Who makes that rubber red "ball" Shaw Grigsby uses at the base of his fishing rod?

Cush it?

Yup ~ 

http://lunaseasports.com/store/cushit/

A-Jay

Yep, that is it. What is the point of this item anyway?

Its floats. And is cushioning for your ribsnif you set the hook with the rod butt in your rib cage. Frogging comes to mind

Just now, CroakHunter said:

Its floats. And is cushioning for your ribsnif you set the hook with the rod butt in your rib cage. Frogging comes to mind

That's kind of what I was thinking, about frogging. So you are saying this thing is so buoyant that it would prevent a rod and reel from sinking if it feel in the water?

I have found that most cork or Eva handles are brought to float them. So yes the extra foam will for sure keep the butt end floating enough to grab them out of the water. 

wouldn't a tennis ball do the same thing?

2 hours ago, CroakHunter said:

Its floats. And is cushioning for your ribsnif you set the hook with the rod butt in your rib cage. Frogging comes to mind

My ribcage can confirm this. Unfortunately for my ribcage I have yet to try this product lol. 

Same. I’ve had days where the rod left red marks and small bruises on my ribs lol

On 8/11/2018 at 7:38 PM, MassYak85 said:

My ribcage can confirm this. Unfortunately for my ribcage I have yet to try this product lol. 

Me too, and until now, I thought I was the only one experienced this. 

The Cush It product also adds a touch of weight to the Rod handle, and this helps in balancing fishing rods as well. I personally use a budget solution, with Rubberized Chair leg caps (4 for $2.00) and one or 2 quarters inside the bottom of the cap. It's nowhere near as cushioned as the Cush It....but it does work 

I use Cush-It's on my heavy flipping and frogging setups. I buy them because it counterweights the rod and makes it more balanced and comfortable to fish all day. I'll also add quarters inside of my Cush-It to further counter balance the rod if needed. The added advantage of these is that the ribs are sore after a day of setting the hook numerous times.

 

If you're buying a Cush-It to make your rod float, you're probably doing it wrong...