To me it seems the amount of time needed to play a fish is dictated by
tippet strength. If you are forced to use 7x or 8x tippets to get takes, it
doesn't matter whether the rod is 6wt, a 2 wt, 5 ft or 10 ft long--put more
pressure on the tippet than it can take and *pop*, no fish.
I disagree. A long soft tip rod acts as a cushion to the pressure you might exert upon a fish allowing a lighter tippet not to break while exerting pressure. I'm more prone to balance my tippet/line/rod/current to the fly than the fish. I've caught 8-9lb steelies on 7X tippet with a 6wt rod and lost 1-2 lb trout on 2x tippet with an 8wt 9 ft rod. Depends on the angler, current, strike and other conditions IMHO.
Murf
