[Oolie]

Love your Gonzaga videos.


I think you need to decide what works for you, the reason why most yakkers want a rod longer than even the boaters for the surface iron is to reach breaking fish is easier. When you are on a boat, an 8'rod combined with the extra height of a standing person, plus the height of the boat off the water line gives a significant added distance to the cast, an additional 10' minimum. to make up that gap, combined with the fact that it takes longer for a yakker to chase down breaking fish, a longer rod is typically desired to make up the gap.


You can do various things to get longer casts without lengthening the rod, or use techniques to minimize the distance you need to cast.


If it was me, I would use speed jigging, so you don't have all of the wind resistance of the jig and monofilament, by using thinner, denser, lead jigs, and much thinner braided main line, you are able to effectively make up the gap between a 9' rod and a 7.5' rod. Typically though, speed jiggers use spinning tackle for the high rate of retrieve.


In the end, it's up to the fisherman to devise what works best for them.