Busting Rods

[NickelCigar]

Dunn rod cases do a fine job of protecting rods and reels from damage but you know what happens if you leave the case open with 6" of tip sticking out and throw it in the back of an SUV? That's right, a 2 piece rod becomes 3. No questions asked warranties are lifesavers.

I know with 3k+ members there has to be some awesome rod busting stories. The real story, not what you told the manufacturer. :)

Busted in action stories would be great. It's a monster, baboom!

[fishmonger]

I'll bite. I've broke 2 rods, one once and the other twice. Both Orvis rods, both fixed no questions asked.

The first one was my Silver Label 5 wt HLS that I bought new. This one is embarrassing. I was fishing up by Bowmans Island, and spotted a Rapala stuck on the bottom in about 4 feet of water. For whatever reason, I like finding other peoples lost hardware, even though I never fish with 'em any more. But my boys do, so maybe thats what it is. Anyway, I started poking at the Rapala with my rod tip until I snagged a treble hook with the tiptop, wiggled and pulled, and snap, busted rod tip. Man, did I feel like a dummy. :o Orvis sent back a new rod, but it is slower than the origional, so I don't like it as much as the one I broke. It is now my backup 5 wt.

I have an Orvis PM10 5wt 4 piece that I bought on Ebay, it is really sweet. Last fall I was tossing a large conehead streamer, went for a cast, and on the forward stroke the tip broke off. I figure that I must have whacked it with the conehead on a previous cast, made a weak spot, and it broke when I punched a hard cast into the wind. :confused: I had Shannon at Norcross send it back, and he made sure to note on the ticket that "Customer must have THIS rod back". The same rod came back good as new, although it took a long time..

This fall, after fishing with the same rod, I had just got out after a good session and was breaking my rod down for the walk out. I was pulling it apart in the middle, when my right hand slipped, and I found the first snake eyelet embedded in my thumb. It didn't hurt until I looked at what happened, then magically, pain. :eek: An inch of chromed steel in the paw will get yer attention. Anyway, went through the same drill with Shannon, and it came back this time in 3 weeks. Great service from Orvis!!

Next...

FM

[NickelCigar]

Fishmonger that's too much. I'll bet Shannon could tell some stories, he also took care of my Trident 906. Took a long time also but I got a brand new Trident TL that I liked a whole lot more in return. Didn't cost me a dime.

[Hollis]

My first really nice fly rod was an Orvis Far and Fine. #5wt. Got it for X-mas when I way 12. My dad and I went to Cochran Shoals on the 'Hooch and fished later that afternoon. I caught 2 on a Lt.Cahill up above the shoals. It was really neat to catch a trout on a dry fly my first day out with it. It was pretty cold and overcast that day. We were headed out through one of the thickets by the running trail and I stabbed an oak tree with my tip. Yep, snapped it off 4 inches from the top. It broke me down. I hit my knees and had tears in my eyes trying to act like I didn't. We took it to the Fish Hawk, they sent it back- bang- had a new top half of the rod in a few weeks.

A few years later I'd break the tip on the same rod at Waters Creek when my tip hit a tree popping off a snag at the "Field Pool" on a sub freezing morning. Sure enough- it was fixed by Orvis again. Dented my rod tube but never questioned anything. Just fixed it. Heck some 21 years later, I'm catching fish at Smith's on the same rod.

Those ain't great stories but it makes me wonder.......why haven't I bought another Orvis rod?
-Hollis

[mb90535im]

Mine is kind of sad. A couple of years after my father passed, I was taking my oldest son, and grandpa's Diawa spinning outfit over to Johns Cr. one Sunday afternoon. I placed it in the truck seat between us with the butt on the floorboard,, then when getting in my truck, somehow, and I'm not sure to this day how, I managed to break it with my right hand. That's not the only one I've broken, but definitley by far the worst.

