New rod for WNC headwaters with small trout
I have a Dragontail Shadowfire 12ft rod and use Nissin 2.5 level line and 5x tippet. I'm mainly fishing headwaters in Western NC, predominantly the East Fork and West Fork of the Pigeon and their tributaries.
I want to get a shorter rod, less because of the tree cover (although that is still a factor) and more because of reach; I find that on these high grade boulder-strewn headwaters with a 12ft rod I'm not able to cast effectively to many of the pools because in order to get a casting lane to the pool and be able to land a fish I need to get too close to be able to cast a longer line effectively.
But my main issue seems to be the stiffness of the rod. The trout in these rivers are quite small, and when I get a bite I feel like I end up pulling the fish straight out of the water, often on my hookset, instead of playing it and if it's a really small fish or a fry I've wound up hurling it to the moon and probably killing it. I'm not hooksetting vigorously, in fact I've been actively trying to do as little as possible (less even than lifting for a back cast) but I'm still ripping the trout out of the water.
Would a shorter rod help with this issue? Would an overall less stiff rod help? Maybe lighter tippet? Maybe it's my technique?
I'm considering another Dragontail rod, and I'm between the Mizuchi (hero of this sub), the FoxFIRE, and the TinyTALON. The Mizuchi would be the no-brainer, I'm thinking, if it wasn't for the apparent stiffness issue, which I'm thinking either the FoxFIRE glass rod or the TinyTALON short rod would help solve.