The rod (probably rainshadow rxf908-4) will see saltwater use. I like the idea of a removable fighting butt and to not want to break the bank. I can't tell how you decide which size seat to use.

Fuji type with integral fighing butt built on a quick-lock hood and then used in place of the moveable hood/nut per the RodMaker Magazine article. Wouldn't cost you more than $15 and I don't think you'll find much to compete with it in terms of overall function and longevity.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2004 10:50PM by Tom Kirkman.

Which issue of Rodmaker? I don't think I have seen the article.

i like the aluminum pack bay seats with two locking rings. you have a nice choice of fighting buts and they are not terribly expensive.

Not a big fan of removable fighting butts, one reason is they add cost, the other is that few people I know that have them rarely take them off as there was a reason you needed one in the first place. Also I've known people who forgot where they put the buttcap that fills the hole when they remove the fighting butt.
From a purely functional standpoint the Fuji 16 mm spinning realseat with a Fuji Quik-lock foregrip for the fighting butt is hard to beat, especially costwise, and it will never fail on you. Lots of pictures of the setup in the picture gallery at the top.
An all metal reelseat will be more than large enough for the butt size of that blank (.43") and the saltwater wood realseats usually are bored to .42" already so they will fit nice with a permanent fighting but on the blank, or reaming just a little will bring them to the right size if you choose the removable butt.
Just make sure you leave the space necessary to install the butt and any hardware it needs in the back of the reelseat before you epoxy the reelseat down to the blank.

Marty, If you think that the rod will need to fit into a 30" rod case (in order to fit into a 30"ish piece of luggage), you'll want a removable butt. With a 9'0" four piece fly rod it makes the difference between the lower section fitting into a 30" piece of luggage or not. On my personal 9' saltwater rods I have used Pac Bays reel seats, both A8 & A6-T. They have both worked well.

Removable or fixed? I don't understand why more folks don't build the fighting butt directly on the blank, like you do with a spinning or conventional rod. You just need 2" -3" or cork beneath the reel seat. It's a pretty easy think to do and a lot cheaper than adding a $15 or, in the case of some of the Stuble models, $23 part.