Rod Broken in 3 places

[WRangler506]

Ive broken very few fishing rods, mostly my own fault not even fishing like stepped on guides, snapped tips, etc.

 

We had a mid range rod that snagged bottom and was trying to free it from the bottom as the boat was drifting quickly down the river. One or two fairly hard jerks to free the jig and it snapped. it snapped right at the reel handle, and in two other spots farther up. While I understand this was an aggressive last ditch to free the lure, it was being fished on the max line rating for the rod. It still didnt break the line, we had to cut it, 10lb mono. It has a warranty, so Ill be sending it in, was just curious of your thoughts. Ive never seen one break in multiple places.

[TylerT123]

How old was the rod? Do you know what graphite it was like the modulus? I assume it wasn’t cracked or anything.

[Deleted account]

When a rod breaks in 3 places its an indication of exceeding its capacity. The secondary breaks are a result of snap back energy. We try to achieve this some times when testing prototype blanks. The fact that it broke near the reel handle indicates that it wasn't a case of incorrect loading or high sticking. Love the sound they make, and wear my ballistic Oakleys with tuna jigging ones.

[NYWayfarer]

I had a rod break in multiple places.

 

I snapped the top of a rod off when a door closed on it. The other break happened as I was so ticked at what had happened I snapped the rest of the rod over my knee.

[Brad in Texas]

33 minutes ago, reason said:

When a rod breaks in 3 places its an indication of exceeding its capacity. The secondary breaks are a result of snap back energy. We try to achieve this some times when testing prototype blanks. The fact that it broke near the reel handle indicates that it wasn't a case of incorrect loading or high sticking. Love the sound they make, and wear my ballistic Oakleys with tuna jigging ones.

I think reason has it dialed in correctly, even the circumstances you related regarding how it happened seem to fit well. That three (3) areas of a rod would simultaneously break is so improbable, the first break rapidly releasing the stress overloading on the other two areas, that another culprit has to be in play.

 

I suppose this is a material science sort of "thing" where in addition to static strains and stresses on rods, there are other considerations. I have never heard of a rod breaking this way. Disappointing, for sure, but cool from just the perspective of the science behind it.

 

Hope you get it fixed/replaced and back in use soon!!!

 

Brad

 

[OnthePotomac]

Never attempt to free a bait using the rod.  Cut a piece of 1" dowel 6" long, take a file and file a grove around the middle of the dowel then when snagged, wrap your line around the dowel groove off  the end of your rod and you will either break off, retrieve your bait, or haul in what your bait has snagged on (if it is moveable) and save your rod. I carry three in the boat always.

[grub_man]

That is definitely an overload failure.  Take an uncooked spaghetti noodle, load it from both ends and it will generally snap into 3 pieces.  It's the physics of the system at work.  When I was studying for my physics qualifier exam, we had the same problem phrased in the sense of a tall chimney tower.  The goal was to show that it would fail 1/3 of the way up the tower.  The other failures come from the released energy after the initial failure.

 

As far as the line not breaking, virtually all fishing lines have a fudge factor built into them and they break at above their labeled strength.  Unless it is marketed as an IGFA line class line that breaks at or below its labeled strength, you can rest assured that the line is intended to break at a higher strength.

 

 

[WRB]

When a rod breaks after several outings of use it's usually angler error, defects show up righ away. If you point the rod tip at the snag putting all the force on the reel The rod can't break.

The fact you are honest and admit you have broken other rods indicates you are hard on your equipment, a little TLC goes a long way.

Tom

[J Francho]

11 hours ago, WRangler506 said:

We had a mid range rod that snagged bottom and was trying to free it from the bottom as the boat was drifting quickly down the river. One or two fairly hard jerks to free the jig and it snapped. it snapped right at the reel handle, and in two other spots farther up.

Keep doing this, you'll quickly see you can break even a rod rated for 20# line with just 10# line.  It's simply not made to be treated this way.

[Choporoz]

55 minutes ago, OnthePotomac said:

Never attempt to free a bait using the rod. 

I've read this six or seven times and I'm struggling to understand....I'd estimate that 99% of my hang-ups and snags are freed using the rod.

[WRangler506]

18 minutes ago, WRB said:

When a rod breaks after several outings of use it's usually angler error, defects show up righ away. If you point the rod tip at the snag putting all the force on the reel The rod can't break.

The fact you are honest and admit you have broken other rods indicates you are hard on your equipment, a little TLC goes a long way.

Tom

Im pretty sure I use TLC, usually. Thats 2-3 incidents in 30 years of fishing, covering over many rods, so I dont think thats too bad.

 

This rod was on its maiden voyage and fished for a very short time when this happened. It was a bit aggressive, but not something I would have though it could break like that.

1 minute ago, Choporoz said:

I've read this six or seven times and I'm struggling to understand....I'd estimate that 99% of my hang-ups and snags are freed using the rod.

Agreed. If I determine they arent going to free up, I wrap the line around my hand and pull.

[Choporoz]

Just now, WRangler506 said:

This rod was on its maiden voyage

This is a key point of information I missed in the OP....what make/model rod?

[WRangler506]

15 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Keep doing this, you'll quickly see you can break even a rod rated for 20# line with just 10# line.  It's simply not made to be treated this way.

I hear ya, but this was nothing more than what a hero hookset equivalent would look like. Ive seen much worse not break a rod.

1 minute ago, Choporoz said:

This is a key point of information I missed in the OP....what make/model rod?

I didnt want to mention the name. I dont want to bash the company, Id rather them see the rod first and see what they say. It was bought off a store shelf, which I dont normally do. Ive seen what people do to rods in stores sometimes.

 

In bass pro one day I saw someone explaining to his buddy its all about twist strength and he gripped the rod with both hands to give it his expert judgement.

[Choporoz]

I've broken maybe five rods in 50+ years of fishing.  One was super cheap; two were very clearly my fault; and two were $200 rods that both broke in first hour of use; one on the first cast/fish.  If an 'experienced' fisherman breaks a rod first time out with it, I would rush to judgement about rod defect/quality.

[J Francho]

11 minutes ago, WRangler506 said:

I hear ya, but this was nothing more than what a hero hookset equivalent would look like. Ive seen much worse not break a rod.

A hero hookset into an immovable object, not a fish that weighs a few pounds.

[WRB]

1st use failure indicated a flaw or defect, possible shipping issue or if purchased from a store where it was handles by who knows who, the warranty will cover it.

You see pro's breaking rods nearly every MLF series, usually mid rod failures, sometimes near the handle or over the anglers knee!

I only broke 1 rod bass fishing and that was a early boron that exploded in several places fighting a bass. 

Good luck.

Tom

[WRangler506]

10 minutes ago, J Francho said:

A hero hookset into an immovable object, not a fish that weighs a few pounds.

I know i get it. I never said where the blame was here.

[LCG]

11 hours ago, WRB said:

If you point the rod tip at the snag putting all the force on the reel The rod can't break.

This ^