Thoughts on rod lengths/cheaper reels for yakking

[IntrntFshrman]

Hi everyone.

I finally got my 'yaks (two malibu x-factors) and am slowly getting used to paddling/safety issues by going out to Puddingstone lake in San Dimas, CA with my 4 and 6 year old boys with my wife...very cool indeed!

My question is to rod lengths for when I finally get the balls to head out to La Jolla (I think I'll hit some of the local bays first before I take that plunge!)

I've read many articles on here and it seems that most people were recommending longer rods to go around the 'yak. My logic, however, is that it would be better to have shorter, more powerful ones to get the fish up faster as well as having them closer to you for gaff.

Having not actually caught anything off the yak yet, is it really bad if you can't get your line around the bow? To me, it seemed like you could just pull your rod perpendicular to the yak, I mean, how much angle can they really get on you?

Please explain if I'm thinking about it wrong...at any rate, I got a great deal on some Seeker American Series rods that are a little shorter (5-6.5 feet) that I think will make great rods for the yak.

After reading about the wear and tear, I'm also reluctant to put my avets on there as well, any suggestions? I have a TLD-30 I might make my 'kelp cutter' rig. What would be a good surface iron reel? I saw some recent posts about the Shimano 6500B spinning reel (I have this) and since you let the yak go for a ride anyways, I figured this might be a good choice for accuracy.

Thanks for any info!