Hi Chris: There are different setups depending on how you want to fish your plugs.If your fishing from a drift boat then the short rod is the ticket however if you are fishing them from the bank as I do a longer rod has advantages.
I usually fish "hot shot"plugs either the #35 a deep running 2 1/2" steelhead plug or the #25 3 1/4" deep runner from a float rod of either 12 or 14 foot length.
With a 14 foot rod you can cast to the far shore let it swing and work and then wade downstream fishing about a 30 foot swath by simply
alternating sides with the rod No casting just let the plug work about 40'downstream and move your rod tip from one side to the other. It all depends on the type of water you have on your favorite river.
coot