Hi all,

I just thought I'd post on something that I was asked about at Penns.
Someone asked me about the fact that I had put a fighting butt on my 4
weight.
I think the reflection was that I wouldn't need one on such a light rod and
that it was too short anyway.
Actually, this might just be a good idea for any rod, without the notion
that you'd ever need it as a fighting butt.
I put it there simply because every time I lean my rod against anything the
reel is bound to touch ground.
Scratch marks on the reel can seem as only a cosmetic thing, but if you get
a scratch mark on the inside of the edge of the spool it will inevitably
affect the coating of the line. Scratched aluminium is sharp.
What I do is I put a very short fighting but on all my light rods and a
longer one on heavier rods.
The longer ones will protect the reel as well as working as a fighting butt
while the shorter ones (about 1 1/4 inch) are there only to protect the
reel.
A friend of mine once asked me how I could keep my reels in such good shape
over the years, so I showed him.
I ended up putting the same fighting butts on his rods as well as another
friend's rods.
Think about it, such a short fighting butt won't be in the way and it will
lengthen the lifespan of your reels.
AND, with the cost of those reels you'd likely want to expand the lifespan
on them.

BTW, I went fishing for Arctic char in the mountains with some friends. We
caught 14 and kept 2 for late dinner (2 am) by the creek (midnight sun and
all). This one was caught by me and was 19 inches
http://hem.passagen.se/alvsajtn/ransaran3.JPG and one of those that we kept.
Here's a 20 inch fish http://hem.passagen.se/alvsajtn/ransaran1.JPG
(released) and a 16 inch one http://hem.passagen.se/alvsajtn/ransaran2.JPG
(also kept for dinner).
They're pretty fish the Arctic char, and tasty.

/ Roger
Daytime engineer
Lifetime fly fisherman
If you feel like it, visit http://www.imsoc.se/angler/ for info on fly
fishing in northern Sweden, Lapland,
or visit http://www.imsoc.se/ffgallery/ , the fly fishermen's gallery.