I see some recommendations for 9'6" and 10' rods on here. I have used these lengths of rod and find that I cannot cast them any further than I would with a 9' or even an 8'6" rod.

The other thing I have noticed with longer rods is they tend to be more difficult to cast and they are not as accurate, or is that just me?

Apart from boat fishing or czech nymphing, I cant see what advantage longer rods have over the more traditional 9'0 rods, which for me are much easier to cast with.

it might depend a little on the action of the rods, my 10ft czech nymph rod has an all through action, and wouldnt cast anywhere near as far and accurate as a fast actioned 9ft rod.

what rods do you use????

I use a 10ft or 11 ft rod when boat fishing, where the advantage is huge.My 11' 3" #5 is a joy to fish a team with but rods of that length suffer from the leverage effect, and even shortlining can be tiring.(not a lady's rod as I explained to a boat partner when he returned it to me after a couple of hours!)From the bank I use my 10 #6 for floating line work as it picks up a long line well, but a 9 ft rod is easier on the arm and generates higher line speeds, so that is what I use when distance is important- mainly sinker fishing.Lee Wulf used single handed rods a short as six feet for salmon fishing, and couldn't understand our use of fifteen foot doublehanders. I think most rods are 9ft for a good reason.

__________________
Behold the fisherman
He riseth up early and disturbeth the whole household.
MIGHTY ARE HIS PREPARATIONS!
He goeth forth full of hope and when the day is far spent he returneth
Smelling of strong drink, and the truth is not in him

Funny that, I think that my 9'6" #6 is just a tad too long and have bought a 9' #6 to try out this season. It was also interesting to talk to Mick Bell about the little experiment he did with #7 rods, where both inexperienced and experienced casters tried #7's in lengths from 9' to 10' in 1" increments. Seems most thought 9'4" was the ideal length. May get him to send me one to try out as I, or rather my arm, feels that 10' can be tiring after a long day on the reservoir bank.

__________________
Location - Ospreylia

A 10 footer can be an advantage in a floattube...not that i am higely experienced with tubes (well..work with a few ) but I found a 10 footer helped keep the line off the water during the back cast.

By theory, a 10 footer should generate more linespeed and hence cast further....if all things are equal that is

A 10 footer would also allow better control of a fly line on a river by allowing better mending and the ability to hold line off the water.

However, a 10 footer is a disadvantage when using very heavy outfits such as 10 weights as you have more leverage on your arm.

Me..I have both 9 and 10 footers...from 3 weight to 10 weight....the difference between a 9 foot and a 10 foot 4 weight is not noticable to me, but the difference in a 9 foot 10 weight and a 10.3 10 weight is huge!

Lastly..my 10.3 outcasts my 9 foot 10 weight buy a fair bit when using shooting heads...so..in conclusion...who really knows..lol

most of the early rods ( glass ) followed Dick Walkers designed Hardy Superlight
at 9ft 3in .Had mine for years fishing bank & boat before building a Lamiglass
carbon rod at 9ft 6in ,because 9ft 3in was not available.
This rod was an 8/9 wt used with a shooting head , which at that time ,
late 70,s was the way to go at Chew & Blagdon .
tony trout

When fishing sat down in a boat in windy conditions the extra 6-12" can make life easier and lessen the risk of hooking yourself and your boat partner

Why is this? Wouldn't a 9' rod be traveling faster at the tip than a 10' rod??

__________________
Location - Ospreylia

Think of a kids roundabout in the park. The closer you sit to the very middle, the slower you are going.

If you think of your shoulder being the centre of the roundabout and the tip of the rod being the outer edge, having an extra foot will have the tip travelling faster given the same speed at the arm..as its 12" further away from the centre...if that makes sense?

Same principle as ice skaters when they all join arms and start rotating in a big circle..the ones on the very outer edge are traveling much faster than the ones either side of the centre person.

Derrrr. Think I was having one of those moments. Totally see where your coming from. I think I was considering that my arm was having to pull a line which was 10' away and so surely I could push it faster if the load was nearer to the fulcrum as the load would feel less.

__________________
Location - Ospreylia