Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fly Fishing Cafe => Topic started by: HamidSeshadri on September 03, 2013, 09:19:39 AM
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The last two times I've been out fly fishing, I've broken my rod (and my heart) both times. that snapping sound is the worst thing I have ever heard. :( :'( :'(
the first time, i was told the rod (7wt Amundson Super) likely had a weak defective part because it broke near the butt as i was fighting a pink.
went to the warranty office (they were very nice about it ;D) and got a replacement, an 8wt Amundson TopFLy
took the new rod out, caught some more pinks, foul hooked one and as i was bringing it in i was worried i might break this rod too so i was trying to be extra careful, i thought i should grab the line with my hand to take the pressure off the rod... so i took my hand off the but and placed it higher up as i was reaching for the line.. snapped the tip off :'(. thankfully i can get it replaced again... i was told that this time it was my mishandling...
i learned yesterday to never take my hands off the butt and put them anywhere else on the rod when there is pressure on it.
any of you guys have any other tips for NOT breaking rods?
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Yup. Dont grab up the rod beyond the cork it puts a different stress on a different part of the rod and can break them.
Another tip is when landing a fish don't high stick the rod on an angle behind you. Kind of hard to describe but usually you have the rod length in front of you with a bend in it. If you bring your rod tip up and rotate it back over behind you ( with a fish on) you bend the tip in an odd way and risk snapping it.
Hope that makes sense.
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The "don't put your hand above the cork" recommendation is a key one apparently, as you mentioned.
Funeral of Heart's recommendation about not bending the rod behind you when trying to land a fish is another good one.
A great alternative when you're trying to land a fish yourself is to lift the rod until it's near vertical, then strip some free line off the reel into your rod hand. Release that line swiftly and pull your rod back, in effect creating slack in the line between your rod tip and the fish (so as not to bend your rod at a weird angle and potentially break it). Grab the slack line with your free hand and hand-line the fish in to land it.
This will give the fish slack and you may lose one now and again, but it will prevent undue strain on your rod.
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As stated before do not grab above the cork as its streses the rod differently.
When building rods there is a certain side of the blank to put the eyes on it as it bends better one way. As well as guide placement, these are used in specific spots to take the weight and evenly disperse it throughout the rod . Which if your holding your rod wrong, or have your rod to high up in the air it will break. I try to keep my rods at a 45 angle give or take a bit from the water.
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Ill say this to you, and please dont think Im being rude, because I say it almost every time im out fishing around other people, and they are catching fish.
KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF THE BLANK AND ON THE CORK!!!
Seriously. Dont feel bad, you certainly arent the only one to do it, and many people dont know. Ive never broken a rod this way, but Ive seen a few videos of it, and I know that sound you speak of. I hope to never hear it! At least one of the rods was defective. Would have happened sooner or later. Another thought, dont cast heavy flies and let them hit the rod (chuck and duck style) because you can dent the blank, and provide a weak spot for breakage.
One more time for good measure
KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF THE BLANK AND ON THE CORK!
Good luck.
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thanks everyone,
KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF THE BLANK AND ON THE CORK!
ok, i'm listening :D
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the thing im worst for is high sticking my salmon rod behind my back or around my body trying to grab the line. I blew up a switch rod this way >:(
I have now figured out the technique of lifting the rod tightly to the fish, then release the reel/pull some slack line, then let go quickly and let the line fall into your hand. this of course doesn't go smoothly every time :-X
example - last time out for pinks I went to do this and when I went to grab the line it actually wrapped around my wrist !!! if this had been a large fish it would have been very hard and painful to get my hand free. holding the rods handle in my teeth while trying to pull the line loose enough to get it off was hard enough with a pink pulling on the other end :-[
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thanks everyone,
ok, i'm listening :D
Haha ok! After that little tidbit, I have no advice. I have no idea what can or cant break a rod. I DID break one while casting in a really tight spot once. I had overhanging bushes and trees behind me, as I brought my final cast forward, I guess I caught a branch, and the tip snapped about 6 inches from the top. Just a normal cast. I believe that was caused by whacking the rod with heavy flies, but it might have been a defect in the blank. Best advice I think I have is fish carefully, slowly, and intentionally, and if it happens, it happens. Im sure some rods just give up one day, whether you cause it or they are just tired and old.
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don't leave your rods anywhere near vehicle doors either. they eat rods for dinner !!!
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Glad I read this post.
I've been grabbing the blank all season to increase mechanical advantage.
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another question:
how many times have you broken your rod, and how did you break it?
i should learn from your mistakes too ;)
edit: oops i see dan already posted an answer to my question before i posted it :)
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I have had my 5wt broken twice. first time was casting clousers to pink salmon and hit the blank with the fly blowing it in half instantly, second time the wife shut it in the truck door
busted my old 4wt twice also on back to back trips. first trip I think the line may have been stick somewhere on my pontoon when I went to pull the rod out to use it and the tip broke into 5 pieces, second time I think I only looked at it sideways as the tip broke into 3. my dad now owns it and has had no issues ::)
snapped a switch rod in two as stated above
blew apart a spinning rod horsing on a snag
exploded a levelwind rod into about 13 pieces just trying to pop my hook free from some braided line I was stuck on. I had the line above water and was just bouncing it trying to get the hook to fall off and the rod exploded. sounded cool though
I think there is a couple more rods but those are the ones I remember.
I even blew up a levelwind reel !!
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second time I think I only looked at it sideways as the tip broke into 3. my dad now owns it and has had no issues ::)
hahahahahahha
and here i thought i was the most unlucky SOB
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Yes - all good advice here. One more "tip" (no pun intended) is to avoid laying your rod down on the rocks or flat surface - esp. when there are lots of other people around. Instead, place something underneath the rod (like your vest, jacket or sweater), or lean your rod against a bush or tree, so the tip is up to avoid someone accidentally stepping on it. ;)
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Yup. Rod tips go pretty much trasparent when you lay them down on the rocks for some reason.
To follow along the same lines, I don't know how many times I see people tossing their rod aside in a frenzy of excitement when they land a fish. Be gentle with your rod and it will last longer. A ding in a dropped rod can create a weak point and an unwanted snap.
I also cringe when I see people battling a snag to save the $5 in gear at the end of their line by whipping their rod up and down violently.... followed by a loud crack and a puzzled look on their face... sigh...
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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thank you all!
very informative thread! :) :)
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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.
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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...
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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!
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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."