[OldBay]

I am going to cut a few inches off of the but of my 12' Tica UEHA, because it is too long for me. Larry - I think you performed this same operation on one of your rods. Are there any problems I may encounter or is it as simple as I think it is? I am planning on just chopping it off with a hacksaw with fine toothed blade. Did you glue the but cap back on? Thanks!

 

[peter thain]

errrrr why not just move your bottom hand a little further up up the butt?

you might find you need that extra length if you decide to start throwing some big sinkers?

 

[OldBay]

Peter

That is what I have been doing - moving my bottom hand up. My problem with the length of the but is that when I go to pull my left hand in on a cast I am not able to get the butt where I want it. I end up hitting myself in the ribs. I was at the "Going the Distance Clinic" and we were shown how to properly judge the optimal distance from reel seat to butt cap. It was explained that this distance should be close to the distance from your armpit to your grip on the rod. I think I may be able to handle the rod a little better with a slightly shorter but. Should I reconsider my planned saw work?

 

[peter thain]

how much is sticking out of the bottom of your hand when your in the right place?

if you look at those low reel casters there will be quite a bit of extra rod sticking out, maybe you should ask james to have a look at the angle your pulling the rod through at the end of the cast before you start cutting? it could be difficult to sell a "chopped" rod if you ever want to get rid of it and its a lot easier to cut some off than put it back on

 

[OldBay]

Good call

That is a good idea - to ask James. Maybe I will try to make the casting practice this weekend. There is a good 6 inches of "extra" butt. I think that the low reel casters could compensate for a little extra but below the reel by moving their top hand down a little to. I should have mentioned that the rod I was going to cut has a spinning reel on it, and the reel seat is fixed. Thanks for the advice Peter.

 

[peter thain]

most of the low reel casters will have at least that much below their bottom hand, watch the way they finish the cast and you will see that the bottom of the rod ends up at their side rather than in their ribs


the fixed reel position is fine, its just sometimes you need a little extra leverage for those big 6 & 8oz sinkers and the only way you can get it with a fixed reel seat is to move that bottom hand down a little. if there is nowhere for your bottom hand to go it can make things a little difficult

 

[jedi_angler]

surgeon in the house

In case you do decide to proceed with the operation, I did the same to my st croix rod last weekend. It just had way too much butt (not something I'd normally complain about ). Picked up a $5 hack saw at home despot, removed the butt cap and sawed away. the graphite is quite easy to saw through, just take care not to saw on an angle (obviously). The butt cap may be glued to the cork tape, I just gave it a good pull and it came loose. Getting it back on wasn't a problem.

(btw - I am more comfortable with the shortened rod)

 

[Frank]

Don't cut it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did the same thing with a couple of custom breakaways. I ended up paying to put it back. The Tica's reelseat length isn't too long for most. I'm willing to bet noone has a shorter set of arms than me and the Tica's fine.
They're are right, get James to check your form first, before you cut.

 

[Larry]

CUT IT !!!

Old Bay, I cut my wife's Tica; and she loves it. I am not concerned about cutting 6" off the butt of my wife's Tica; but I would not cut off 6" off of my Zzippy. You also need to decide what casting style suits you the best and proceed from there. Happy choosing, since it is your rod. Larry.

 

[OldBay]

Punt

I guess it is settled then. I am going to cut it. No I'm not. Yes I am. No I'm not. Maybe I will. Hey James - See you Saturday.