Is This My Fault? (Rod Broke In Half)

[wytstang]

So today I was jig fishing and landed a nice 3lber. When I pulled it out of the water roughly 2 to 3 feet in the air my rod snapped in half (between the 6 &7 eye). I was pretty surprised & PO'ed that it happened. It got me thinking if it was something I did transportation wise that caused a weak spot. I take my rods (Denali & Shimano) inside of the cab of my truck on the way to fish, however once there the rods go in the bed of the truck were a 2x4 sits across the bed as a divider. I can't drive fast around the ponds so I know they are not bouncing violently off the 2x4.

Could the rods be damaged from the 2x4?

Or is this just a bad rod? (It's the Shimano Crucial I purchased in Feb)

And this is how my rod sits in the bed of the truck

[DirtyDeuceGoose]

If I'm reading this correctly, you lifted a three pound fish completely out of the water using just the rod itself? This would be like boat flipping/high sticking and is most likely the cause of the break. On another note, I don't ever store my rods with that much tension on them. 

[Hogsticker]

Yeah, long hauls with your rod under that kind of tension the whole way would make me nervous. As would keeping the drag tight enough to maintain that level of tension. I don't think boat flipping 3 pounders with a spinning rod is good a good practice myself.

[wytstang]

Some areas on the bank you don't have a choice but to hoist whatever size fish you caught up a bit before you can grab it. Also the bed picture was just a reference picture to show the 2x4. I normally just reel the lure to the tip and lay them down.

[wytstang]

So I need a net and a new rod since it was my fault it looks like.

[Jrob78]

So I need a net and a new rod since it was my fault it looks like.

Yes, unfortunately.

[smalljaw67]

I'm sorry to tell you that the rod break is your fault, but at least you asked rather than go on to a web site and bash the company on how bad the rod was. Boat flipping or hoisting a fish up and out of the water is a no-no even though a lot of pros do it and I got that information right from a rod designed that worked for St. Croix. The neat thing is the more expensive the rod, the more apt you are to break it like that, a rod that is very sensitive and light is also brittle but the resins they use today along with the carbon threads and tapes they use make the rods incredibly strong so you may get away with it a few times but if you do it a lot it will break eventually. The two biggest user errors are boat flipping or hoisting, and high sticking, high sticking usually happens when trying to land a fish or when trying to get a snag loose, the rod it facing up and under load and as the line gets closer to the rod it pulls the rod tip at a steeper angle until it fails, and it is usually the tip section, the first 4" to 6" that tends to break off. Get yourself a new net to go along with another rod and it won't happen anymore.

[kickerfish1]

Sorry, not trying to dog pile on you with criticism but reeling a lure to the tip puts alot of pressure on the tip and can make it more prone to breakage. Rod guides for that matter, are not meant to be resting places for lures. If your rod doesn't have a hook keeper consider adding a fugi keeper.

If you feel you have to lift a fish out of the water and onto the bank over a few shoreline obstacles consider reeling the fish up to as far as you can and then grabbing the line and using it to pull the weight of the fish to safety on the shore. I have been able to lift fish up to 4lbs using similar tactics and 8# Sunline Sniper.

Sorry to hear of the rod breakage. Just be honest with the manufacturer and hopefully it will work out.

[wytstang]

Sorry, not trying to dog pile on you with criticism but reeling a lure to the tip puts alot of pressure on the tip and can make it more prone to breakage. Rod guides for that matter, are not meant to be resting places for lures. If your rod doesn't have a hook keeper consider adding a fugi keeper.

If you feel you have to lift a fish out of the water and onto the bank over a few shoreline obstacles consider reeling the fish up to as far as you can and then grabbing the line and using it to pull the weight of the fish to safety on the shore. I have been able to lift fish up to 4lbs using similar tactics and 8# Sunline Sniper.

Sorry to hear of the rod breakage. Just be honest with the manufacturer and hopefully it will work out.

The lure is brought up to the tip not cranked down on it. Also I don't mind criticism at all, it helps me learn from any and all mistakes I could be making and not even know it.

