How Do You Break All Those Rods?

[Tackleholic]

I keep seeing people with broken rods and even more so I hear people talking about them.  I've not broken any since pre-puberty, and that was from shutting a door on two of them;  (my Dad was so happy about that).  More recently a guide shut the rod locker on the tip of a new Loomis rod, but that's it.  Your answers should make some entertaining reading.

[MediumMouthBass]

I have only broken 3 rods fishing my whole life, almost 2 decades.

1 by stepping on it with boots, 2 by slamming them in the truck bed.

The 2 Daiwas only need the tip replaced however so not exactly broken....

 

I dont think rods will break while fishing them unless high sticking them at a steep angle with alot of pressure being applied at that time, or theres a rod defect and the pressure causes it to snap.

 

Rods made recently though are a different story, cheap parts, cheap quality, 0 quality control.

A few brands are having this happen more than others, but nothing is built like it once was....

[DogBone_384]

I own close to 40 rods.  I broke 4 rods in the last 10 years. One in my truck's tailgate, another by my power windows that go up automatically with a button on my remote, the third got caught by my boat's rod locker lid that was blown closed, and lastly, number four broke when I slapped a lure on the water to clean it and was too low and hit the rod on my boat's edge.

 

I guess that's how I break rods....

 

 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Broke an OG Steez rod last year reeling the tip down to a stuck 110jr+1.....the tip somehow got wedged in a rock or something, and snapped the first inch or so off....about as stupid as it gets.

 

Broke another one two years ago during the confusion of catching a big catfish

 

Growing up I snapped three Loomis rods in a car door......those were the golden days of Loomis warranties, and had 3 new rods within a week.  

[SkippinJimmy]

I’ve broken a few including a Conquest that exploded on the hookset.  Luckily G Loomis found a defect and replaced.  I let someone fish with another G Loomis rod and he hung it off the back deck and it snapped when the Power Poles were raised.

 

Most broken rods come from people high sticking.

 

[12poundbass]

I’ve broken two rods one I rolled up in my boat cover as I was taking the cover off. That was a Dobyns Fury rod and that one I was sick about.

 

The other was a Kast King rod and it broke as I set the hook. It was a fairly new rod and it was a simple hookset using a jerkbait. No clue what the heck happened there. That was during Covid and was a two piece rod. I reached out to KK asking for a replacement since it was under warranty. They said they didn’t have anymore, I said I just needed the one piece. Still no luck. I wasn’t happy about that one. 

[A-Jay]

I am a fan of St Croix rods.

I own and enjoy fishing several different lines of their sticks. 

However, my experience with the (now discontinued) Tidemaster Inshore Travel casting Rods

a few years back on Lake Baccarac was less than positive.

I think the final count was 6, at least one of which was not even mine. 

All blew up on a seemingly harmless hookset.

Boom. 

St Croix took care of them all and I traded them in for sticks I could use state side. 

A-Jay

[padlin]

I broke a SC ML 2pc spinning rod three times. 1st time I dropped the anchor on it (behind me in the canoe), SC replaced the tip, which broke a year later in the door, SC again replaced the tip but charged me. A couple years ago I pulled it from behind me to use, casted it, and the tip snapped, guess I crushed it behind me again. SC no longer has parts for it, it was roughly 15 or 20 years old.

 

of all the rods I carry, all in the same place, the ML is the only one I’ve had issues with. As it’s jinxed, it’s going to be replaced with a different brand.

 

Broke the very tip on a SC Inshore. Found it that way when we checked into a rental in Georgia after a month on the road. A local shop trimmed the rod a bit and put on a replacement tip guide.

[GreenPig]

Had a friend close my truck's tailgate on a ultralight, thirty years ago. That's it in over 40 years. Knocking on wood.

[FryDog62]

I’ve either broken or had to repair 3 rods in 50 years of fishing. Two of those repairs were to replace broken AGS guides. 

[crypt]

I stepped on one .......that's how I broke it. that was 30 years ago......haven't broke one since...

[new2BC4bass]

Fell face first into a rock pile with an OG Expert.  Broke 2 pieces off the tip each about 4 inches long.  Thank you boater for passing so close to shore.  Only rod I've ever broken.

[Scott F]

The last rod I broke was a 2 piece, St Croix Premier spinning rod that was built in the 90’s. I was using it as a jerkbait rod. The constant jerking had, without me knowing, caused the two pieces to start separating. When there was only about a quarter inch of the top section still engaged with the lower section, and I gave the  rod a jerk, which caused the end of the upper section to split. I took it to the St. Croix factory store and for $55, they replaced the  25 year old rod. 

