Rod snapping

[Philip]

Snapped the tip section of one of my match rods taking it out of the car. Gutted. I was due a break but it was bad luck.

Zero chance of a replacement section. Only positive point being I had the foresight to have purchased a second identical rod at the time knowing they would stop making them.

I lost 7.2cm off the tip (I measured it due to aforementioned guttedness)..removed the second to last rod ring and glued the tip ring back on and it looks and feels ok but I am a bit obsessive about these things and even if it was half a cm I know I will never be 100% happy using it & it will always play on my mind.

Anyone else as obsessive as me about rods having to be their original & “proper” length ....or can rods ever be improved by hacking a bit off them?

What do you think.

 

[sam vimes]

Yes, I'm obsessive about originality of rods, from length to cosmetics and fittings. I have used repaired rods, rods that are a fraction shorter than they started out, have replaced rings with close as possible matches and had reels seats replaced. However, it irritates the **** out of me knowing that it has been done.

I fully accept that rods can be improved, or at least be made to fit individual preferences, with a bit of judicious modification. I simply can't tolerate doing so with an off the peg rod, especially a pricey one. I'd have less of a problem if I bought an off the peg rod just for the blank.

When it comes to losing a bit of tip, I know that it can make very little difference. The shorter the loss, the less noticeable it is likely to be. I'm sure that losing a bit of tip might make the odd rod better for some. Even losing as little as the break occuring just behind the tip ring winds me up. I can't claim that I'd notice it in use, but I'd know it has been done. That would be enough to get my OCD gnawing at me.

 

[peter crabtree]

Never the same imo, don’t feel right. I’ve binned the couple I snapped the tip off.

 

[nottskev]

That is such a sickener - and it has happened to me more than once. In fact, just recently, against my better judgement, I set up a feeder rod at home as a lazy way to have an extra option on the bank. I tried to compensate with careful packing - rod bands, tip protector - but i hadn't noticed the tip protector (NGT) had a clumsy inside seam cleverly designed to snag a quiver tip as you slide it in and snap a couple of inches off..... Fortunately, it can have a second life for method feeder.

Good job you bought the second - I have bought duplicates for a couple of my favourite rods. They are not the most expensive or famous, but sometimes you can't buy what you like at any price.

What rod was it, by the way? Is there no chance of picking up a second hand complete rod?

You'll probably continue to regret the broken tip, but in practical terms it might prove irrelevant. It depends what you use the rod for. For example, I broke a smaller piece - about 1.5" from the tip of a 15' rod when it somehow got bent while folding down the top of the rod bag and pushing it into its tube. Since I use the rod at the heavier end of its application - with 4 or 5lb lines for tench - and it's through action makes the very tip irrelevant when playing a fish, it has proved no disadvantage and I no longer think about it. Had it been a different type of rod - some super lightweight, light line creation with a tippy action - it might have been a different matter.

I have sometimes found hacking a bit off a rod has definitely improved it - but that's because I've always disliked long handles and it comes off the thick end. And I did once take a foot out of the middle of the butt on a feeder rod that felt sloppy, and I still use it. I hate accidentally damaging rods, but I don't balk at adapting them, and sometimes a bit of damage turns out to be something you can live with.

 

[rich66]

Ouch bad luck that is !
I snapped a spinning rod of mine a couple of seasons ago. Only top 4” but the rod feels different now. I still use it but only if I’m using heavier lures which seem ok with it.
But I have to try not to think about it !
Now I’ve thought about it, it might be a charity shop job

 

[john step]

I was gutted at loosing 6 inches off the top of an almost new Daiwa match rod. I am not convinced it was a fault and not my ham fistedness.
I had an old carbon wand that was not used so I replaced the 6 inches with a piece of that. I thought it would do for a bit until I stumped up for a new rod but I am still using the rod years onward.

The looks would not suit a OCD angler but it works fine.

 

[mikench]

Sorry to hear that Philip. I snapped a tip on a DV rod but was able to get a replacement section and glued on a replacement threaded eye and use that section now with a swing tip and it works fine!

As Kev says there will inevitably be a replacement rod for sale on eBay! I have noted in my recent search for nostalgia one cheeky blighter selling the butt section, middle section and tip section of a rod separately ! I reckon he might get more in aggregate than for the rod as a whole! It was a Titan if I recall!

 

[terry m]

In my formative years snapped coarse rods became pike/boat/pier rods, but in actual fact they were rubbish.

Rods are designed at an optimum length vs action, chopping off the tip is unlikely to enhance that action.

Seems like the ideal excuse to go looking for another rod.

 

[Philip]

Even losing as little as the break occuring just behind the tip ring winds me up. I can't claim that I'd notice it in use, but I'd know it has been done. That would be enough to get my OCD gnawing at me.