[wytstang]

I'm sorry to tell you that the rod break is your fault, but at least you asked rather than go on to a web site and bash the company on how bad the rod was. Boat flipping or hoisting a fish up and out of the water is a no-no even though a lot of pros do it and I got that information right from a rod designed that worked for St. Croix. The neat thing is the more expensive the rod, the more apt you are to break it like that, a rod that is very sensitive and light is also brittle but the resins they use today along with the carbon threads and tapes they use make the rods incredibly strong so you may get away with it a few times but if you do it a lot it will break eventually. The two biggest user errors are boat flipping or hoisting, and high sticking, high sticking usually happens when trying to land a fish or when trying to get a snag loose, the rod it facing up and under load and as the line gets closer to the rod it pulls the rod tip at a steeper angle until it fails, and it is usually the tip section, the first 4" to 6" that tends to break off. Get yourself a new net to go along with another rod and it won't happen anymore.

I figured it could be something I was doing wrong. Luckily TW has a sale going so it helps in the replacement (which ever brand isn't exempt)

[FishTank]

The way it looks in the back of your truck, it is too much tension on rod.  If you intend to store your new rods that way, I would invest in a two piece rod and you're good to go. 

[the reel ess]

Most people get really angry when a rod breaks. They go on the site where they bought it and proceed to trash the company and its response in a review. Have you noticed the added insurance being offered with high-end rods these days? It's almost always the user's fault. Sadly.

[wytstang]

The way it looks in the back of your truck, it is too much tension on rod.  If you intend to store your new rods that way, I would invest in a two piece rod and you're good to go. 

 

 

Some areas on the bank you don't have a choice but to hoist whatever size fish you caught up a bit before you can grab it. Also the bed picture was just a reference picture to show the 2x4. I normally just reel the lure to the tip and lay them down.

 

The lure is brought up to the tip not cranked down on it. Also I don't mind criticism at all, it helps me learn from any and all mistakes I could be making and not even know it.

Covered it

Having to hoist the fishing out of the h20 is the problem so a net (& new rod) will be ordered asap.

[Shanes7614]

I'm gonna buck the trend on here a little and say it could have been a bad blank. Almost everyone on here has boat flipped fish before and will continue to do so. Whether I myself would do it with your exact rod I'm not sure as I don't know it's specs. Any rod medium action and above should not have a problem lifting a fish that size. Not sure I would try to flip anything bigger though. The action of your lift is what may have been at fault. If you keep a constant pressure on the rod and don't allow fish to bounce your rod I don't see a problem with it. I tend to leave a 3/4 rod length when I do it myself. Check out some videos and just look at some people ridiculous hook sets. If rods can handle such a violent action lifting should be the least of your problems. A net or a pair of waders would resolve the problem as others have stated but I certain situations those don't even help. If possible when you get fish to shore try to reel down and point rod at them and hold your spool and walk backwards, also depends on line used though. Most rods I have been witness to user error tend to not have that clean of a break either. Just my opinion. Check with shimano as they do have a decent return policy or even better if you bought it at an actual store may have good return policies as well. Good luck with its replacement.

[Shanes7614]

Small tip also for trucking around with your rod in the back. Take a pool noodle and split it length ways and when you return to your truck wrap around your rod and try to bungee it pointing out of the bed. You can also hook your lures into the foam and they are pretty cheap to replace instead of having something sliding around in your bed and breaking a guide or tip.

[wytstang]

The rod is a Shimano Crucial 6'10 Med/Fast spinning rod. I don't remember the fishing trying to shake itself off as I lifted it out of the water but it went nuts after the rod snapped I remember that.

 

Also the bed has one of those fiber glass tops to it so they have to lay on the inside. The pool noodle sounds like a great idea though thank you for that.

[Thornback]

Just accept the fact sometimes a rod will snap. But then you have the opportunity to purchase a better one

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

A faulty blank will fail the first couple of times it's loaded. After that failure is usually the result of compromised fibers (dents, dings, scratches etc from and number of impact sources) and/or user error. Boat flipping is bad for the rod and the fish and should be avoided. If absolutely necessary lift while holding the rod parallel to the water. Rods have surprising dead lift capacity this way.

[masterbass]

And sometimes you do nothing wrong and the rod still breaks.  Christmas of 2013 I bought a DX743.  I absolutely cherished this rod and babied it.  I always put a rod glove on it when I wasn't using it. This was my senko rod which is my confidence bait so this rods was used more than any other rod in my arsenal.  I caught numerous fish, even a small musky that took my senko.  I was always careful not to high stick or dare to boat flip with it.  Then one day it snapped casting a senko t rigged with 1/16oz worm weight.  This was after 6 months of lots of use.  I sent to rod for inspection to dobyns and they declared a defect and replaced my rod (great customer service).  I never understood how the blank could withstand so many fishing outings then all of a sudden snap casting. 

