New guy to these forums, thanks for having me! I have recently picked up a buddy's older boat, I have restored it and now I’m aiming to get back into the hobby of bass fishing after decades away. Everything is different, it seems and WOW(!) so much more costly!
While most of the changes are pretty cool (amazing electronics and boats) a few things seem a bit odd.
The one that has be scratching my thinning scalp today is the current look and design of fishing rods.
Way back in the day when all the rods had the same or similar longish cork handles, sometime in the mid-seventies we were wowed by the new 'pistol-grip' bait-casting rods...so maneuverable! So easy to flick! No more hitting my belly with the butt of the rod!
And now that I've taken a peek back into the sport, guess what? EVERY rod out there has an extra foot of rod sticking out the back!
I went to the nearest Bass Pro and marveled at the fact that 100% of their rods (must be thousands, right?) all share the design.
So tell me, enlightened modern anglers.... what's the attraction of the "bob-weight handle" ?

I hated pistol grip rods. After a day on the water my wrist would be killing me.

Normal rods are more comfortable and better balanced. They are easier to cast accurately, and they allow for a much better hookset. IMHO

Interesting. Just curious, do you find yourself actively gripping that extended part or is it more the passive ‘balance’ it provides?
We always used the long handles of course on alll our saltwater stuff and also on any bigger tackle like striper rigs.
It was only for flipping that we switched to the shorter grips

I grip the butt end when I cast then tuck it under my arm when retrieving.

Pistol grips are fine....if you only catch small fish.

Oh! A zinger!

Yeah, we only caught dinks in the 70's and 80's

I started early enough to have fished with both designs quite a bit, I owned pistol gripped Lew's Speed Sticks and Berkley Lightning Rods and like others have said it's a wrist thing. Having the extra length of rod resting against your forearm takes a lot of physical stress out of a long day on the lake. I' still have a pistol grip Lew's Speed Stick from the 70's stashed somewhere, i'd like to dig it out and put a low profile reel on it just for close quarters spinnerbait casting. They worked really well doing that and much better to the current crop of rods.

From what I see on the Bass Pro Shop's web site, the Berkley Lightening Rod can still be had with a cork pistol grip.

6', medium/moderate fast

Dang how did I miss this update, congratulations Sir, you look exactly like Hank Parker! Can you post a picture of your own fish? Didn’t realize Lews made reels with round knobs in the 70’s-80’s either.... But for those looking for pistol grips, apparently Lews has a rod with them, from GuitarBobs pic above.

My apologies if I offended you grout-scout or anyone else. That's the reason I don't comment on many posts. I tend to be a bit of a smart aleck. Trying to be better in my Senior years. And, there's too much bickering in the world nowadays. to be stirring it up in the fishing world.

Truth is, I do prefer the longer handles in most cases. However, I do wish I had a couple of those old Skyline and Fenwick pistol grip rods I owned back in the day. I did catch some pretty good fish on them. But 7 or 8 pounds was a big fish back then. I did catch a 10lb Striper below the dam at Texoma with a 5 1/2 foot Fenwick rod with a pistol grip, only because it was the heaviest rod I had at the time.

I’m not offended, I’m obviously a smart a** also. In my opinion there needs to be more rods made with handles between pistol grip and the long broom handles they are putting on now. I had hell today with my rod constantly snagging in my jacket. Most handles are about 15” now, they need some 12” inchers.

Appreciate the info; just what I was looking for. Trying to order one, but BP site won't let me even log in. Will continue to try.