What rod for back bay/river stripers out of a kayak?

[njcatchrelease]

I have been doing some striper fishing out of my kayak in the bay and rivers of NJ but I am not happy with the length of my rod handle.  The handle portion seems too long to fish while siting in my kayak.  What rod do you guys recommend for fishing back bay/river stripers & blues from a kayak?

[RobEnglish]

I like using the Daiwa ISLA rods for the back bays. 7.6, 3/4oz with a Saltist or BG 2500.  

[njcatchrelease]

13 mins ago, RobEnglish said:

I like using the Daiwa ISLA rods for the back bays. 7.6, 3/4oz with a Saltist or BG 2500.  

Thanks, I'll have to check it out.

[young]

I cut the butt end of my kayak rod down to my elbow. I do that to my tog, black Seabass, and albie rods. 
 

[njcatchrelease]

7 mins ago, young said:

I cut the butt end of my kayak rod down to my elbow. I do that to my tog, black Seabass, and albie rods. 
 

Although it would make fishing easier last night I don't think I want to go cutting my rods down.

[young]

After you collect more rods, the decision will be easier once you find out what you prefer. 
 

I also build my own rods. So I know what I like and make modification in factory builds as needed. Sometimes I also cut down my own custom build when I learn from outings or make necessary changes. 

i only have one season under my belt with this kayak fishing. So lots to learn and room for improvement. 
 

if I can fine tune a rod, I will do that. 

[gellfex]

Ugly Stik Tiger Lite/Elite is very popular among kayakers. Cheap, durable, good enough for livelining, plugging or trolling. 

[ksong]

We have 6'8" Black Hole Kayak Special rods.  The rods have short butt to accommodate Kayak anglers.

[njcatchrelease]

2 hours ago, ksong said:

We have 6'8" Black Hole Kayak Special rods.  The rods have short butt to accommodate Kayak anglers.

I check out those rods,  I'm not familiar with them. 

[ksong]

38 mins ago, njcatchrelease said:

I check out those rods,  I'm not familiar with them. 

Check 6'8" Black Hole Charter Soecial Slow Pitch rod. The blanks are same.

[Jason B]

8 hours ago, njcatchrelease said:

I have been doing some striper fishing out of my kayak in the bay and rivers of NJ but I am not happy with the length of my rod handle.  The handle portion seems too long to fish while siting in my kayak.  What rod do you guys recommend for fishing back bay/river stripers & blues from a kayak?

A lot of rods will work but it depends on what you’re doing. Are you casting paddletails to sod banks, drowning sand worms and clams or trolling Rapalas in the river? 
 

Ill take a stab at the casting to sod banks rod - if the longer butt bothers you, the st Croix kayak series is a good choice. Sensitive enough to working jigs but also can double duty for fast jigging fluke. Not as sensitive as the higher Croixs but if shorter butt is what you’re after, it’s probably one of your better choices. 

[Skunkoff]

My kayak rods are never more than 7' long.  Most 7 footers and shorter will have butt/handle lengths that are adequate for yak fishing.

[njcatchrelease]

9 hours ago, Jason B said:

A lot of rods will work but it depends on what you’re doing. Are you casting paddletails to sod banks, drowning sand worms and clams or trolling Rapalas in the river? 
 

Ill take a stab at the casting to sod banks rod - if the longer butt bothers you, the st Croix kayak series is a good choice. Sensitive enough to working jigs but also can double duty for fast jigging fluke. Not as sensitive as the higher Croixs but if shorter butt is what you’re after, it’s probably one of your better choices. 

I'm not soaking any bait, I would be casting plugs, plastics, bucktails, etc.  Not trolling either since my kayak is a paddle not pedal.

[Skunkoff]

You can utilize a rod holder for trolling. I only troll for short distances or when I'm headed to a certain location, because after a while I get tired of paddling around.

Edited May 6 by Skunkoff

[Jaysav]

I like lite action gear, I use a carbon shield 7'6 Fast action rod paired with a 3000 series Shield reel for back bays, I landed lots of large Stripers with that setup. When the 40 inchers and Gator blues are around, I switch to a Tica Striper collector Series rod paired with a Vanford C5000XG. I'm Still learning this kayak fishing stuff.