Tarpon Rods?

[ClusterFish]

Ordered my Malibu Extreme, should be here next week.Now I need rods and everything else.
How long and what kind of Rod would you recommend using from a yak with my Shimano 6500's?
Also, what kind of rods for my smaller set ups?I know they need to be longer for yaks.
I'm getting rigged up and getting ready and practice for my May 1st trip?
Thanks,
Allan

[ClusterFish]

Ordered my Malibu Extreme, should be here next week.Now I need rods and everything else.
How long and what kind of Rod would you recommend using from a yak with my Shimano 6500's?
Also, what kind of rods for my smaller set ups?I know they need to be longer for yaks.
I'm getting rigged up and getting ready and practice for my May 1st trip?
Thanks,
Allan

[DaveR]

7.5 foot is the minimum with an 8ft being preferable. get a 15-30 or 20-40lb rod with a fairly fast tip. Throwing artificials with a broom stick is exhausting. St croix Tidemaster TS80XS or LoomisSUR965S with a shortened handle are good rods. Any quality rods with that type of action are fine. Stout butt but enough tip action to toss a 1 ounce lure.

[TAC\'L-ONE]

Choices, Choices and more choices, the answer is in the one casting the rod. I build custom rods as a business. Most rods are built to fit the person using it. As a reference, I will tell you that I build a lot of spinning rods with the St. Croix blanks. (the G80hx) model. It is a little heavy for casting all day. I would stay with an 8 foot rod and go with a lighter weight since the yak is going to provide a lot of drag to wear the tarpon out anyway. You won't need all the backbone of a heavy rod.

[DaveR]

Iv'e landed big Poon from a yak using both heavy and lighter rods. Iv'e whipped them in as little as 25 minutes with the heavier tackle or close to 2 hours with the lighter stuff. It's no good for those fish to fight them so long. The lighter rod was my back up. It was a St. Croix PC66MHF to give you a referance. This is a fast action 10-20 pound rod. It's just too light for the big boys.