I've got a 7'6" carbonlite rod that i use for deep diving crankbaits, however i probably won't use it for that particular technique for a little while so i was thinking of making it into my jig rod for flippin and pitchin.

Here;s my problem, when i compared the length of the rod from the reel seat to the tip it is only 1" longer than my 7' rod.Theres about 4-5" difference in the handle section. Is this normal? Seems that i'm not really gonna get the benifit of a longer rod if it's only 1' longer from where i'll be holding it. Also what about sensitivity? wouldn't a rod that is longer from the reel set to the tip be more sensitive?

Thanks

The longer the rod the longer the handle.

I have a BPS J/M Elite from a couple years ago I'd actually like to have the handle shortened on. It's a 7'6 rod too.

Then again, maybe I just need to use it more in the boat, and less in the back yard creek.

The length of the rod won't affect sensitivity. Handle length is part of the design and it is common to see some increase in handle length as the rod length increases but almost 1:1 is probably not the norm. The grip on the 7 footer may be on the short side and this one on the long side making the difference more noticable. Even though the "effective rod length" is similar, the longer handle may be helpful if you get a short line strike while flipping. Typically, rods for deep cranking and jigging have different actions (Mod & Fast respectively)so you may want to consider a change in the future.