Le talon de votre canne à pêche à la loupe !

The tip of your fishing rod under the microscope!

The butt of a fishing rod is a parameter that the vast majority of anglers take into account for aesthetic reasons only. Yet it is a factor that influences a large part of your practice, positively or negatively when its length in particular has been neglected. Here's why you should change the way you look at this essential part of your rod.

If you choose a blank or a fishing rod according to three fundamental criteria - length, power and action - the way it's set up, and especially the way it's arranged, will affect the way your rod behaves, as well as the way it's used and the comfort it provides. Wrong choices can, in some situations, be really penalizing, so here's what to look for before your next set-up.

The influence of length

While there are various criteria to take into account when designing the butt of your fishing rod, length is the most important as it is of a technical nature, unlike the others which are more oriented towards aesthetics or ergonomics.

In fact, the length of the heel, i.e. the distance between the butt and the reel foot, influences :

Casting: The butt of a rod acts as a lever arm, so a long butt will favour casting distances and is therefore preferable for certain practices.
The power exerted by the angler: the longer the heel, the greater the torque in favour of the angler. In other words, it allows the angler to exert greater force on the fish during the fight. Conversely, a short butt gives the advantage to the fish; the same applies to the overall length of your rod! Obviously, a butt that's too long becomes particularly uncomfortable and unworkable, so you need to find the right balance between fighting and casting efficiency, comfort and lure animation.
Balance: to forget the weight of your rod and reel set, you often try to find a balance point at the reel seat so that the set's center of gravity is in the palm of your hand. An overall long butt generally helps balance your rod.
Overall dimensions: The last point on which the length of the butt has an influence is the overall dimensions of your rod, and therefore its comfort of use and manoeuvrability. In specific environments, with particular casting patterns or when fishing seated, a butt that is too long can quickly become a handicap and counter-productive!

The forearm as standard

The intermediate length that can be used as a "yardstick" is the length of your forearm. When lure fishing, this measurement is almost all-purpose, but is not the most effective in all situations and configurations. Having said that, we can consider a short heel to be shorter than the length of your forearm, and vice versa for a long heel.

Handling and precision

When assembling your cane, you will opt for a short butt in several cases:

When practicing seated, i.e. in a float tube or kayak, a heel the length of your forearm will tend to bang into your boat, causing discomfort and inefficiency. So opt for a smaller size, and a casting assembly that lets you rest your forearm on your thigh during animation.
When using small lures and short, light rods, a short butt greatly enhances manoeuvrability. This is a good option for UL to ML or even M power ranges.
Since manoeuvrability is synonymous with precision, the choice of a short heel is essential for fishing in crowded environments, such as trout in streams, but also for all forms of one-handed casting, especially at short distances and in very small spaces. Once again, trout is the typical example, but more generally so-called "finesse" fishing or stalking black bass in the cover requiring skipping casts, for example, unquestionably require a short heel to be well practised.

Power and distance

If we follow a logical reasoning, in all configurations opposite to those mentioned above, the choice of a particularly long butt is essential.

Thus, for all fishing requiring long rods and long casting distances, i.e. for all shore fishing and bait fishing such as carp fishing or surfcasting, you'll opt for large butt. This will not only improve casting distances but also the overall balance of the set and therefore its comfort of use. Moreover, when you need to cast large lures or baits, you also need a strong lever arm.

That's why bigbait afficionados will prefer 8-foot rods with butt lengths longer than the forearm. Note that jerkbaits, like buster jerk, are an exception, as they require a short rod for comfortable, precise animation, and consequently a short butt as well.

Finally, when stalking big fish, particularly exotic species such as bluefin tuna in France, the option of a long butt (and a "not too long" rod...) will tip the balance of power in the angler's favour and is therefore essential to bring the fight to a successful conclusion.

Split grip or full grip

There are 2 different aesthetic designs for the butt of fishing rods:

First of all, the "full grip" assembly; in other words, the chosen material covers the entire blank between the butt and the reel seat. The advantage is not only the protection of the blank, but also a more comfortable grip.
On the other hand, the so-called "split grip" assembly, which consists of choosing a heel in two short sections leaving the blank visible between the butt and the reel seat, not only adds a different aesthetic touch but also saves weight, which is relevant for power ranges from UL to H.

The different materials

Today, there are 3 main materials to choose from when selecting rod grips.

Eva is comfortable to hold, easy to clean, economical and available in a range of colors.
Cork is undoubtedly the historic material for making fishing rod grips. Today, there's a wide variety of cork available to satisfy everyone's desires, but this material also has other advantages: it's rot-proof, easily washable, can be sanded and oiled for renovation and, last but not least, it has a technical character... In fact, it's a flexible material that is used as an acoustic insulator; it therefore absorbs vibrations and is therefore particularly comfortable for rods designed for cranckbaits!
Last but not least, the most modern and currently fashionable material is carbon. Carbon grips come in a variety of finishes, so everyone can find the model they like, but they also offer many other advantages. In fact, as they are a carbon sock glued to a foam core, they are very light (much lighter than the others) but also very stiff, which favours the transmission of information, and therefore of bites but also of your lure's behaviour.

Standard lengths

To illustrate the above, here are a few examples of heel lengths that generally work well for certain species or fishing techniques. Obviously, these values are indicative and must be modulated according to your size, personal preferences and blank length.

For a M to MH power rod, i.e. 7-21g to 10-30gr measuring between 7 and 7.6 feet, a length of 32cm is a good compromise.
For lower powers or short rods for trout fishing in small streams, the ideal length is between 18 and 25cm.
If you're kayaking or float tubing, a length of 28 to 30cm is preferable.
For your "traction" rods, generally 8 feet long, 37cm is an effective length.
For rods designed for swimbaiting, i.e. generally around 8 feet (or even a little more) and designed to cast big lures, you'll need to go up to 41-43cm to gain in efficiency and comfort.
On the other hand, for jerkbait rods, a length of 28-29cm will allow you to be more effective in your animations.
For shore jiggers using rods up to 3m, a length of between 50 and 55cm is ideal.
These same dimensions will be useful when assembling a rod for carp fishing.
Finally, for exotic rods or XXH bluefin tuna fishing, you'll opt for a length of 48 to 50cm; especially if you use a harness during the fight, don't be tempted by a longer length.