Big bass broke my rod WHERE?

[Koz]

I was having a bit of a creative mental block today while working on something for a new business I am starting so I decided to clear my head for a bit and do some fishing. So I hit a bank spot that had been good to me this winter.

 

I'm fishing a narrow end of the lagoon that's about 150 feet wide and I immediately notice a big gator about 100 yards out, but it's cooler weather and he's going to be too lethargic to be much of a bother.

 

Anyway, this time of year a black and blue Chatterbait Elite with a blue Zoom Vibe Speed Craw has been my go to bait and I'm fishing it again. My first cast is to the left, parallel to the bank just a few feet off the bank and a foot or two from the far side of the bank. There's some decent bank and aquatic vegetation all around this area and a good spot for bass. But nothing on the first cast. My second cast is about ten feet further up the side, and when I get the bait about 25 feet from me I feel the bait being inhaled and a good size thump.

 

I sweep set the hook and start to reel down and reel in. I feel the bass pull and I know it's a good one. I gain half a foot of ground and the bass made a run for it. As the rod dipped the butt end of the rod came to rest between my belly button and sternum. I barely pulled on teh rod as I reeled and heard a loud CRACK and the butt end of my rod went flying into the tall grass in font of me.

 

So now I'm fighting this bass while trying not to impale myself with what's left of the end of my rod. I was so stunned that I paused for a second and in that second I thought the bass got away. But with arms extended I'm now reeling in and fighting the bass. There are about 5 people around me that were out on a walk that stopped to watch.

 

Somehow I managed to get it close to shore and lift it over the tall, thick shore grass without sticking myself. For the fight she put up (and it was a strong one) I was surprised when she weighed in at only 5.1 pounds, but still a nice fish nonetheless. But after two casts my day was done. As I'm in the process of moving my other rods are buried somewhere in a storage unit.

 

The rod in question is my Lew's Mach II SLP baitcast combo. I like this rod and reel combo and it's only about 3 years old so I'm really disappointed it snapped like that. I reached out to Lew's via Twitter but haven't heard back from them yet. I didn't take a picture of the bass, but here are some of my deceased fishing rod.

 

[roadwarrior]

Well, let's see what Lew's has to say. I suspect they will replace the rod.

 

BTW, nice fish!

[Bankbeater]

Dang! That's a bummer.

[Koz]

I've been thinking - perhaps when the butt end hit my rock hard abs it simply couldn't take the stress. ?

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, Koz said:

I've been thinking - perhaps when the butt end hit my rock hard abs it simply couldn't take the stress. ?

One can always dream...

[A-Jay]

Nice Done & Welcome to the broke rod club ~

I'm a card carrying member myself

 

Here's some Lew's warranty info

https://www.lews.com/warranties

A-Jay

[diehardbassfishing]

Noticed how it broke right on the rod wrap. Look at the butt end. You can see where it broke right on the green thread wrap.

 

 

Karl

[soflabasser]

Interesting report thank you for posting it. Never had a bass break a rod but I mostly fish with heavy bass rods that can take the abuse. Have flipped 6 pounders as well. The larger ones I either lip or use the net.

[Michigander]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

Interesting report thank you for posting it. Never had a bass break a rod but I mostly fish with heavy bass rods that can take the abuse. Have flipped 6 pounders as well. The larger ones I either lip or use the net.

My buddy broke his new heavy Vendetta rod casting a frog, I don't think rod power protects anything if there's damage to the blank unfortunately.

[Koz]

35 minutes ago, Michigander said:

My buddy broke his new heavy Vendetta rod casting a frog, I don't think rod power protects anything if there's damage to the blank unfortunately.

 

2 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Interesting report thank you for posting it. Never had a bass break a rod but I mostly fish with heavy bass rods that can take the abuse. Have flipped 6 pounders as well. The larger ones I either lip or use the net.

This is a MH rod.

 

But note that this broke just after hookset while I was battling the fish and trying to reel it in, not when lifting it out of the water.

2 hours ago, diehardbassfishing said:

Noticed how it broke right on the rod wrap. Look at the butt end. You can see where it broke right on the green thread wrap.

 

 

Karl

The rod blank is one piece and extends into the knob itself so the knob is really a cap. You can see that in the close up of the knob and how part of the blank is still sticking out.

 

That thread may have been used to strengthen a resin join between the knob and shaft and to prevent the knob from slipping off.

 

I can tell you it made one heck of a loud sound when it broke.

[WRB]

You couldn’t break a rod at butt end if you tried.

Tom

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, Michigander said:

My buddy broke his new heavy Vendetta rod casting a frog, I don't think rod power protects anything if there's damage to the blank unfortunately.

Did he break it on the hookset or some other way?

27 minutes ago, Koz said:

This is a MH rod.

 

But note that this broke just after hookset while I was battling the fish and trying to reel it in, not when lifting it out of the water.

Maybe the rod was defective. Regardless of the reason a MH rod should never break while fighting a 5 pound bass. Imagine if a 8 pound or better bass bites and the same thing where to happen, most would be very upset to say the least.

[Teal]

5 minutes ago, WRB said:

You couldn’t break a rod at butt end if you tried.

Tom

Sooo...what are you trying to say.

 

[Michigander]

13 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Did he break it on the hookset or some other way?

Maybe the rod was defective. Regardless of the reason a MH rod should never break while fighting a 5 pound bass. Imagine if a 8 pound or better bass bites and the same thing where to happen, most would be very upset to say the least.

