Rpd length vs boat you are fishing from?

[Whitewolf]

ICW what rod is the best all around rod for inland trout....lot of opinions indicate a 9' 5 or 6wt rod.

I have read that a 10-11' rod out of a pontoon boat is too long, you would have difficulty netting the fish.

9' to help you cast out from your low level toon in the water.

I never thought I could ever ever afford anything but a toon. I have aquired a 38 year old boat that seems to be totally functional.

I get to sit up high on the bow with a bow mounted, foot controlled motor.

So, do I still need to use 9' rods? Or can I get by with say 7' rods? Reason being short rods are much easier to deal with in transportation...boaf in the boat as well as in the pickup. I better go check, but I think the 7' fly rod could be stored in the side compartment complete and ready to fish. I could switch from a sinking rod setup to a floater in a heart beat, if this were to work out.

So I would like to fly fish for all species. Large mouth bass, smallmouth bass, carp, pike, stripers, etc. Even catfish. By using all short fly rods I should be able to pack along an 8wt fly rod to toss those big flies, and a small fly rod for trout.

I do know one time I learned something. Trying a short Lil' Streamer 5' rod from a very small light weight 8' fiberglass boat. That boat floats like a feather on top of the water, not sitting down into the water with stability. The short 5' rod got me line tangled into the trolling motor. Not thinking about it I moved to the end of the boat to try and get fly line loose. That's all it took for the little boat to take on water and capsize! So I sure know how a short rod can get you in trouble on a boat out on the water. (yes I didn't have gear secured in a bag tied to boat. So I lost all flies, reels, rods, battery, anchor, vest, everything I owned! I had a lot of awesome flies I had been buying off FAOL and collectting for years. Lost all of it)

Anyway, it would be an interesting read for me, and perhaps others to hear comments on this subject. At least to me it would be. Save me a lot of time and trial and error experimenting....

If some of the more experienced fishermen on here would share some of their knowledge, and experiences about fishing from the bow of a boat it would be great.

Thanking you in advance for any help offered.

Jim