[Rockhopper]

I am pretty careful with my gear as far as transport and storage.  That said I have had two rods break in my 40 years of fishing, both on a cast.  One was a Loomis crankbait rod (brand new, second cast) and one was an Orvis fly rod (well used).  Assuming due to a nick or something in the blanks cause by me. But my rods and reels always have covers on them when not in use.

[Columbia Craw]

Most rods break as a result of three factors. First is accidental carelessness.  Second is from high sticking or overloading the blank in isolated portion of the blank. Third is stress on a location that was bruised.  When blank is struck by a hard item, a branch, worm weight, lure or dropping it on the gunnel, a blank can be bruised. Over time the area expands and reaches a fail point under stress.   Some rods have actual manufacture defects or a design flaw.  Those rods that are heavily sanded to reduce weight are most at risk of failure.  Rods constructed with nano resins seem be be less prone to failure.  Rods break.  

[PaulVE64]

River fishing and usually off the bank with plenty branches around. Ocassionally your backcast will catch something and you'll snap a tip (5 or 6 times)

[Bigbox99]

4 hours ago, Tackleholic said:

I keep seeing people with broken rods and even more so I hear people talking about them.  I've not broken any since pre-puberty, and that was from shutting a door on two of them;  (my Dad was so happy about that).  More recently a guide shut the rod locker on the tip of a new Loomis rod, but that's it.  Your answers should make some entertaining reading.

User error such as high sticking, stepping on them or otherwise mishandling rods including larping as a pro angler and boat flipping fish.

[FishTax]

Broke an ugly stick in car door. That's the only one I recall ever breaking. I've had several times one should have broken but didn't. They're generally pretty tough 

[wolfe_ohara]

i fished e21/carrotstix in their early days and had some issues. Other than that, I've only broken 3 rods 1 high stick, 1 stepped on it landing a fish and one while "yoyoing" a jig. 

[PourMyOwn]

I snapped a couple of early Quantam spinning rods-both less than a foot from the reel- deep water jigging for lakers. 

 

Just this last year I had a pistol grip Lews speed stick from the 70s do the same thing when I loaded up to cast it on Winni. I had a Baby 1 minus on it and was throwing 8lb test. It snapped on my back cast. Piece of junk only lasted 40 years!

[VolFan]

The main one I remember is setting the hook on a a jig on a snakehead that ate right at my feet. The hook missed its mark and the jig came back at me and right through the rod between the second and third guides. I wanted to throw up. It was my favorite rod, an older Diawa Cielo back when they had same blank as the Steez.

[softwateronly]

Three for me, and two were my fault.  Set the hook on a football jig with a 7'7H expride and it decided to explode a third of the way down.  That was probably my 5th day fishing it and covered by warranty.  I broke the tip off a Dobyns 734 champ on my pier aggressively shaking off some weeds from a chatterbait.  Not even sure what exactly I did, but I was straight braid and think the line wrapped around the 2nd or third guide during my aggressive laziness.  My most recent was a poison adrena 7'3MH, that was real bad luck mixed with stupidity.  I was on an open water bite, chasing blowups.  I had 4 or 5 rods laid out over the gunwale that I kept switching between because the fish were aggressive but picky.  I reached down for the PA and as I grabbed it, the back handle hit my toe and pivoted the top third under the cleat as I stood up.  My least favorite sound since I tore up my knee.  

 

scott

[bulldog1935]

Only one, and I blame the redfish.  

If it hadn't followed my lure out of the water (right at my knee), I wouldn't have reacted with a high-stick set at the exact moment the redfish reacted with its flight lunge.  

When I called looking for replacement discount, 13Fishing gave me a warranty replacement.  

[TnRiver46]

No rod lockers, 2 Jon boats, one canoe, 5 kayaks. If I took my time babying the rods and being careful not to break them, I wouldn’t have any time to fish. I broke one the other day putting my daily driver car into gear 

 

I would say I’ve broken well over 100 rods, it happens to every single one given enough time. I use them for fishing, not display 

 

I would have to say kids stepping on them is the most common breakage 

 

I do use mostly rods under $50 but that’s because every time I get a nice expensive one, I break them just like the cheap ones so I cut my losses 😂 

[FrnkNsteen]

I've only broken a handful of rods over the years and most have been accidental, like getting caught in the truck bed or rod locker door, or maybe the ceiling fan in the hobby room.

 

Only broken two rods while fishing. One was an older Fenwick HMX MF that broke when my wife set the hook on a smallie (that may or may not have been a rock) 😆😆. The other was when I stupidly grabbed the rod about 6" below the tip while landing a fish. The fish lunged and the tip snapped!!

 

Oh.... I did smash one of my favorite Fenwick ET Smallmouth series rods under the support leg of the trolling motor. Found it right at the end of the day when we got back to the docks! That one hurt a bit!!