I fish mostly by myself out of two different sized boats. One of those boats is bigger and has much higher sides. When I fish out of the larger boat I can handle a large fish and bring it to net it with my 10'6" rod and a 8' leader. However when I tried to use the same setup in my 14' Sea laker which has much lower sides, I had my hands full getting a spunky 13# Chinook to the net. Now when I use that long rod in my small boat I keep my leaders to 6.5', in hopes that when I hook a bruiser I will be able to bring him to net.

When I use a modern high speed retrieve reel I use a shorter rod, 8.5' to 9' rod.