My two favourite surf rods are 13' and 13'6" by Century (UK).I am also into distance casting, and these particular rods work well. However, rod length does not always equal distance when surfcasting. There are a number of factors that affect distance, the biggest one is technique used, Cal is spot on here.I would suggest for a normal caster that 12" is a good length, which as stated previously, also helps keep the line out of the surf. However one thing to also remember is that when you have a big fish on, the length works against you as the rod is acting as a lever, with the angler on the wro