A long grip below the reel seat is great for long casts off the beach but that long butt section is awkward and inefficient to fight a big fish from the beach. Does anyone make a long detachable butt extension for a surf rod which can be removed and covers a shorter gimbal butt to fight fish?

I find myself wondering about the opposite......mounting the conventional reel low and thumbing with the weak hand while casting......then "sliding the reel up" to a fishing fighting location afterwards.

Sorta the same question in reverse:)

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

I use very simple solution. Reel seat is mounted on live bait rod where i want it for fish fighting purpose. To cast live bait with my rod with big casting reel for cats i use 30 inches pvc pipe. I found the pipe with inner diameter which fits snagly over the butt section. Just slide it over butt section, extend the rod to convinient casting lenghth, cast the bait, then removed the pipe. You can also use the same pipe as a rod holder.

Conoflex builds two sizes of captive reducers. Or, you can use a standard reducer.

[www.conoflex.co.uk]

Don

Don Becker

Russell, To do what you say use a Breakaway Saddle Clamp. Build the rod without a reel seat. Then use the saddle clamps to mount the reel where you want it. Low for distance casting, thumbing with your off hand and then move it higher for fish fighting.

30 inch but either off the hip or between the legs no problem with fish up to 60+ #

These are the reel mounts mentioned in Mike Thacker's post

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Today I got my tush kicked by a blacktip that ran out well over 300 yards (past the splice to the next 300 yards) of 50# braid.To rest up I passed the rod off to a passer-by. The 12' surf rod gave all the mechanical advantage to the shark. I have had this problem several times. Maybe if the rod construction allowed me to anchor the butt lower I could outlast the kind of fish I like to catch - by myself.

One of the styles for larger ulua rods for a few decades is to mount the center of the reel (large conventional) at belly button height.

With the rod butt on the ground, the reel seat would position the center of the spool at about 36 to 38" depending on your height.
This provides greater leverage when casting and retrieving.
After hooking up, the rod butt is set on the ground and inside the arch of your foot. Your foot will be set at an angle. This locks the rod butt in place on the ground.
Your left hand will grab the upper grip or higher. The reel handle should be within easy reach. Grasping higher on the rod and leaning back should give you greater authority over the fish.

In addition to positioning the reel seat higher than normal, the reel seat should be positioned down locking. Threads on top.
When you shift to a reel with a larger spool diameter, the rear face of the spool (line) distance to the butt end becomes shorter. However, due to the typically longer reel foot, the reel moves up on the rod and keeps the distance from the back of the spool to the butt end more consistant.

Don Becker

Phil,
If you use a fighting belt for the butt of the rod ( NOT your crotch, foot or armpit) and make the reel sit so your one hand can still get in front of it in that position: you can simply point the rod tip at the shark during the fight and it has NO mechanical advantage.

Its then like tugging a rope with a dog on the end.

Use 100 yds cheap stretchy mono in a # test of your choice( mine is 60) for part of the rig that will be in the water most the time and you can get that shark on the beach in under an hour.
The stuff from wallyworld sold by the thousand yards for $5.
It is your basic shock absorber during the first part of the fight.
Save the higher rod tip position for when the shark is in the surf line:.


Try google for any videos of guys rock and surf fishing for shark around the South African coast.
Fish River point, Breede river etc.
Its also way kinder to the shark, it comes out so fast its got a good chance to survive when released.
If you are going to eat it, lower adrenaline etc in blood so better food even after bleeding.