How many rods have you built for your personal use have broke from fishing?

I have broken some rods. They were mostly from windows, doors, fans, etc. Anything but fighting fish. The few that broke from fishing I would say were my fault (in hindsight).

We all hear about customers who break rods. Don't hear much about those that build rods breakage percentage. Wonder if if might be related to fishing style/species.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

I bass fish. I have broken one rod that I built and one other rod that was store bought. The one that I built and broke was completely my fault. I was putting a reel cover on the reel and it slipped and I hit it against my foot board on my bed. What @#$%& the most is that was the most high end blank I had built on. The second break was a Shimano Compre cranking rod. I still do not know why that one broke. I hung a crankbait up and at first thought it was a fish, I pulled back like I would if a fish hit it, and the rod snapped. That one still has me scratching my head haha there was so little force put into it.

I shut the hatchgate on a Chevy Blazer down on a batch and broke three. But I cannot recall ever having broken one fishing other than maybe back when I was a kid fishing store bought rods. My customers have not broken too many but I will say that bass fishermen seem to be harder on rods than any other clientele I have built for. But still not too very bad.

None.

None that I have built. I broke a couple of store bought rods before I started building. I am very careful with rods that I have built.

One\and it was completely my fault. I was loading the rods into the back of my Tahoe, and I rammed the tip into the seat and popped about 2.5 inches off of one of my spinning rods built on a MHX SJ720. It was even replaced by Mudhole. I was completely up front in telling them that it was a bonehead move on my part that caused the failure yet they still replaced it. I also Bass fish and am not the least bit gentle with my stuff, yet have never broken any of those, all of which are built on high modulus stuff, save for one or two.

Tom

I haven't had a rod that I have built get broken in actual fishing conditions or as a result of normal wear and tear. A friend laid one down and stepped on it on the edge of a dock... That broke...

One. High sticked an ultralight trying to free a stuck lure. My fault.

Never broke a rod. Ever.

Accidentally broke a blank a couple years back in a door jam. And once broke around 200 rod blanks on purpose while doing the research for the RodMaker article on rod breakage.

...................

40+ years + ONE and completely my fault. Fishing from a pier & high sticked a medium sand shark. Nothing serious just lost 2" of tip.

Never broke one of my builds. Never broke a rod in the act of fishing either. Before i started building, my rod locker claimed a couple and a fire extinguisher on my boat got one too.

None

I haven't broken any of the 4 rods I've built thus far. Over the years I've broken three rods, and knocked the ring out of the tip top on another. All of them were my fault.

Picking up a rod without noticing the tip had slipped under a cleat on the boat claimed two of them. Sticking the rod tip in to cover trying to free a stuck bait claimed the other broken tip and the knocked out ring on the other.

I have never broken a rod.

One of my customers is a professional bass guide and he told me in 24 years he has never broken a rod !! If you could see him set the hook, that is an amazing statement.

Tom

Hello Everyone.

I have broken 2 rods that I have built, both my fault, 1 a high stick the other a dolphin on a light rod ran under the boat and slapped the rod against the bottom of the boat at high speed and too much drag.
1 store bought by way of too much fish + too much drag on to light of a rod.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Hello,

I have accidentally broken two ultralight spinning rods built on high-mod blanks.

The first snapped during the cast when my lure snagged the strap of a backpack I had sitting on the ground few feet away.

The second fell onto some lava rocks while I was setting up broke part of the tip off.

I am now building two more ultralights for myself. The blanks are made from fiberglass.

chad

I fish a lot of light tackle spinning gear - delicate type rods. I can't remember the last time I broke a rod in the last 20 years.

Thanks - Marc

Keep it simple - that's all I can handle!

Good morning,

Great thread. I have broken two about 15 years ago and I have been fishing over 65 years. Both were while running a party boat drift jigging for blue fish. Was having a difficult day finding the blues. Grabbed one of my light sticks, tied on a 4 oz diamond jig and tried to hook a blue. Was jigging in deep water while watching the scope and noticed one green dot at about 40' off the bottom. Wound up as fast as I could and BAM!!! Blue fish on. Muscled that blue up and onto the deck with no regard for my rod. Am exhorting the anglers to wind up fast and go down again. Send my jig down and bluefish on. Now others are hooked up with 8-10# blues. I see an older lady having trouble so I hand my rod off with a blue hooked up to an early 20's young lady. While helping the older lady get her blue up and in the mate says my rod broke. No surprise there as the rod was thin walled and I had done the damage with the previous fish. One little green dot on the scope was responsible for a great catch.

The other time I not too gently put a rod in the wheel house while standing on deck. The wheel house was two steps above the deck and the tip hit the over head.

Unfortunately, the average fisherman does not have a clue about what a given blank is not capable of. Add the heat of the battle and common sense goes over the rail. Then there are just stupid mistakes.

Capt Neil Faulkner

not including all the ones I broke as a kid. I broke one that I had fully loaded try to get a spiny dog shark up for the mate to get the leader and the line broke and the rod snapped from the recoil.

Just one, 30 lb. salmon went on the opposite side of the anchor line from the rod, couldn't keep all of a 10 1/2 ft. rod from touching the anchor line, would have been fine with one of my shorter rods. Change that, 3 broken fly rods, all in AK, one an early Dan Craft Sig IV 5 piece 5 wt., 32 inch trout, throwing TT175 sink tip for many days, ferrule failed exactly at the top of the inserted male second section. Fly strike on tip of early Loomis GLX 6 wt. twice. Cross body and left hand casting didn't help as much as hoped, when on the wrong bank in relation to the wind.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2015 10:28AM by Spencer Phipps.