[moronefly]

Good post. It brings out the fly fishing war stories. Although it's hardly a point of pride, I've broken several rods. One shamefully with the "old door closing on tip section" trick. Another, a Scott 3 wt, broke while trying to beach a Soque River pellet-reared beast. Then my favorite and most exciting, a Sage 5 pc 9wt RPLxi, not once, but twice. The first occured while yak fishing a Florida brackish stream for bass and snook. Several beautifully tannic dusky largemouth had already taken a Whitlock swimming baitfish fly around some fallen treetops. A bit farther downstream I made a typically awkward cast from the very low kayak platform, retrieved almost to the rod tip and was ready for another back cast when a decent snook smothered the fly about 5 feet from the yak. You guessed it - I "high sticked" on the hookset and the rod cracked at the second section. Sage repaired the damage quickly enough so that the rod made a trip to the Yucatan for tarpon. We were fishing a large lagoon, catching good numbers of juvenile tarpon in very skinny water, when we spotted a much larger tarpon (40-50 lbs, big for the area) cruising toward us at 12:00. Perfect head-on opportunity. The fishing gods smiled, guiding a #1 black maribou fly 3 feet in front of the tarpon. The trapdoor mouth opened, the fish rolled sideways the way striking tarpon do. I set the hook when the fish came up tight against my line hand. But even as I strip struck twice and lifted the rod, I thought about the sunscreen that I had just slathered on, some of which was still on both hands. As the tarpon rattled out of the water, looking like a 200 pounder, all silver wonder in the sunlight, I could only think, you'd better hit him again. I did just that, and to be doubly sure of a firm grip, I shifted hand position, grabbing the rod just above the handle with my line hand, and struck hard when the tarpon crashed back into the water. The rod didn't break - it exploded in several places at once. Stunned to find myself holding a berzerk tarpon, a reel and 1/9th of a 9' rod, I managed to handline the tarpon through several more jumps before it finally broke off. Sage again repaired the rod. And I'm thinking about having it mounted.

[Trout8myfly]

Well, I was wading the Watauga near Boone NC last spring, using my old 4-piece 6wt Bass Pro rod (warranty not included). I'm standing in the middle of the stream and on a backcast of no particlar note the line fouls in the branches of a dead tree overhanging the water.

OK, no problem. Just whip the rod around and try to dislodge the......oh foop. I could see where this was headed so I gave up on saving the leader and, expecting the branch to break, gave a mighty heave....and the branch heaved back.

The leader broke and the fourth section of my four-piece flew off into the middle of the stream. Before I could get there the section floated off and out of sight.

Anyone wanna buy a 3-piece rod?

[huntfish]

After a windy day, I place my rod next the cab of the truck and opened the door, get my shoes and go to the back of the truck. A long comes a strong wind and I look back to see my rod fall into the cab followed by the door. Snap, snap. Go open the door and again, the wind takes the door out of my hand and snap, snap. In summary, a two piece SL turned into a 7 piece.

Took it to Orvis, Jim Hawk sees the rod, goes into the back and comes out with a new rod. What rods do you think I have more of?

[motorbobb]

I have broken my share - 5 that I can think of off hand. Two of the more memorable ones come to mind.

I quit fishing the whitewater section a couple years ago as I found Cochran Shoals more heavily populated with fish. However last year, one of my friends at FlyBoxOutfitters told me that if I wanted quality fish instead of quantity, I should give WW another chance. I headed to WW and sure enough, landed (and measured) a beautiful 18" rainbow out in the middle of the faster water. I waded over to the nice flat surfaced rock that sticks out of the water to get a picture. I placed the butt of my nice Sage SP on the bottom of the river and held the rod in place with my body. When I turned on the digital camera, the "on" sound startled the fish and it began to flop of the back of the rock. When I reached for fish, I heard a sickening, muffled, underwater pop. My 4 piece became a 5 piece and the fish got away!


This last year on a float trip, I was having real trouble casting into a strong canyon wind. Couldn't figure it out...Ended up hooking a massive brown trout and when I went to set the hook, the rod broke in the butt section! We had a spare rod on board and when I went to put away what I thought was my broken rod, I realized I had been fishing with my brothers 3 weight instead of my 6 wgt! That discovery explained my earlier trouble casting into the wind but nonetheless did not make my bro too happy! Thank god for the good Sage warranty....kc

[outdoor dude]

I have broken my rod a few times now, and it isnt a pleasant experience. But I must say that you get very good at tying the guides back on after the third time that its happened.