Grunt, I've used a plastic 20 0z. Coke bottle with a hook glued to the top. If you want to get closer, sand your nodes and boo real good first. And like you found out, if you use 4' shafts instead of 3' ones, you have more varience to play with. If you rotate the shafts a quarter at a time, you can also find the stiff side of your cane.