Yep that’s the thing. It gnaws away at you. I also have a pair of quivertop rods of which one has a minuscule amount snapped off the tip. The fact that at the spigot it does not push together as much as the other rod means its still longer but it just hacks me off and I always pick the other rod if I am not fishing a pair. Sometimes I even have to inspect then really closely to determine which one actually is the one that’s snapped so I can put it back on the rack and take the “right” rod with me. mg:

What rod was it, by the way? Is there no chance of picking up a second hand complete rod?
You'll probably continue to regret the broken tip, but in practical terms it might prove irrelevant. Since I use the rod at the heavier end of its application - with 4 or 5lb lines for tench - and it's through action makes the very tip irrelevant when playing a fish,

It’s a no name rod from Geologic even on the second hand market I am unlikely to find it although I do intend to scan from time to time. So glad I got the second one. I don’t think losing the tip will really impact me in practical terms for exactly the reason you mention…I use it at the heavier range and for the sort of fishing I do finesse rarely comes into it but mentally it’s the pitts as I know its missing a bit.

On a tangent, here's something I heard just recently that I thought was interesting. I am not going to name the rods this applies to out of respect to the guy who told me (who was the designer) & I dont know how widespread its done, but I found out that to keep the cost down the rods are fitted with a parallel butt of fiberglass from the reel seat downwards i.e the Carbon does not extend for the full length of the rod. This keeps the price down as your basically using less Carbon. To be fair it actually makes sense as the action of the rod is unlikely to be influenced by anything from the reel seat downwards so why not cut cost. I wonder how many other rods are not carbon all the way through.

I mention as if I lost say 3 inches of the butt on such a rod I could almost accept that…almost..

 

[Weirdoh]

Nothing wrong in snapping an occassional rod now and again. Its a bit like gnawing to much nail away or having to undercut one so that its painful for a few days......until a NEW one comes along and you forget it ever happened. This is the advantage of buying low quality chinese rubbish....repair? Dont be so silly....that is a thing of the past...just dispose in landfill and replace it with one equally as good (bad) and be fishing in no time!! As long as the equipment gets used rather than just admired. I bought my wife a fishing rod. I snapped it for her when she wasnt looking so I didnt have to go fishing with her again, damage limitations I call it.
I reccommend The Straw Hat Prestige collection...they do a white for £4 and its crisp.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

In about 60 years of fishing I have only ever had two rods suffer from a snap.

The first was was the tip section of a MAP 15’ rod that I’d only used twice. On getting it out of the bag I saw the tip six inches or so had snapped off. After a long and unsatisfactory set of discussions with MAP they refused to replace it. That was the last item of MAP kit I ever bought.

The second one was when tackling up my Sage fly rod it slipped down the side of the car and broke the top few inches off.
One phone call and a new tip section was sent first class at absolutely no cost, not even P&P

 

[john step]

The most stupid thing I did to break a rod was in fact a two rod break at the same time.
I was on the Trent and decided to move. I fixed the tail gate on my car and stowed the rods ready made up in the back but sticking out as I was only moving a couple of hundred yards.

The bank was bumpy and the tail gate jumped free and crushed both rods. What a plonker.

 

[mikench]

That made me laugh Pete as it's something I am quite capable of!

 

[Philip]

Rod breakages outside of actually fishing situations are the pitts. Trouble is they also tend to be the most common too.

Cars in particular must be involved in some way for the biggest %. ...they are for me anyway ...either snagging on something coupled by over zealous tugging on my part or the dreaded car or boot door syndrome.

I think I broke one once in an electric car door window ...window went into autopilot shutting mode and I watched in slow motion as it snapped the tip off poking out as I helplessly tried to hit every button on the dash board in an effort to stop it.

 

[terry m]

In about 60 years of fishing I have only ever had two rods suffer from a snap.

The first was was the tip section of a MAP 15’ rod that I’d only used twice. On getting it out of the bag I saw the tip six inches or so had snapped off. After a long and unsatisfactory set of discussions with MAP they refused to replace it. That was the last item of MAP kit I ever bought.

The second one was when tackling up my Sage fly rod it slipped down the side of the car and broke the top few inches off.
One phone call and a new tip section was sent first class at absolutely no cost, not even P&P

A great illustration of what good customer service looks like (or not as the case may be).

The advent of social media should signal to vendors that poor customer service is broadcast very quickly these days.

 

[Richox12]

A great illustration of what good customer service looks like (or not as the case may be).

The advent of social media should signal to vendors that poor customer service is broadcast very quickly these days.

Or how much profit there was in the initial sale of the rod.