My pitching rod advice from KVD

[keithdog]

Recently I had the good fortune to meet Kevin VanDam at the BPS in Portage IN. There were many fans who were waitting to meet him and he was taking it all in stride. He was very gracious with everyone signing many autographs. While I was talking to him, I asked him about what he would recommend in the way of a pitching rod for pitching jigs and soft plastics into heavy cover. As some of you will remember, I had a post in here recently asking the same advice. And I thought it would be helpful to others in here to hear what KVD had to say. I was surprised that he was so willing to take all the time I needed to answer my question, as there was a long line of folks behind me. He based part of his answer off of a couple factors. Fist off, Kevin asked me what kind of boat I was fishing from. I explained I fish from a small jonboat. Then this is what he advised. He explained that since I was fishing from a jon boat I would be making pitches from a lower elevation rather than from a higher platform as with a bass boat. Also he commented on my height. I'm fairly short at 5'6" tall. Taking that into consideration, and knowing I was going to be pitching into heavy cover, he recommended I go with a 6'10" to 7'2" casting rod, heavy power with an extra fast action. He said that a longer rod would be too awkward for me to work with due to being so low to the waters surface while in the jon boat and also being of shorter stature. He explained the need for a rod with a strong backbone for getting the bass out of cover but to also get a rod with some flex in the tip to allow easier pitching. There is a Shimano Crucial rod with all these exact features I'm taking a serious look at. Anyways, I just thought I would share this incase there was anyone else who was looking for a similar rod. I got the feeling that if I were a bit taller and fishing off of an elevated platform, he would of recommended a rod a bit longer, say 7'6". But thats just my after thought from what he had to say. I doubt KVD will be in here reading this post, but just in case he does, thanks again Kevin for the sound advice!