New mojo bass. SNAPPED!

[MUSLENUTZ]

Caught three pigs today using a plopper and the 7.1MHF snapped liked a wishbone. Really blows my mind and messes with the confidence using it. What would cause this?

 

[FrankN209]

When did it snap? Fighting the fish? Lifting the fish out of the water? But it does suck when this happens....

[Finnz922]

Usually damaged blank. Caused by getting banged on something. It usually takes the right amount of pressure/strain on that spot. Happens occasionally if you read all the forums on rods ranging from sub $100 to $500 and up.

 

It's a Croix. You are probably covered under warranty.

[MickD]

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

[MUSLENUTZ]

1 hour ago, FrankN209 said:

When did it snap? Fighting the fish? Lifting the fish out of the water? But it does suck when this happens....

Third fish, I grabbed it by the line and rod and pulled it in and snap. Maybe I’ll drag it on shore next time. Guy at BPS said it happens and could of been damaged in freight but I don’t know. It’s rated for up to one ounce lure. The plopper was one ounce and straight 40lb braid. They gave me a new one. 

57 minutes ago, Finnz922 said:

Usually damaged blank. Caused by getting banged on something. It usually takes the right amount of pressure/strain on that spot. Happens occasionally if you read all the forums on rods ranging from sub $100 to $500 and up.

 

It's a Croix. You are probably covered under warranty.

Third fish, I grabbed it by the line and rod and pulled it in and snap. Maybe I’ll drag it on shore next time. Guy at BPS said it happens and could of been damaged in freight but I don’t know. It’s rated for up to one ounce lure. The plopper was one ounce and straight 40lb braid. They gave me a new one. 

[MickD]

23 minutes ago, MUSLENUTZ said:

Third fish, I grabbed it by the line and rod and pulled it in and snap. Maybe I’ll drag it on shore next time. Guy at BPS said it happens and could of been damaged in freight but I don’t know. It’s rated for up to one ounce lure. The plopper was one ounce and straight 40lb braid. They gave me a new one. 

Third fish, I grabbed it by the line and rod and pulled it in and snap. Maybe I’ll drag it on shore next time. Guy at BPS said it happens and could of been damaged in freight but I don’t know. It’s rated for up to one ounce lure. The plopper was one ounce and straight 40lb braid. They gave me a new one. 

Sounds like possible high sticking.  Be sure to read the article at the link in the post above.  High mod graphite rods will not take a lot of the stuff we used to do to our glass rods; that is the price we pay for the improved sensitivity.

[The Bassman]

2 hours ago, MickD said:

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

Thanks for the link.  Broke my first rod in many years last week.  Very good and well timed info for me.

[kenmitch]

I'd suggest reading the article. The way you describe how it broke makes me vision it snapping right in front of your hand.

[burrows]

It happens ??‍♂️

[Bluebasser86]

So did you grab the rod a foot or two from the tip and try to lift/drag the fish like that? That's a big no-no and one of the easiest ways to break a rod if you did. 

[Gundog]

16 hours ago, MickD said:

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

Excellent article. Very informative and gives lots of examples. I didn't know I was doing a few of those things that are bad for rods.

[LCG]

Invest in a $20 landing net and put the rod behind you by stretching your arm back. Then use your free hand to net the fish. Best $20 you'll ever spend. 

[CrankFate]

3 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

So did you grab the rod a foot or two from the tip and try to lift/drag the fish like that? That's a big no-no and one of the easiest ways to break a rod if you did. 

Sorry to hear it, but that will break any thin, light stiff rod.  That’s exactly how my son broke one of his rods last year.

[Dens228]

I broke my second Mojo Bass this morning.   The first one was my fault when I gave a yank to free a lure from a rock.

Today's broke on a hookset.  I love St. Croix but I'm not spending anymore on the Mojo.  Those are the only two I've broke in my life. 

[MUSLENUTZ]

On 9/8/2018 at 5:59 PM, MickD said:

Sounds like possible high sticking.  Be sure to read the article at the link in the post above.  High mod graphite rods will not take a lot of the stuff we used to do to our glass rods; that is the price we pay for the improved sensitivity.

Is it because it’s graphite or because it’s a MHF? I can switch it to a medium. I had it well over my head standing up. I’m not hat experienced here so possibly I caused the break. 

[Stephen B]

5 hours ago, Dens228 said:

I broke my second Mojo Bass this morning.   The first one was my fault when I gave a yank to free a lure from a rock.

Today's broke on a hookset.  I love St. Croix but I'm not spending anymore on the Mojo.  Those are the only two I've broke in my life. 

Mojo bass rods and St Croix rods are very dependable and have a very low number of breakages. If the rod wasn't damaged in shipment or bruised from a drop,etc then it was likely due to user error. Since multiple nice fish were caught on it the same day then randomly snapped I will guess high sticking.

