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[Ian Forbes]

1. Don't put rods anywhere close to vehicle doors
2. Read #1
3. The first thing you do after getting back from fishing is take your rod apart and put it back in its case.
4. read # 1 and # 2
5. Never, never, never put an assembled rod in a vehicle, even if taken apart in 2 pieces.
6. Thread your line through the rod by hand and NEVER pull it through the guides while holding the rod by the handle.
7. Don't loan the rod to someone who won't or can't replace it.
8. Don't walk through the forest with a fully assembled rod without folding it in two sections.
9. Don't lay a rod flat on the ground. Someone will step on it.
10. Don't place a rod on top of a vehicle, even if it is only SUPPOSED to be for just a moment.
Reread points one through 10.


When playing fish
1. Never take the rod back beyond the 90 degree point when under stress.
2. Bring the fish to a place where it can be easily landed and the line held gently in your hand. More rods get broken when landing fish than at any other time.
3. Learn to cast properly so you don't hit the tip with weighted flies.

[HamidSeshadri]

6. Thread your line through the rod by hand and NEVER pull it through the guides while holding the rod by the handle.

thanks for your tips Ian,

can you explain #6 again? i don't understand how you can pull your line through the guides while holding the handle?

[Sandman]

thanks for your tips Ian,

can you explain #6 again? i don't understand how you can pull your line through the guides while holding the handle?

Usually done right after threading the line through the guides, you grab the fly in one hand, the rod in the other hand (by the handle) and tug, pulling line off the reel while the rod bends (until it snaps).  Not wise.  Instead, after threading the line through (on shore I do this while the handle sits on the ground and "walk" the line through to the tip, but actually leave the rod broken down in two if in my boat or if switching reels mid river) you just continue pulling enough line through to begin false casting before picking up the rod by the handle.

[Ian Forbes]

thanks for your tips Ian,

can you explain #6 again? i don't understand how you can pull your line through the guides while holding the handle?

Like Sandman says, after the leader AND THE FLY LINE is pulled through the guides make sure you have about an extra foot of fly line beyond the tip, or even more so that when you start casting it easily flows through the guides. I've seen many tips get broken when guys only have the leader through the tip and the connection between leader and line snags the tip-top guide. The angler gives a tug and the tip snaps. Rods usually break when playing big fish and they are being forced to the bank with the rod bent back beyond the 90 degree point. I've broken a rod that way and I've seen it happen to many others. Kids get their rods broken by laying them on the ground and other kids stepping on them. I use to help young anglers fish for coho jacks where the Quinsam flows into The Campbell. It was always a zoo and I've lost count of the many rods I repaired. I would use one broken rod to fix another by stuffing a short section of one rod into the two broken parts of another. Then I would bind the junction with mono and a hidden knot.

I've heard so many stories about anglers losing their rods by leaving them on top of their cars and forgetting them I've lost count. It even happened to me when my wife drove off with our car with my rods still on top.

[RalphH]

I'd say most breaks are due to 2 causes

1) the rod has previously hit or been hit with a solid object such as a tree branch (on the back cast) or the fly. Flies with beads or dumbell eyes have wreaked havoc on rods everywhere. The hit often puts a small fracture or flaw in the graphite which will break somewhere down the road.

2) pulling the rod into an arc where the hoop strength of the blank - it's ability to keep a circular profile while bending and the rod snaps at this point. Most often that's from playing a fish and pulling the rod butt up in front of you face and then back to the ear or beyond. Sounds ridiculous but people do this all the time. More even and effective pressure can be applied by holding the rod to the side with the tip up at a 45 degree angle and applying pressure by rotating your torso and hips to put some extra bend in the rod.

I have a couple of times seen people snap a tip while threading the line through the guides. Badly made nail knots or loops make this more likely. One tip I read many years ago  was to double the fly line at the tip by simply folding it over itsel then thread it through each guide - easier to see it is threaded through each guide and less likely to fall back through when you let the pressure off.

