Help An Idiot......why Do I Break So Many Rods? 2024

ww2farmer reply :

High end, low end, and everything in-between. I seem to average 2 broken rods a year now. I am very careful not to step on them when they are on the boat deck, they are stored in rod socks in the locker when not in use, and I don't (usually) do foolish things with them. I have broke 2 this year, 2 last year, 3 the year before that....I don't understand am I doing???? Today for example, pitching and flipping weeds with a rod I have used all summer, and I had already boated a 4lber, a trio of three lbers, a couple upper 2lbers, a fair amount of smaller fish, and 2 big pike today, and then for no reason on a hook set the rod explodes on a 2lber about 3 feet from them tip. Rod brand is not important.............I have broken every brand I have owned and at every price level, every rod I break is on the hook set, in just about the same location give or take a foot. I only know of one rod that broke because of obvious stupidity, I had a pike bite off my last jerkbait I had a particular size/color, and threw it on the deck in disgust, it broke on impact. So that ones on me............but the rest............it's a mystery, and I fear I am the reason for the multiple breakages. I know other guys who don't break any.............ever. I use braid exclusively as a main line, but I know lots of other people who do too, and don't have my problems. I don't have any of my drags locked down except for my frog rod, and even though I am a hard hook setter, I don't come out of my shoes or swing for the fences, and I know how/when/why to tame it down on hooksets too. I'm stumped, there must be something I am doing wrong.

clayton86 reply :

lay off the roids lol

motodmast reply :

do you boat flip fish?

Smallmouth Hunter reply :

I would say stick with lower price range rods. The h20 ethos rod is fantastic for $55 and is very durable. Also, when you set the hook try not to put the stress of the hookset on the thin part of the rod. Reel down on the bass when you feel him bite, and just set the hook from a 9 a'clock position to a 10-10.5 a'clock position. This will put more stress on your line rather then your rod and will not require your rod to bend so far.

dodgeguy reply :

braid does not require hard hooksets.it requires a flick of the wrist if your hooks are sharp. do not bend your rod past 75 degrees.do not lift fish with your rod. buy falcon rods.bps johnny morris are also almost indestructible.

derekxec reply :

dont hulk it lol...you need to look into some fiberglass rods like gatorglass and such they are harder to break

ROCbass reply :

Are you hitting them on the edge of the top of your rod box or bending them against the floor of the rod box when you take them out?

tomustang reply :

Are you setting the hook high?

Matt Jungblut reply :

I would have to fish with you to give my 2 cents what your doing wrong if anything.

My solution would be to buy rods with great warrentys

I also break 2 or 3 rods a year but I fish every weekend and during the week

I use braid only and have my drags all the way tight but only broke 1 rod on hookset but i banged it off trolling motor head before hookset so sure blanks had a weak spot.

JD96 reply :

Sounds like you're making up for not reeling your slack when you get hit by setting high, rod tip toward the sky bending at the tip, best way to set the hook is to reel the slack with rod tip down and set firm but not too high.

SDoolittle reply :

Two thoughts come to mind:

1. Are you using more weight than the rods are rated for? In all my years, I've broken exactly one rod, and it was entirely my fault. I was heaving a heavy swimbait on an el cheapo flipping stick, and the rod snapped when I tried to make a long cast.

2. Are you holding the rod by the handle or further up on the blank? I remember Bill Dance or Jimmy Houston or somebody saying that most of the rods he broke were from holding a rod up on the blank instead of by the handle. I used to do that a lot back when I was using the old pistol grip rods, but fortunately, I never broke one.

aquaholic reply :

Buy an ugly stik, problem solved.

iabass8 reply :

i know what kind of rods you use and i won't say so this doesn't turn into a warranty @#@# match . If it is the rod series i'm thinking of I have no idea why these rods break so much as they are built on the same blank as the very durable rod directly above it. probably not entirely your fault. these rods seem to break a lot for a lot more people than they don't. that series, and particularly the ones /w the XF tip, seem have have the most issues from what I was told. boat flipping fish seems to but a lot of stress on that tip of these rods which causes lots of breaks.

derekxec reply :

you shouldnt ever bend the rod more than 90 degrees either

skeletor6 reply :

On 8/30/2013 at 11:00 AM, iabass8 said:
i know what kind of rods you use and i won't say so this doesn't turn into a warranty @#@# match . If it is the rod series i'm thinking of I have no idea why these rods break so much as they are built on the same blank as the very durable rod directly above it. probably not entirely your fault. these rods seem to break a lot for a lot more people than they don't. that series, and particularly the ones /w the XF tip, seem have have the most issues from what I was told. boat flipping fish seems to but a lot of stress on that tip of these rods which causes lots of breaks.

