Replace reel seat cap with fighting butt?

[OldBaldGuy]

I have an inexpensive Cabela's "Three Forks" 4-piece 8 wt. rod that came from the factory with a cap on the end of the reel seat instead of the "fighting butt" typically found on their other 8-weights. Is it possible to remove the cap and replace it with a fighting butt? How would I go about it? I understand the basics of rod building and have built a 3-wt., but in no way consider myself skilled at this. (The 8-wt. is used primarily for catfish, although I do get a chance to chase northerns once or twice a year.)
--Rog

[dudley]

Take the butt cap off.
Find yourself a piece of scrap rod blank that fits well up into the butt end of the rod blank
Glue a premade permanent fighting butt on the scrape piece
Glue the assembled fighting butt into the rod butt end

[kengore]

Removing the existing end cap and replacing it with a fighting butt is simple, as Dudley suggests.

Keep in mind that after the new butt is added the length of the butt section will increase, it won't match the other sections and the altered rod may not fit in the rod tube! The only way to preserve the length would be to strip and rebuild the entire butt section.

Depending on the adhesive used the butt cap can be removed by applying heat from a heat gun, or by wrapping the handle in a plastic bag and immersing it in boiling water.

I'm not sure why you need a fighting butt on a 4wt rod, you must have some extra strong fish in your area. If you are only trying to protect the end cap you might use a rubber crutch tip, avialable at Home Depot in several sizes...

[OldBaldGuy]

"...I'm not sure why you need a fighting butt on a 4wt rod, you must have some extra strong fish in your area..."

Thanks for the help, Kengore. We may have some "extra strong fish" in this area (I'd probably be the last to know), but if you re-read my original post, you'll see I was describing a "4-piece, 8-wt." rod, not a 4-weight.

[waynep]

Another option, TFO puts out dome black hard foam slip on fighting butts. I bought a pack of them but have not used them yet.

-wayne

[kengore]

Oops! I think I am becoming more dyslexic as I enter middle age...

[tailingloop]

I have used those TFO foam fighting butt caps on several 5 and 6wt rods and they work fairly well. Haven't had one come off yet unintentionally. Since they slip over the butt of the rod, they don't extend quite as far as a standard fighting butt, but they get the job done for me.