I have a 9ft Sage rod, which is a very solid, quality rod that I saved for and bought after I had fly fished for a while. I thought it would be my exclusive rod and I'd never touch my older ones again. I also had a cheaper, but still very nice 7'6" Cabela's brand rod.

I find myself grabbing the shorter Cabela's rod nearly every time I go out for that reason. The smaller Utah rivers and streams I fish work much better with the shorter rod. For lake casting, I'll take the 9.