OK what is the purpose of the long drift rods in the summer time. Usually in the summer time I am casting shorter then in the winter to get to the slot. I use a 9 food rod while drift fishing, what is the advantage of the 10.5 footers? I can see this if bobber fishing, but not for drift fishing.

I would say that with the longer rods you can use lighter line...something that is required in the low, crystal clear water.

I use twelve pound test year around and just down size my leader in the summer. In the winter I use 8lb. test leader, in the summer I use 6lb test leader. So I do not see the advantage of down sizing the main line unless it is to help you cast light weights farther. But I use a curado so I can cast very little weight about 700 miles. Are steelhead line shy as well as leader shy?

LOL i bet the 10.5 casts 800 miles Dang that's a long pole. I've only seen those fished from shore near the Narrows. They easily outcasted my 8.5 with 8 on and they were throwing 12 or more.(casting full herring). If i had a 10.5 footer it would probably contribute more to trimming the fauna around me as i casted, more than giving me an advantage in a river.

Once you use a 10'6'' rod it is hard to fish anything shorter!I have fished one for a good 7 years now and can hardly cast other rods!
I don't believe that summer fish ,that have not been harrased by the crowds are line shy.
The biggest benifit you get from the long rod is the amount of line you can keep out of the water,giving you a more natural drift.This at times is very important to a summer fish.
Small presentations are also important at times!You going to toss a dick nite sized spoon into a tail out with a curado strung with 12lb?
long rods also alow you to have a little more fun with summer fish including the bycatches.I pulled a twenty lb king out of the Sol Duk for the fun of it with mine this year.I used to pull 10 12 lb black mouth on 4lb also.You're line gets twisted all to hell but it shure is a hell of a lot of fun!
They also aid in you in the stealth department.You can stand that much farther away and make you're presentation!

I agree ltlCleo.
I also like the higher angle when trying to feel the bottom. If there are a lot of larger rocks, It seems to help me work my way through them better. If I think I'm about to get hung up, I slightly raise the rod tip and usually pop right over the boulder. This may be more mental than anything else though...
And since I'm generally running a spinning reel loaded with 8lb line (maybe 10 at times), the longer rods 'cushen' the line a little better.

ltlcleo

You said "The biggest benefit you get from the long rod is the amount of line you can keep out of the water, giving you a more natural drift."

I had never thought about keeping more line out of the water for drift fishing, only thought it was important for float fishing. Now I know, thanks much.

Do you find that these long rods wipe your arm out by the end of the day? My 10.5 lamiglass bobber rod gets pretty heavy after a days use. I have a 9-foot lamiglass drift rod and it gets a little heavy also. Used my friends 8.6 lami and it seems so much lighter for a days use. That was one reason I wanted a shorter rod for the summer. Those summer fishing days can be long compared to the winter ones with little daylight.

Also the stealth thing makes allot of sense, those fish can see well in that clear water and they spook easily. So in that case the longer rod makes sense to me.

They plumb where you out no two ways around that!Good for a sharp pain right between the shoulder blades!

The feel that exists in a long rod is unbelievable.My summer rod is a custom 14' built from a 9'6"6wt Talon flyrod with a butt section from a light baitrod. I use a centerpin loaded with 8lb to a 6lb leader. This setup allows you to feel every pebble on the bottom ,every leaf that floats downstream . Its amazing just how easy it is to handle large fish with this rig.You have a huge cushion that gives with evey move the fish makes and tires them like no short rod ever would. The important thing in building long rods to avoid strain is to achieve balance in the rod and reel with the hand position. If you get the balance right it feels like a feather.

It's really easy to solve the balance problem. I took my 10.5 foot Lami. Cert. Pro and added a stack of quarters (about $5.50 worth) using strapping tape then three coats of Dip-It. Voila! Perfectly balanced rod. No elbow owee. You can also use 1 inch shrink tubing instead of the Dip-It, or buy the rod balancer thingy from Cabela's. But another advantage of the quarters is that you have bus fare, anytime.

Coot - My first tyee came on a rod just like you're describing. It was also the first time I ever used a centerpin...Luckily, the first fish I had on that day whacked my knuckle pretty good, and I learned my lesson in time for the big fish. And I agree with you...the sensitivity is amazing!

When fly fishing fast sink lines, a higher angle from rod tip to water, allows your line to travel through the "zone" at a steeper angle.
The same holds true with a drift rod. In fact you should use smaller, lighter, weights which will also mean less fatgue for your back and shoulders.
If you use a 10ft 6in rod, or longer, and still use the same amount of weight as you would with a shorter rod then you may not be holding your rod-tip high enough, in-fact you'll be holding it rather flat out in front of you because the heaver weight will sink too fast any other way, and be grabbing bottom. That means you'll be replacing a lot of terminal gear too.
As far as the "balance" thing, the best way to get good balance is to match your reel to the rod so that it's weight, will offset the length/weight of the rod. Don't put a tiny little reel on a great long rod! then add a bunch of quarters?
Hey Thumper, I've never seen a bus stop at any of the places I fish Where are you fishin'? haha!
Well anyway that's my story an' I'm stickin' to it!

My rod is balanced although it is a heaviar Im6 blank.My favorite way to fish spoons on smaller water is to start at the bottom and cast up into the head of the run,reeling the spoon back at me.I reel at the speed of the current and slightly jig the spoon.This jigging puts me out of touch with the lure briefly everytime drop the pole and reel to catch up!because of this I end up holding my rod with my arms streched out in front of me to get a goood hookset!
I have been doing alot more drift fishing lately and have noticed alot les back fatigue.Of course that comes with a lot more tying and gear to drag down the canyon!
Coot: The long rods definately make for a big shock absorber.The best so far is a twenty lb king on 8lb XL!Some day I am going to own a 14' been a dream for awile!I just can't imagine dragging one down into the canyons!

Hey Itcleo: Maybe you need to try what I did. I bought a 14'10wt Talon blank and ordered two butt sections. When I built the rod I used one butt section full length for a spey caster rod. the second butt I took off the bottom two feet and built a 12' float rod.
if I`m fishing water that has both deep drifts and good tailouts I carry the extra butt.That way I can switch from float fishing to flyfishing easily. It makes a great all purpose rod.

14' Wow those are some long rods, I have never seen a rod that long. Sounds like fun.