[MUSLENUTZ]

13 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

So did you grab the rod a foot or two from the tip and try to lift/drag the fish like that? That's a big no-no and one of the easiest ways to break a rod if you did. 

Yup. That’s what I did. What should I do? Keep it down and drag the fish in?

4 minutes ago, Stephen B said:

Mojo bass rods and St Croix rods are very dependable and have a very low number of breakages. If the rod wasn't damaged in shipment or bruised from a drop,etc then it was likely due to user error. Since multiple nice fish were caught on it the same day then randomly snapped I will guess high sticking.

I bought the mhf for power as I always get stuck in the grass and other vegatation. I felt like that was a good choice for that. I didn’t really buy it for sensitivity as much as power. I’m a little nervous now to break it again. 

[burrows]

On 9/8/2018 at 2:32 PM, MUSLENUTZ said:

Third fish, I grabbed it by the line and rod and pulled it in and snap. Maybe I’ll drag it on shore next time. 

Yeah I try to tire them out drag them on shore. When I bank fish I don’t bank flip them specially not with my mojos they will snap. I have a couple of mojos I never snapped one but I can see it happening if I bank flip em. They are good rods but they are not really as strong as some ppl might claim. IMO. I have other rods that are mhf that I can bank flip, boat flip a five pounder if I wanted to but not with my mojos it can be done but I try not to.

[MUSLENUTZ]

On 9/8/2018 at 4:39 PM, MickD said:

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

I high sticked for sure. Thank you

[MUSLENUTZ]

I was also using 40lb braid. THe rod is rated up to 20lb line but it doesn’t state what type of line. 

[Bluebasser86]

6 hours ago, MUSLENUTZ said:

Yup. That’s what I did. What should I do? Keep it down and drag the fish in?

 

That will break any rod, damaged or not. They're just not meant to bend like that, but it's a common mistake so don't beat yourself up about it. 

 

You can grab the line and lift or drag the fish. Use the fish's momentum while fighting them to lift and swing at the same time to bring them onto shore using the whole rod (given that the fish is of the right size to execute this move). Lipping the fish, grabbing it behind the head, grabbing with grippers, or belly landing if you can reach the fish. 

 

40lb braid is just fine on a MH rod. Those are just line recommendations, not limitations. 

[burrows]

This is a cool video about rod breaking.

 

[MUSLENUTZ]

3 hours ago, Burrows said:

This is a cool video about rod breaking.

 

I watched that, I deff high sticked.

4 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

That will break any rod, damaged or not. They're just not meant to bend like that, but it's a common mistake so don't beat yourself up about it. 

 

You can grab the line and lift or drag the fish. Use the fish's momentum while fighting them to lift and swing at the same time to bring them onto shore using the whole rod (given that the fish is of the right size to execute this move). Lipping the fish, grabbing it behind the head, grabbing with grippers, or belly landing if you can reach the fish. 

 

40lb braid is just fine on a MH rod. Those are just line recommendations, not limitations. 

Thank you for your help. i think what  i learned here is keep 6 to 7 feet of line out and pull in the fish by line.  Keep my rod no more than 45 degrees and pull straight back. If Im going to swing the fish its going to be one smaller than the size in my photos. Although the rodbuilder link suggests to hold it in your back hand, I will probally avoid that for a while. I wont be carrying a net s o Ijust need to be less excited and more controlled. Those fish were my pb, so adrenaline was going!

[kenmitch]

Live and learn I guess. Try fishing from a kayak and you'll quickly learn the fish has the upper hand until you've either lipped or netted them. 

 

BPS has some folding landing nets on sale currently. I have the 35" one behind the seat of my kayak for the times of need. It can be flipped open one handed as long as you don't have it tangled on some other gear. I'm not really sure why they get bad reviews? Maybe somebody needs to make a video on how to properly use a landing net? Best bang for buck net I came across when searching for one.

 

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-gold-series-folding-landing-net

 

There currently priced within a couple of bucks of the lowest price I've ever seen them.

[TotalNoob]

Definitely great info in this thread, lots of good stuff. 

 

This might put your mind completely at ease though OP, in regards to this particular rod. I purchased a 6'10" MH/F Bass Mojo from BPS on June 3rd. Two days later it snapped on it's very first cast. I took it back to BPS and just took the $130 refund. Didn't want to get it replaced because I did a bit of research and right there on BPS' own website in the Reviews was all I needed to know that I wasn't the only one it happened to, and neither are you. 

 

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/St-Croix-Mojo-Bass-Casting-Rod

 

Click over to the "Reviews" tab and take solace that this exact problem has happened to lots of folks with this particular rod. You state that BPS gave you a new one, you can decide for yourself after reading those reviews whether you feel comfortable keeping the replacement or not.