Until very recently, I thought the universally agreed rule when fighting a fish was to never, ever grab the rod above the end of the cork grip. Doing so effectively takes the part of the rod below the hand and all of the butt 'out of the fight'. This technique puts much more stress at the point where the hand is gripping the rod.

A couple of years back, I watched buddy Slick turn an expensive four piece fly rod into five piece trying to get some extra leverage on a steelhead. That just about clinched it for me.

Now I'm seeing photos in fishing magazines with experts gripping their rods (especially saltwater fly fishermen) 6" above the cork, and good anglers like Capt. Mondo of Steelheaderz Backroadz video fame are doing the same with light spinning sticks on steelhead rivers. They obviously feel they are getting extra leverage on their fish.

Anyone on the Board a rod grabber?