I just got off the phone with a very good friend of mine in Tullahoma, TN, who, in my own opinion, is a great rod builder. He is a Sage dealer but will build you a rod on whatever blank you prefer. He is also a bamboo rod builder. His rods are very well made because he tends to be a "perfectionist" and will not let a rod go out of his shop unless he is satisfied with the build. He builds many saltwater rods for a shop in Florida and he just loves building them. We were just talking about things in general and the discussion got to "hook keepers" on rods. Trust me, my friend hates to put a hook keeper on a rod, but, will if you insist on one. I am one of those customers who insist on a hook keeper. His answer is that you have 8 to 9 hook keepers on the rod! I have noticed a lot of fly fishing men/women who will hook the fly to a guide and loop the fly line around the reel when they are moving to another location on the river to fish. I prefer to hook the fly to the hook keeper because I feel that the metal hook could do damage to a rod guide, which could do damage to your fly line, since it will do damage to the reel foot (scratch in the metal) on a reel when you hook the fly at that location. Once again, this is just my observation and nothing more. I mentioned to my rod building friend that I thought the designers of reels should design a "hook keeper" on the reel somewhere which would put the fly hook at a location where it would not get tangled in the rod tube liner and don't ask me how I know it will do that! He stated that some saltwater reels have that option. He stated that he always felt the "hook keeper" should be located in the fly rod end cap at the bottom as a "hole" or maybe a "groove" for the fly hook to slide in and I thought that sounded like a great idea. What are you all's opinions on this? Just curious and nothing more....