I have always used St. Croix legend tournament bass 6 foot 10 medium light extra fast finesse drop shot set up for my Ned rig and tube applications. I recently broke it and I am wondering if I should upgrade to the XL 7’3” version?

While not significant, shorter usable blank will give better sensitivity given the same/comparable material, guides and action.

A longer rod will always have more leverage to set the hook, but with finesse applications/light wire hooks it's negligible. Can't comment on sensitivity, I've never tried two identical mfr actions/powers in different lengths.

6 hours ago, 4g63power said:

While not significant, shorter usable blank will give better sensitivity given the same/comparable material, guides and action.

Interesting, so with the longer tip on the 7 foot three rod I would probably experience diminished sensitivity.

22 minutes ago, ohioguy25 said:

Interesting, so with the longer tip on the 7 foot three rod I would probably experience diminished sensitivity.

Vibration has to travel further and will dampen over distance.

54 minutes ago, webertime said:

Vibration has to travel further and will dampen over distance.

Makes sense. How long can you go with a finesse rod before you start experiencing? Is 610 the sweet spot?

Im short so it helps me Longer casts pick up line quicker. I like a 7 ft 4 or 7 ft 6. Wears em down quicker to

I like a mid 6 foot range rod. I'm mostly bank fishing in places with heavy cover and longer than that quickly becomes a casting nightmare with trees and bushes. Shorter than that and I lose to much casting distance. I'd stay in that ballpark, but that's my personal take. They've very sensitive at that length too.

9 hours ago, ohioguy25 said:

recently broke it

I broke my St. Croix Triumph last year. I've stayed salty about it. It was on a sub-five pound fish. I've also heard other folks saying their St. Croixs are breaking. Makes me wonder if there's build issues.

I love my 7'6 rods. Used to have a 7'9 Champion and was great as well. To answer your questions, the longer rods are definitely better at fighting and handling fish. I throw a lot of finesse and catch a good number of big catfish, carp, and lake trout on accident. Having that extra 6-8 inches really help with giving more leverage and I feel less strain on the rod. Plus, the longer rod helps a little with distance especially with the light stuff. And you'll get used to the extra length quickly. I do have a 5'9 spinning rod that I use for skipping docks and that feels like an ice fishing rod in comparision.

And while it makes sense about the shorter blank being more sensitive, what about the fact that the line transmits to more rod since it's longer and has at least 1maybe 2 more guides? Wouldn't that help with sensitivity?

There are numerous benefits a long fishing rod will offer an angler... more leverage over the fish is not one of them. The angler is on the wrong side of the fulcrum...

My 2 cents. I built a 6'2" extra fast spinning rod and a 6'8" same rod and have used them both for several years and can't tell the difference in performance. They don't have the same reels but have the same line, sinker and worm. The longer rod casts a bit further.

@4g63power and @Peacedivision pretty much nailed it.

A shorter, lighter-weight finesse rod has improved feel, a longer, fast finesse rod has quicker striking.

I have a couple of paras (fast tip) that represent each very well.

5'10" Kuramochi Synapse is light, fast, and surprisingly wide lure range - lightest-in-hand rod I own with good fish power, and extreme finesse feel.

I routinely fish 7'8" Purelure Seabed past 120', and it's hooked fish for me at 180'.

On 5/28/2026 at 6:51 PM, ohioguy25 said:

Makes sense. How long can you go with a finesse rod before you start experiencing? Is 610 the sweet spot?

The sub 6ft Zman ned rods are quite impressive. I think it's materials and design that make the difference.