It was defective and Abu Garcia eventually covered it under warranty, eventually. He made a  short 20ish foot cast and the rod snapped a few inches above the reel seat.

 

I'm not sure how much force it would take to break a rod but I feel like the reel's drag would kick in or guides would start getting ripped off before the blank would snap if there wasn't prior damage or defects. That's just a feeling though.

[soflabasser]

7 minutes ago, Michigander said:

It was defective and Abu Garcia eventually covered it under warranty, eventually. He made a  short 20ish foot cast and the rod snapped a few inches above the reel seat.

That was a defective rod for sure. Hopefully rod companies mentioned in this thread improve on quality control since I have seen too many online post and too many YouTube videos on rods breaking while bass fishing.

7 minutes ago, Michigander said:

I'm not sure how much force it would take to break a rod but I feel like the reel's drag would kick in or guides would start getting ripped off before the blank would snap if there wasn't prior damage or defects. That's just a feeling though.

A lot of bass fishermen do exaggerated hooksets with locked drag which can lead to a broken rod. High sticking is another way a rod can break while fighting a fish. 

[WRB]

16 minutes ago, Teal said:

Sooo...what are you trying to say.

 

Manufacturing f...l...a...w

[Teal]

That's what I was thinking 

[diehardbassfishing]

Flaw.

 

Karl

[Koz]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

Did he break it on the hookset or some other way?

Maybe the rod was defective. Regardless of the reason a MH rod should never break while fighting a 5 pound bass. Imagine if a 8 pound or better bass bites and the same thing where to happen, most would be very upset to say the least.

It broke after the hookset as I began to reel in. When the bass took off and pulled the rod the butt end went up against my stomach. When I countered the bass pulling is when it broke.

 

It’s a 3 year old rod and I keep my gear in good shape and store it properly. It’s my primary rod and I’m in tune with every vibration with it. There was no sign of cracking at all. Also, when I overhand cast I hold the butt end in my left hand and I have not felt anything unusual like a strange vibration or looseness in the bottom of the rod if it had been cracked.

 

Often times the butt end goes up against my hip, side, or thigh for a second or two if the fish is a decent size. I’m not a big guy and it is a 7 foot rod. Maybe that led to a micro fracture over the years. Whatever caused it, I liked that rod and I’m not happy about it.

 

With the recent passing of my dad I moved to take care of my stepmother and money is tight as I need to find a job (2 upcoming interviews so fingers crossed). I have a few other combos somewhere in the storage unit with my furniture. I just need to clear a path to find them!

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

That was a defective rod for sure. Hopefully rod companies mentioned in this thread improve on quality control since I have seen too many online post and too many YouTube videos on rods breaking while bass fishing.

A lot of bass fishermen do exaggerated hooksets with locked drag which can lead to a broken rod. High sticking is another way a rod can break while fighting a fish. 

My reel seems pretty sensitive to the combination of drag and tension. If the drag is locked I get a lot of spool issues even with 30 or 40 pound braid.

 

As for hooksets, I reel down and give it a pop and let the sharp hooks do the work. Not once have I ever tried a cross their eyes hookset.

If you’re a smaller guy like me (5’7”) and have shorter arms those longer butt ends will end up against your side or thigh sometimes when you’re reeling in and perhaps over the years that caused a micro fracture that eventually exploded.

[diehardbassfishing]

8 hours ago, WRB said:

You couldn’t break a rod at butt end if you tried.

Tom

 

A rod is most likely to break where it flexes the most. How much flex can anyone image occurs at the butt!

 

I just don't want you to think you need to change your fishing habits.

It's not you - it's them. The rod failed you.

 

 

Karl

[Koz]

Lew's just got back to me about a replacement. It seems they are low on Mach 2 rods and might need to substitute which I assume will be an equally priced rod.

 

Does anyone have experience with their Tp1, TP1X, or KVD series baitcaster rods? My preference is a 7' MHF all purpose rod.

[ATA]

its the first, Most of the time, you might step on it or close door on it and weaken the spot, thats the only logical reason for this unfortunate incident. 

[Koz]

3 minutes ago, ATA said:

its the first, Most of the time, you might step on it or close door on it and weaken the spot, thats the only logical reason for this unfortunate incident. 

 

Never happened. I'm ridiculously careful with my stuff.

[BayouSlide]

57 minutes ago, Koz said:

Does anyone have experience with their Tp1, TP1X, or KVD series baitcaster rods? My preference is a 7' MHF all purpose rod.

I have a four TP1s and like them a lot: if you liked your Mach 2 you should really enjoy a TP1. My MHFs nearly always have a spinnerbait and chatterbait attached, and my M Moderate a crankbait and I can't think of anything about them I don't like. They are always in the rotation when I gear up for a fishing trip.

 

The only reason to the other MHF stays home on occasion is I usually keep a buzzbait attached and I don't always fish buzzbaits.

[soflabasser]

15 hours ago, Koz said:

It broke after the hookset as I began to reel in. When the bass took off and pulled the rod the butt end went up against my stomach. When I countered the bass pulling is when it broke.

It is common for a rod to break during and right after a hookset.

15 hours ago, Koz said:

As for hooksets, I reel down and give it a pop and let the sharp hooks do the work. Not once have I ever tried a cross their eyes hookset.

There is no need to do exaggerated hooksets If you have high quality hooks and know how to set a hook properly. Seems like those who like to do these types of hooksets want to feel strong but it is not the way to show strength. A better show of arm strength is curling 60 pound or bigger dumbbells, anyone can exaggerated hooksets on a fish. It is good you are getting a replacement for the rod.