BB,

The difference of just six inches will be negligible.

If you can get the rod for a deal, and you like it, buy it.

For Tim and Buzz,

It's the 'lever' effect that makes a longer rod less efficient for fish fighting, IF you are talking about applying pressure to the fish. You can 'apply more pressure' with a shorter rod.

HOWEVER, a longer rod is more forgiving if you don't do everything right. That extra 'flex' out there near the end can help with sudden surges from the fish, keeping your tippet in tack.

BUT, regardless of rod length, it's the tippet strength that ultimately determines how much pressure you can put on a fish. So, if you can break the tippet with a 9 foot rod, and can also break it with a 5 foot rod, there is ZERO functional difference in fish fighting ability between the two rods.

The guys using very short rods, 4 1/2 to 5 feet, for big game fishing are also using very heavy tackle and lines. They can't 'break' their lines with the rods. So, they can actually 'use' the extra power.

For most fly rod situations, that isn't the case, so it doesn't matter.

The slight difference between a 9 and a 9 1/2 is completely irrelevant to the fish fighting issue in any event.

Just to be clear, the ability to land a large fish hooked on fly tackle is pretty much based on angler skill (and maybe some luck), NOT the length of the rod.

Good Luck!

Buddy

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