i was reading a article ABOUT DEE THOMAS.......

[saLTY-]

hello, delta rats, nut cases, pro's, vets, and bass kicking women.
it is interesting about how he started flipping and rules being formed to eliminated his advantage using LONG RODS (i am thinning 9-12 ft) in length. i read it from the fish sniffer when i placed "dee thomas flipping" into my google search..do any of you PRO'S or CLEAR LAKE/DELTA RATS ever try this....i have a loomis gl2 hsr. it is 8'6" thinking of starting off and learning with a longer rod then dial back down to my 7'11" crucial..
what do you guys think??? should i use even heavier line ?? 30lb cxx mono? and a 1/2 jig with a big piece of pork? 9x senko???.......next week i will be up at trinity lake, but the following sunday and monday i will be at clear lake............i am eager.....thx, saLTIE-

[NaCl]

I wrote a pretty extensive article about Dee Thomas last year and he discussed this very issue. One thing he said in the article (and he has repeated it to me several times since) is that when they took his long rod out of his hands they actually made him a "better fisherman". Yes, 12' rods were an advantage for him in the beginning but since developing his "flippin" technique with an 8' rod, he feels he's got even better ability to present the bait. So, I don't think you're doing yourself any favors by going longer and working back down to tournament lengths. Instead, use ALL your time perfecting your flippin techniques with that 7' 11" rod right from the start.

.....NaCl

[NaCl]

I wrote a pretty extensive article about Dee Thomas last year and he discussed this very issue. One thing he said in the article (and he has repeated it to me several times since) is that when they took his long rod out of his hands they actually made him a "better fisherman". Yes, 12' rods were an advantage for him in the beginning but since developing his "flippin" technique with an 8' rod, he feels he's got even better ability to present the bait. So, I don't think you're doing yourself any favors by going longer and working back down to tournament lengths. Instead, use ALL your time perfecting your flippin techniques with that 7' 11" rod right from the start.

.....NaCl

[saLTY-]

*NM*

[Guest]

He told me he used the really long rods more for Tule dipping than for flipping. That is why they eliminated the 8 foot or longer rods, so he couldn't stretch across behind and into tulies to catch fish.

So if you plan on tule dipping, go with the longer rod? But for Straight flipping I think even Dee would say to stick to an 8 foot rod or less.