The new Redington Butter Stick!

The new Redington Butter Sticks are here. Redesigned for 2018, they feature a retro design with that same sweet fiberglass feel. But...

The new Redington Butter Sticks are here. Redesigned for 2018, they feature a retro design with that same sweet fiberglass feel.

Butterstick has that sweet retro look

We recently cast three models of this new rod on a blazing hot Oregon day: the 7'6" 4wt, the 8' 5wt and the 8' 8wt. We found that for the 4wt and 5wt, our favorite line was the Cortland 444 Sylk double taper, which is exactly what that was built for. I think a Rio Lightline would be a great choice for a weight forward line, but I would prefer a double taper any day.

Same buttery feel

The 4wt was definitely the favorite of the bunch, while the 8wt also turned our heads quite a bit. We actually threw a Rio General Purpose Tropical Saltwater taper on the 8wt, and found that, while a little heavy, it was a good match, especially given how hot out it was. It has been almost tropical in Oregon this summer. That 8wt would be super fun to stalk carp with, and I can see swinging flies for summer steelhead on the Klickitat with it. The carp around here are really spooky and I think that 8wt glass rod would be just the ticket for a good presentation with the backbone to handle the "Golden Bonefish of the North".

The 5wt didn't quite seems as "dialed in" as the other two models. None of us liked it as much as the 4wt or the 8wt, but it still casts really nice and easy. We thought that it lacked a bit of feel and the diameter of the blank felt a bit thick, but we think that those details would be negligible once you are on the river. It seemed to want a heavier line than the light lines usually reserved for glass and bamboo. We tried a Rio Grand on it, but it wasn't quite right. I am sure with enough time and enough lines, an angler could really find a combo that makes it dance.

Cork and sliding ring reel seat on 1-5 wt

The aesthetics of the new Butter Stick are definitely retro. I believe that the K-Mart fiberglass fly rod that I used when I was a kid had the same color combos. I like the throwback color scheme, but it seems like there might be a crowd of anglers that don't appreciate the 1960's look as much as I do. I am also under the opinion that a rod can be as ugly as sin, but as long as it casts well I don't care what it looks like.

The reel seat is another retro cool feature on this rod. In the 1wt-5wt models, the rod features a simple all-cork reel seat with dual sliding rings. This system isn't as fancy as locking reel seats, but it works, it is simple and it has that retro feel that compliments the rest of the rod.

The 6wt and 8wt models have an uplocking reel seat

There are two arguments for fishing a glass rod over a graphite rod. The first is accuracy. Glass rods are very powerful, but also very delicate. You can drop a dry fly on a dime with much less energy than with a graphite rod. Less spooking of fish from overly strong casting. They are dry fly machines; not great at nymphing (especially the mending part), but awesome for dry flies!

The second argument, and the one that I go for is that glass rods bend to the cork when you hook a nice fish. My favorite part of hooking a fish is bending that rod and that is almost a guarantee with a glass rod. Fast rods don't bend much when casting or when playing fish. That is part of the reason that I don't like them as much as slower rods. Anglers worry about the rod bending too much and not being able to play fish well, but that cork section holds a lot of power, so when you max the rod out, there is still some juice left in the bottom end.

The following videos are to show the flex of the 4wt and the 8wt Butter Stick. The first video features the 4wt Butter Stick, and the second video features the 8wt. Enjoy!

We haven't been able to put our hands on the 1, 2, 3 or 6 weight Butter Sticks yet, but I am sure that they are going to have that same classic feel, deadly accuracy and retro look to them that the other models have.

We offer the rod on it's own, but we also offer it paired with a reel and line, which saves you money and ensures that you are getting a good set of matching gear to maximize your fishing dollars, time and gear. Give us a call, email or live chat if you have any questions and we'll see you on the water!