Fighting Butt or Not on 9' 6wt?

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seattlesetters

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I have never had a fighting butt on a trout rod. I simply do not see any reason to have one. I have never needed to rest anything against my body when trout fishing, other than perhaps a flask full o' Laphroaig. :)

I am in the market for anew 9' 6wt which will be either a Sage ONE or Sage METHOD. Both come in the standard trout rod configuration and with a small fighting butt. I fish with a 6wt rod a lot, and I only fish for trout. When I am using a 6wt, about 60% of the time I'm fishing from a drift boat and I wade with it the other 40% of the time.

Someone told me recently that I should get the fighting butt. His reason, "If you ever need it, it's there." I have never needed it, and think it might be a little bit more tiring to cast a rod with a fighting butt all day long, which is what I often do.

What do you all think? Fighting butt or no on a 9' 6wt trout rod? Why?
 
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Hombre06

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The default answer is "You never know if you'll need it" but so far I've never needed a fighting butt for trout. Heaviest rod I've used for trout is a 6wt and that's fishing Idaho, Virginia, and California waters and it had not butt. To me casting with a butt gets in the way.

That sounds weird. Butt gets in the way of casting. The butt thread. This went downhill quick. Sorry.
 
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seattlesetters

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innes said:
The default answer is "You never know if you'll need it" but so far I've never needed a fighting butt for trout. Heaviest rod I've used for trout is a 6wt and that's fishing Idaho, Virginia, and California waters and it had not butt. To me casting with a butt gets in the way.

That sounds weird. Butt gets in the way of casting. The butt thread. This went downhill quick. Sorry.
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I REALLY LOVE a good butt. I mean .... I REALLY, REALLY do. I am a butt man. I freely admit it. :D

I'm just not sure about having something sticking off the end of a perfectly good trout rod that doesn't really seem to serve a purpose.
 
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el jefe

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Go with both. The last two 6-weights I ordered I got two different butt sections with it, one of each type. With enough pushing, you can pull it off; some manufacturers are more customer service oriented than others, as will be found out.

The 6-weight is the transition category for fly rods. It is the heaviest trout rod, and the lightest saltwater/other rod (generally). So I ordered a 6-weight with both versions of the butt section. Even as a trout rod, I like the fighting butt when fishing streamers.

The additional butt section will cost you more, but it is a lot less than two rods cost. Of course, for this to work for you, you have to like the rod's action for all of its intended purposes. Some guys like different 6-weights with different actions for different applications. I like my 6-weights fast, anyway, so it makes perfect sense to get two different butt sections with the same rod. It should be made together to ensure proper ferrule fit.

So there you go, I like big butts...and I like small butts. I like 'em all!!!
 
moucheur2003

moucheur2003

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I have an 8 weight with a removable fighting butt that I rarely bother to put on, not even for salmon or bonefish. I don't know why they put them on 6 weights at all.
 
duker

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I, too, like a nice butt. . .but not necessarily on a 6 weight.

I've got a couple 6 weights, neither has a fighting butt, and for the type of fish I use them for (grayling, whitefish, pike) I don't see the need. I definitely could see getting a 6 weight with a butt if I was using it for light saltwater species (e.g., pink salmon or cutthroat trout).

If you end up getting one without a fighting butt, one option you might want to consider is those removable foam or rubber butt "caps" you can get (can't recall the manufacturers' names; there are a number of them--check Cabela's and online web stores) which fit over the end of your butt. They don't add any length or weight to the rod and aren't much of a butt, but they're better than nothing and are at least a lot more comfortable if you do end up "butting" the rod when you're playing a fish.

Scott
 
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seattlesetters

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The rod will be either a Sage ONE or a Sage METHOD. I am going to demo both on a float this coming weekend and will certainly know which it will be when the trip is over.
 
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triggw

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Depends on what you're fishing for. I have two 6 wts--one with, one without. I use the with for fishing in lakes for large trout under a indicator. Little casting, large trout. Love it. I use the other for more typical trout fishing. Love it, too.
 
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coolkyle

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I have a few rods with fighting butts, including a 6wt. They make a fight with a 2-footer a little easier when the fish is trying to go into a log jam. You can also do some ghetto 2-handed casting with a fighting butt. These rods also usually come with an aluminum reel seat, which apparently makes it a saltwater rod.
 
ezduzit

ezduzit

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Thought I could have used a fighting butt on this 5-wt when I fought a 26" carp to the net. But I got away with just abusing the old Orvis 2-piece.

 
sweetandsalt

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Well, between a #6 ONE and Method...hard to go awry, butt or not (but I'm wagering on Method). I have been fishing Loomis's NRX#6 a lot the last couple of seasons, by default from the drift boat but wading too. It only comes with a small composite cork butt which I have not found to be in the way when casting nor a significantly notable asset during battle.

I do though like that when at rest in the boat, the little butt keeps the reel a little higher above the watery grit slopping about around my wet boots.
 
timd

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I find the fighting butts on my 6 wts very helpful when fighting bigger trout that I often run into in Montana. Without the butt the reel often rubs or catches on clothing and with it the reel is held away enough to not be a problem. After a few minutes of a fight I find myself resting the butt against my chest and with a small fighting butt, no problem. I have six 6 weights and all but one have fighting butts. The one that doesn't is one of my favorite casting rods and I constantly wish it had one when I hook a larger fish on open water.
 
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sndmn11

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sweetandsalt said:
I do though like that when at rest in the boat, the little butt keeps the reel a little higher above the watery grit slopping about around my wet boots.
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Bingo, gives your reel extra space between the ground. Who wants to add to the chances they ding up the pretty reel they spent weeks languishing over which color to buy? You also get the added benefit of the better leverage by resting the butt on the underside of your forearm when presenting, thus less hand and wrist fatigue. I also think it looks classier in the long run because I have seen many good looking rods with not so good looking aluminum butt plugs.
 
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