Sand stakes

[Erbby49]

After seeing Coop's pictures (attached)
I was wondering How tall are your Sand Stakes.
Mine are around 3' sometimes I think they are a bit short.
How do you all feel about sand stake height ?

[derf]

i like the five footers

[fish-aholic]

Mine are 3', I bought some scrap aluminum angle from a metal shop in town, used hose clamps and made them MUCH taller. They are probably 5-6' now

[Charkbait]

mine are 5 ft 2" PVC and I hammer them in with a rubber hammer. I really don't think it matters much as long as they don't move and mine will never. The line will break before the rod leaves the tube. I guess I end up with 3 ft out of the sand and I put in a bolt to stop the rod from sliding all the way down. With my 12 footers I guess I'm 13 ft high at the tip.

[Steve]

Ditto on what Charkbait said....

I also use those green metal fence posts with a tube hose clamped to it, like Jeff posted.
But beware....
If you have to reach up to pull it out with a fighter on, it will be difficult to pull it back, up and out.
One of these days I'll cut angled alum with about a four inch pocket for the rod butt.

[Coop]

Mine are 7'. Bought shorter ones around $20 and added angle aluminum extensions. They are solid. One thing I do like about the sand spikes is that they are quick release. You only need to pull up a couple inches to get the rod out. A plus when having very tall spikes.

Some advantages of the tall spike: keeps the line above the waves on big swell days...when grass is around, the tall spike helps...can set up in the shore break on high tide on calm days, like the pic above and never have to move them...keeps the reel high and dry...allows for deeper insertion in the sand. Mine are down 2'.

Disadvantages: Birds seem to get into my lines a little more frequently...you have to reach up on the reel if you need to make any adjustments.

[Erbby49]

Thanks for sharing
I actually have 18" of aluminum that goes into the sand and 3' of PVC pipe with notches cut into te ends of the pipe for the reel leg to sit in . The full length of the rod butt goes down into the pipe. I'm thinking I should reconsider my design. Reccomendations appreciated.

[fish-aholic]

I'd extend the aluminum longer