Ark Rods fraying line?

[Matt48]

Okay I have bought multiple ark rods and I use to love them until I have came across a major issue. Most of my ark rods are fraying my fluorocarbon very badly. At the end of a day of fishing my my line is grinding through the eyelids so bad you don’t even want to fish with it. At first I figured I got some rods with defects in the guides and sent them back to new ones and the same exact thing is happening will all of the new ones. I can’t figure out if it’s the guides they are using or what. It seems to be worse in the reinforcer and Tharp honey badger series. I just can’t believe they are selling rods that fray your line after a day of fishing! Does anyone have answers or have had this issue with Ark Rods?

[Glenn]

How old is your line and how it is stored?

[Matt48]

3 minutes ago, Glenn said:

How old is your line and how it is stored?

I’ve used line that is only a couple months old and stored in the original packaging in my boat. I’ve also tried a few different brands of fluorocarbon and still had the issue.

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, Matt48 said:

Does anyone have answers or have had this issue with Ark Rods?

No answers. I have an Essence 7'6" MHF, ran Sufix Tritanium+ 14lb for about 6 months and Tatsu 15lb for 8 months afterward. No issues whatsoever.

[bulldog1935]

F-ring inserts are Fuji's second-lowest ceramic grade - one grade above Aluminum Oxide - other than economy, Fuji doesn't say a lot about them.  The thing is, it's still Fuji, 

The heirachy, Torzite, Silicon Carbide, Alconite, Silicon Nitride, Fazlite (F), and Aluminum Oxide (O).  Fazlite is lighter than aluminum oxide for the same hardness.  

I haven't had a problem with Concept Aluminum Oxide guides on kingfish rod.  Some search results get repeated coments poo-poo'ing everything below Alconite.  

 

Reinforcer doesn't mention the insert, but Fuji only offers their top two rings, Torzite and Silicon Carbide, with titanium frame.  Torzite is lighter than SiC for the same hardness.  

 Valleyhill - Fuji Ti

 

As Glenn said, fluorocarbon has a limited life - better UV resistance than nylon, because it's transparent to UV, but it will definitely fray and become brittle with use.  

 

Also sounds like Ark Rods went the second mile trying to make you happy.  

[T-Billy]

I have a bunch of em. Mostly Invokers, and Tharps,  a Cobb, an Essence, few Lancers. I only use braid and mono. Zero issues with any of them.

[Mike L]

I own Invokers and Lancers of the Ark line and only use fluorocarbon on them all. 
 

Never had a problem of any kind with any of them. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Eric 26]

Although my panfish rods aren’t Ark rods they have Fuji guides with Fazlite inserts also. I’m running 4 pound Kast King monofilament for 2+ seasons without any issues.

[FishTank]

What line is it? 

 

It may not be the rod.

 

Take a look at the line guide insert on the reel.

 

Another odd one and a long shot is, is there a bar in behind the line guide on the reel? If so, is the line over or under it? It should be over.

[RipzLipz]

Interesting - have only experienced this happening once & it was a BPS Graphite Series spinning rod I’d bought off the shelf. The tip guide had a chip in it & was just shredding my mono like a cheese grater.

 

If you haven’t yet done so, try lightly running a cotton swab or cotton ball around all guides (upper, lower & inside) & areas on reel where line contacts. If any burrs or deep chips are present, cotton should catch on it & pull away. Also feel in case any chipped areas of guides are smooth but still potentially sharp.

 

If that isn’t it, I’d be looking at the line & seeing if it’s quickly snapping under a load. I’ve had fluoro basically rot when left sitting in the garage exposed to excessive heat for long periods. Now all my line is stored indoors (long term).

[Fishingmickey]

16 minutes ago, RipzLipz said:

If you haven’t yet done so, try lightly running a cotton swab or cotton ball around all guides (upper, lower & inside) & areas on reel where line contacts. If any burrs or deep chips are present, cotton should catch on it & pull away. Also feel in case any chipped areas of guides are smooth but still potentially sharp.

Ripz, I think has it spot on. If one of the guide rings is cracked or chipped it will eat your line up.  The Q-tip or cotton ball method works. I've had the same thing happen to me a couple of times over the years. It was a cracked ring in both of my cases.  One tip top and one of the middle guides. FishTank also brings up a good point to check the level wind guide.

I'll bet that solves your problem.

Fishingmickey

[bulldog1935]

the math is highly against cracked guide(s) existing on 3+ rods in question

as in, just....no

[RipzLipz]

@bulldog1935 I don’t disagree at all but IMO it’s best to remove all doubt when troubleshooting. If it were me having the issue, I’d want to be 100% sure the .001% chance was not happening. 👍

 

Kind of like walking around looking for keys which are thought to be misplaced only to realize they’re in your hand.