FWIW it's worth I have never broken a rod by putting my hand above the cork. Knock on wood. I have done this this a lot over the years usually by laying the rod across all 4 fingers of my open hand and lifting gently. I am not advising it and try to keep myself from doing it. However I think the concern is over blown.

You are most likely to break a rod due to inattention or stupidity. 

[roseph]

I have a couple of 'tips', some re-iterations from this thread.

-buy a rod wrap or use an elastic and always break down the rod when walking, use a reel case to hold the pieces together at the reel end
-walk to the river with your rod facing behind you
-rod is the last thing out of the car when you arrive and first thing in when you get back
-don't use weighted flies until you know how to cast
-always have your line thread through all sections when walking, this makes sure you don't lose any sections

[HamidSeshadri]

thank you all!
very informative thread!

[adecadelost]

Hamid can I ask what pound test you were using on your tippet?
I have seen some new flyfishers and regular gear guys using way to strong of a leader/tippet.

Ideally if something is going to break you want your line to break before the rod.

I've seen too many guys break rods hucking 45lbs braid and then looking at the rod like it's at fault.

[HamidSeshadri]

Hamid can I ask what pound test you were using on your tippet?

i had 2-3ft 8lb maxima ultragreen for my leader. i used that for the dirty water, and 6lb fluro for clear water.


do guys know if stuff like this is covered during a casting class? or do they just cover casting basics? my wife is insistent that i now take a class before trying to fly fish again by myself... and i'm sort of inclined to agree with her.
fly fishing seems to be a whole different kind of beast than gear fishing...

[DanJohn]

i had 2-3ft 8lb maxima ultragreen for my leader. i used that for the dirty water, and 6lb fluro for clear water.


do guys know if stuff like this is covered during a casting class? or do they just cover casting basics? my wife is insistent that i now take a class before trying to fly fish again by myself... and i'm sort of inclined to agree with her.
fly fishing seems to be a whole different kind of beast than gear fishing...

Casting classes in groups are generally laid out to teach you to cast. Period! Not much on roll casts, nothing special or custom, just get the line up, shoot it out.

Michael and Young in Surrey does Private lessons though, I believe 50 dollars an hour. Really not a bad cost for people who really know their stuff.

Tell your wife that rods break from not being used enough, so you have to get out fishing more to keep the blank lubed up and limber. Sounds like a good lie to me!

[zabber]

I've broken two rods.

1st - 9ft 6wt Angler Pro fly rod. Broken on an ~18in, 1-2lb rainbow trout that I was landing in my kickboat. Brought the rod up high (i.e. "highsticked;" 90 deg or so) to get the fish in close and snaparoo. I repaired this rod by cutting off the broken top as close to the nearest guidewrap as possible and then sticking the remainder of the tip top inside the rod top, until snug. Lost about a foot of rod length but was able to keep fishing. Landed a few big pinks on that rod this season but have since retired it.

2nd - 10'6" Angler SS medium-heavy casting rod. I purchased this rod to replace the Abu Garcia North Star that I lose the top off on a cast. The break was nearly identical to the 1st, but was a result of high-sticking a sockeye (there's karma for you). The rod was repaired in a similar fashion.

While I'm pretty sure the breakage was my fault both times I'm never buying another cheap @$$ angler rod again XD XD ... I swear I've high-sticked fish like that before, with other rods, without any issues.

EDIT: you may also want to invest in a rod case, if you don't have one already. Army n' Navy has these nice grey Milano ones on sale for like $23... They fit rods up to 10ft in length, with the reel attached, and have a nice strap so that you can carry them down to the water, if you so choose. You are less likely to forget your rod on top of your car, or on the side of the road, if you're packing it into a case before you drive off and -- perhaps more importantly -- you are less likely to have something heavy slide around your trunk and crush your rod tip. To boot, you won't hear your rod(s) rattling around in the back if you're heading out on a long road trip and you packed "wrong."