I'm talking river coho from a BOAT here, not nursing mealy-mouthed humpies, dogging bull dog chum, coaxing sulking kings or running down riffle-running jehosaphat-jumping steelhead from shore. The only moves coho are making that I'm concerned about from the boat are them getting into cover and doing their death twirl at the net. Other than that, no quarter and nothing a good "billy bass" hookset on 15-20# test leader, butt muscle and a good drag won't fix. Milking coho creates more opportunity for them to get off than an unforgiving rod ever has IME.



I like fighting fish with a longer rod too, but a longer softer rod does NOT necessarily give better hook sets than a bass rod, IMO. A rod's speed (action) in combination with length makes the hook setting difference, not length alone. Most bass rods are a whole lot faster than most of the long steelhead rods being used out there.