Has anyone ever tried using champagne corks instead of traditional butt caps? I've seen several with interesting designs and thought it would be a bit different. I'm talking about salmon/steelhead and lighter rods only, used for throwing artificals, so the rod would never be placed in a holder or on the ground as in bait fishing. Just woundering if they would hold up at least as well as regular cork. So what do you all think???

Fred Crum
Dixon, Ca.

I have used them before to make butt caps and small fighting butts on light rods. I have one of those tiny lathes to turn them on and they do turn out pretty nice with some practice. Hey, cork is cork for the small jobs and I get to drink the champagne which is a bonus. The more practice the better.

Joe Douglas

Do a search on champagne and wine corks. This has been discussed many times.

Fred stick them in the microwave for about 10 mins in a bowl of water, this will make the compressed section expand nearly back to its orginal size.

Joe, thanks for the feedback. And I agree, nice bonus. Just wish they used more cork in scotch bottles!!! Or maybe one could acquire an old barrel used to age the good stuff and turn a handel or two!!!
LOL!!!

Gerry, always a good reminder, thanks.


Myles, thanks for the tip! I noticed it doing the serch, but appreicate the reminder!


Fred Crum
Dixon, Ca.

You can also make colored rings with tinted epoxy and cork dust ?

Yes, I did. I went to a restaurant and asked a friend who used to work there to save some of the hi-Q corks for me. This was back in 2001.
First I was planing on using them for light weight fighting butts. It worked, just that. Then I used them to make fly rod handles, and to repair flaws in old handles (from dust), which resulted to be the best use I found for these "bottle stoppers". Last year I went to see if I could collect more, but the quality of the cork had dropped down so far that I refused to use that "cork".