[RoLo]

Generally speaking, a faulty blank will fail early-on in its career,

while a rod that's several seasons old was probably damaged.

Based on your description though, it sounds like you were "high-sticking",

which definitely puts tremendous strain on the blank fibers.

Most of us found out the hard way too  ;-)

 

Roger

[Kidflex]

I broke a crucial 6'8"mh bending it like an idiot with my hands. The break looked exactly like

Yours. Send it in. Shimano has a great warranty dept.

[BASSPATROL247]

Ive used spinning and casting rods to lift bass to 5lbs from a peir i fish, from the top railing of peir to the water is 5ft id say and have done it at least 100 times and never had a rod break. I will add that i leave about 4ft from the tip to the fish of line(mono) and i dont just lift the rod, i lift them about a foot out of the water and give the rod a couple pumps to get the fish boncing so to speak and when its on a up bounce i time it so when i lift the fish its already moving up and use the momentun to take some of the pressure off my rod.. the bigger ones make me think my rod could break but hasnt yet...ive thought of using a net but theres no nets in bass fishing!!! Ive always looked at using a net for bass kinda like moving the foul line up 3 ft on the court..thats cheating..

[MickD]

Nice to see someone with an open mind and who is willing to learn from their mistakes.  We all have made them.  

 

The appearance of the fracture is typical of overloading the blank by high sticking, just like what most everyone else is saying.  Note the difference between "high sticking" and lifting with the rod butt parallel to the water described by DVT.  Makes all the difference in the world.  While defective blanks usually break right away, damaged blanks can break anytime.  While your practice in transporting your rods is suspect, and could damage a hi modulus rod, it does not appear to be the culprit in this case.  Take a look at the following information:

 

http://www.rodbuilding.org/library/rodusage.pdf

 

Rodmaker Magazine had an article a few years ago which showed photos of hi modulus blanks that were intentionally failed by  numerous methods, and there are distinctive features to the different causes of failure.  Yours looks to me most like the overload/high sticking failure.  Unfortunately that article is not available on line.  You can buy back issues from the magazine site.

 

One last comment on the pros, yes they lift fish from the water with the rod and some don't use the best techniques.  But they don't have to pay for their replacement rods like we do.  Their priority is to get max fishing time and it is no problem if they break a few rods.

[Canyon explorer]

G-Loomis calls it High Sticking and will reject the claim , as do most others.

[BobP]

Crucials used to have a no questions asked lifetime warranty.  If it broke for any reason, any Crucial seller such as BPS would replace it over the counter, no question asked.  I hear they tightened up on that warranty policy but nevertheless if you bought the rod in February, it is still under warranty and you should be able to replace the rod at reduced cost.  Why the rod broke is just conjecture.  Obviously you did not handle it with best practices, user abuse being by far the reason for most blank failures, but that doesn't necessarily mean there wasn't a manufacturing fault in the blank. The further down the blank a rod breaks, the more I suspect a manufacturing fault.  Take it to a Shimano dealer, be truthful about how it happened, and let the chips fall where they may.

 

I once bought a Rogue rod blank, made it into a rod, then snapped off 3 inches of its tip in a screen door a week later.  I told the supplier what happened, they told Rogue.  Rogue sent me a new blank for a nominal cost and said they appreciated a warranty inquiry from someone who admitted the failure was theirs and not the blank's.  Rod warranties are never going to be as straightforward as anyone would like them to be.  The companies want to support customers and make good on any problem that is their fault.  But there is a subset of fishermen who buy high quality rods with great warranties and then abuse the rods to failure again and again, swearing that every failure "ain't my fault, man".  Clowns like that drive rod companies crazy and jack up the cost of rods because the companies have to increase prices to offset excessive false warranty claims.  As far as how to handle a rod, anyone who looks at a TV program and thinks what he sees there is OK needs to reconsider:  those guys get their rods absolutely free from the rod companies that sponsor them.  And how they treat the rods in competition often reflects how much they had to pay for them.