For the longest time I was mostly a bank fisherman.  I never fished anything longer than 6'6" because I found myself in the brush a lot.  I bought a boat a few months ago and have since picked up a 6'8" and a 7'1" rod.  I am even thinking about a 7'6" flip/punch rod.  But to the OPs point, if I could only have one, it would probably be 6'6" or 6'8" at the most.

On 10/11/2014 at 7:33 AM, tracker01 said:

6'3" is my preference. I am a spinning guy. I feel so alone.

I really enjoy this type of setup too.  I have a JDM setup that I am very much in love with...a 6'3" ML Expride with a Soare ci4+ 2000HGS. 

i fish nothing shorter than 7'6'' , my casting rod is 7'10'' , spinning rod is 7'8'' , swimbait rod is 9' , gonna have two 7'7'' rods built soon . after fishing longer rods it would feel awkward to fish a sub 7 footer .

My favorite rod length right now is 7' 2". Under 6' 6" feels weird to me, but I'm a taller guy so that might play into it a little. 

On 08/19/2016 at 10:00 AM, bigfruits said:

I wonder if anyone's preferences have changed since the thread was created in 2014.

I only like 6'6" for short accurate casts, my favorite spinnerbait rod is 6'6".

About 7' is perfect for me for most applications.

Haven't really changed.  However, I picked up an Aetos 6'6" ML casting rod this summer when FFO sold them off at $75.  I am really liking this rod.  Wishing now that I had bought two.  Especially since I have more reels than rods for light lures.  It is making me want to get my other 6'6" rods out a little more, but I still prefer 7' or longer most of the time for casting rods.

22 hours ago, Bunnielab said:

Who currently makes a good one of these?  I held an old junker in those exact specs at an antique store and man did it feel right somehow.  

I think St. Croix has Premier 5'6" M/F pistol grip. 

I had a custom pistol grip built on a 6' MH/F Premier blank.  It actually has a split grip design with a fighting butt on it.  Was my favorite worm rod for a year but my oldest son got it as a gift after he fell in love with it.  I have another 5'6" pistol grip built on an Avid M/F blank as well.  If you really like them, consider a custom and get it built exactly how you want it!

My favorite all around length would be between 6'6" and 6'9"

I love 6’6 rods too...it suits my favorite style of fishing when is finessing and throwing senkos and worms... im short tho im about 5’8 and most of the places i fish are creeks and very hard to get to so longer rods make it much more difficult to cast unless i clear out big holes where im going to cast from.... there are instances tho that i like a longer rod like frog fishing or throwing a swimbait or spinnerbait