both work very well and there's been no difference so far. One word of warning with the telescoping rod, though - it may "jam" or become extremely difficult to separate once it's set in place. Make sure to line up the guides/eyes as perfectly as you can with the reel since the two pieces of the rod can rotate.

I have a 7.5 Mojo Musky that I throw everything with. Works great with the glides. I really wish I had a 9 footer to throw blades. I will probably be adding that setup soon. I don't like 2 piece rods. I had one a few years back that wore out and wouldn't hold position. I only use 1 piece now. 

Bought the okuma 9 footer telescopic last year believe it’s a xxh but fishes like a xh.  Paired with a tranx 400 and love it.  It’s not for glide baits like stated below but is great for bucktails, topwater, and rubber.  I was a little skeptical at first with that long of a rod but after throwing mag and pounder dawgs last fall and double 10s this year it has proved its worth in the 8s boat side.  Best part was it was on sale for 100$ at fleet farm.  Also I personally wouldn’t go 2 piece and that is just a preference I don’t own any 2 piece rods.

I own 3 Okuma 8.5 XH telscoping rods...for friends and family who jump into my boat.  The Okuma's that I own were out before Tackle Industries started making ones.....  Haven't ever held a TI rod, but I'd imagine they are fine.  Nothing wrong with telescoping rods at all.

But..those rods (over 7.5 feet) won't throw little baits or glide baits very well.  Nothing gets a bait to glide like the right 7.5 foot rod.  And if you work really small glides, then you need a very specific kind of rod.

At least that is what I keep telling myself...and my wife as I bring home more rods!

I also have a 9’ Tackle Industries one piece telescopic rod. I use it for bucktails,topwaters,and bulldawgs. Like stated not very good for suicks etc. I haven’t used it much because I haven’t been out much chasing ski. Figure eights are much easier to perform especially for large fish. 

I use a Tackle Industries mega heavy 9' telescopic rod.  It collapses to 7 ft which fits in most rod storage lockers.  When extended and in use,  it has the feel of a 1 piece rod.  It is the closest thing i have found to an all purpose rod.  The tip is fast yet can handle pounder bulldogs.  It is light enough to cast all day and works great with bucktails too.  Obviously the only lure it doesn't work well with would be a suick style jerkbait.  The length causes the tip to hit the water when jerking the bait.  A 7' or less would be more suited for that.  I just don't like the look or feel of 2 piece rods, just my opinion.  My love of 9' telescopic walleye planer board rods led me to try the Tackle Industries musky rod and am very pleased.