[Fishingmickey]

31 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

the math is highly against cracked guide(s) existing on 3+ rods in question

as in, just....no

Hi Bulldog,

     Something is happening somewhere to fray the line. Only thing I can think of is to check the line's travel path. I didn't do the math. I think you're one of the most knowledgeable and helpful posters on BR! You've certainly got some of the sexiest rods and reels on the planet.  I'd love to go fishing with ya sometime, we're dang near in the same neighborhood. 

Best regards,

Fishingmickey

[bulldog1935]

no worries friend.  I don't want to dis our OP, but I'll say again Ark Rods seemed to go out of their way to help him.  

Biggest problem with extrapolating, he hasn't given us anything about the line other than frayed fluorocarbon.  

[Matt48]

5 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

no worries friend.  I don't want to dis our OP, but I'll say again Ark Rods seemed to go out of their way to help him.  

Biggest problem with extrapolating, he hasn't given us anything about the line other than frayed fluorocarbon.  

They absolutely have gone out of there way to try and help me but the problem is still unsolved. Like you said I’m pretty positive it isn’t a chipped guide issue since its 5 brand new rods and I’ve checked all of them with a q tip and magnifying glass. 
 

I usually use suffix advance but I have also tried FC Sniper. I have respooled countless times with brand new 14-18lb test and have had the issue with both brands. I also use Diawa Baitcasters.

 

I can’t even see the fray with my eyes or feel it with my fingers. But i can surely feel it and here it when I am reeling it through my guides. After about an hour of fishing I start hearing it in the first 5 ft of my line and the it slowly works it’s way up my line and gets worse throughout the day until eventually my whole spool is grinding through the guides. 
 

I’m just confused because I have a friend who has the same rods with the same problem. But Ark acted like I was the first person to ever mention the issue to them and everyone on this site says they love them.
 

 

[MN Fisher]

Given the number of rods that you've had the problem with, I'm gonna side with @FishTank and suggest you inspect your reel.

[PhishLI]

45 minutes ago, Matt48 said:

But Ark acted like I was the first person to ever mention the issue to them and everyone on this site says they love them.

Everyone? Not quite. I can think of one regular here who's Cukoo over them and shall remain unnamed, then a few of us with either one or a few. He's a straight-braid-brigade type of dude too. It's kinda rough on guides. Ya know? Perhaps this mystery man will chime in.😉

[GetFishorDieTryin]

While I don't love Fazlite for multiple reasons, its a fairly resilient material and in the blue color (which Ark uses in many lines) make cracks easier to spot.  I had less than ideal experience with Arks customer service, but in the end, they did everything they could to make it right.

Check all the parts around the level wind of you're reel to make sure there aren't any burrs or hard edges.  

Are you using a course rag to add tension to the line during spooling?   

[bulldog1935]

If this really is a systematic problem with Ark Rods, the only thing that makes sense to me is they're using some type of filming wax as a finish treatment on their rods.  

Try cleaning the guide inserts with denatured alcohol.  

May need to clean a few times - mineral spirits is a more tenacious solvent for waxes, but may not want overflow on the rest of your rod finish.  

[MickD]

It's not the guides.  As someone suggested go through the whole line path very carefully.  Have you tried different reels and had same problem?  

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

My bet is something environmental in the fishing area, zebra mussels for example. I have to agree that the problem existing across rods pretty much rules that out. 

[MickD]

We can  all speculate and try to find an answer, but only the OP'r can find it conclusively.   

1.  Buy some new, inexpensive, mono line.  Put it on a different reel.

2.  Cast in your back yard until you are either seeing the problem or confident that it is not occurring.  

3.  If it's occurring, then the problem is in the rod somewhere, most likely the tiptop.  (you are making sure the line is going through the rings of the guides and not the gap in the guide frames?  This is not an insult.   I've done it, easy to do.) If it's the tiptop, then you are damaging them by striking them onto something. The Q-tip method of inspecting rings is not foolproof.  I've had cracks that didn't hook the Q-tip fuzz. 

4.  If it's not occurring it's not the rod.

5.  Go back to the original reel and inspect the line guide carefully.  If OK, spool up some of the new line on that reel (making sure it's routed correctly as it leaves the spool) and cast in your back yard until you are either seeing the problem or confident that it is not occurring.

6. If step 4 is valid, then:  If it's occurring, it's in the reel.

7.  If it's not occurring then your original problem may have been some defective line or something in the lake as DVT suggested.

 

 

 

 

 

[NavyToad]

15 hours ago, Matt48 said:

 

 

I can’t even see the fray with my eyes or feel it with my fingers. But i can surely feel it and here it when I am reeling it through my guides. 
 

 

 

I’m only speaking for myself, but if I can’t feel or see frayed line, I don’t have frayed line. Honestly, it sounds more like a reel problem based on the fact that you say it gets worse as the day wears on.

[bulldog1935]

@NavyToad has a good point.  In the 90s, I fished one Okuma monobloc (Calcutta-style round reel) that drove me crazy.  Could best be described as cold-blooded.  Everything about the set-up changed from cold start to warm use, and you had to change the settings in use.  Every time you set it down, you had to start over.