Way to keep the name brand out of the discussion. lol

Anyways, anyone who is telling you to buy different rods is just wrong. You do not have to buy cheap rods just because you break your rods. Higher end rods have great warranties and will take care of breaks.

Furthermore, braid does not give you a lot of room for error. If you are three feet from the fish and set the hook really hard that could cause a lot of stress on the tip section and snap it. Boat flipping is just something you shouldn't do. I do not know if you do it or not, but definitely start lipping them or get a net. The pros do it because they can afford to. Also, try loosening your drag a bit. Since you are using braid it would help to back off the drag a bit so there is some give in your system. Using an XF rod with braid and a tight drag there is not very much give in the system. A lot of force should not be required in your hooksets either as mentioned earlier.

Sounds like you take good care of your rods. Pay attention to not put them on the hook keeper on an overly tight line where the rod tip bends. Just try to be a little easier when your out setting the hook and fishing with the drag a little looser. If your hook up ratio stays the same then I would stick with it. You don't need those home run hooksets like someone who casted out 40 yards of mono. Good luck

Hooligan reply :

It's so subjective man. I broke six rods on hooksets in the past 15 months. Prior to that it was at least two years. I really can't help but think that modern resins and pressures are the real cause. I think people with more powerful hooksets are also more liable to have it happen. I tend to really lay the wood to em when I set, regardless of braid or fluorocarbon. A good friend that has a lot softer set has never broken a rod. Another friend that's the same as I am has popped three this year.

Long story short, I don't really have answer. I know you fish good sticks, and I'm not going to turn it into a peeing match, either, because it happens with all different rods.

aquaholic reply :

I would think if you are running a mono or fluro leader that should help with over setting the hook for the most part.

SirSnookalot reply :

I don't have an answer either, but I do see a pattern. It seems that the rods are breaking pretty much in the same place on the hookset, I'd be focusing on that first. The question is, had the rods been stressed first, or is it the hookset itself causing the problem.

Both derekexe and I flip up 6-8 lb fish daily with no problems, we are not using heavier rods we just know how to spring them up, but sometimes we do need a net.

Regarding the comment about having a hand on the shaft, I've seen Bill Dance do it on TV with a real nice sized tarpon. I do it all the time when I have a good sized fish on and I want to move it away from the engine or trim tabs. Also many fish like to make a beeline for the pylons on jettie or pier, the hand on the shaft is exactly how you move them back into open water.

Bankbeater reply :

Wow that is a lot of rods. I think I have broken two in the past 30 years. I shut the tailgait on one, and I didn't let out enough line while pulling the bait out of a snag on the second.

derekxec reply :

some pier rats i see when i go to the pier sometimes they even let the rod lay on the blank above the grip on the railing when reeling in big fish(they are small kids) and they dont have problems either lol

Diggy reply :

Have you broken an ugly stick?

new2BC4bass reply :

No clue. My only broken rod came from falling face first into a rock pile. You had better not be standing behind my father when he made a hook set. Of course that was before graphite rods and braid. Mine usually aren't hard enough.

I've read plenty of your posts. One thing I know for sure....you aren't an idiot.

You are already doing more than I am to protect your rods. I'd rather spend the money rod socks and reel covers would cost for all my gear to buy another reel. I know....short sighted, and I plan on changing that mindset.

bigbill reply :

I don't really do sweeping hook sets or throw my tackle. By my car window cut the tip off my very expensive fly rod the first time I ever used it with success. It was in the dark when I put the window up and heard the expensive crunch.

As a kid I was very careless I broke a rod per year if not more. Things like dropping a spare tire on it. Closing the trunk on it.

I have become more aware of my fishing tackle now. But I still buy the cheaper rods like between $4.99 to $12.99 at fishandsave. I'm more careful even with the discounted rods.

Breaking the fly rod really hit me hard. It was the most expensive setup I ever purchased to this day.

I was ready to call the FFF that's the AAA for tackle breaking because I needed help too. (Fishing/fishing/fishing) But I'm super careful now. I do also stock many new spinning and bait casting rods in my stash too. As backup when my run on rod breaking happens again.

With the broken fly rod I fixed the tip and put a ultra lite spinning reel on it for fishing for crappies. It works great but I do get flash backs of that night I was high on working a new fly rod for the first time fly fishing with success. And a had a low point soon after. At least I can kid about it.

My cousin broke a well name brand fly rod too it rotted inside. The name brand company we all know and use there rods wouldn't replace it. He fished 24/7 rain or shine for trout. He thinks the rod blank had a fine crack in it. It was defective. I do not purchase these rods anymore since there warranty is null and void when we have problems with there products. I say shame, shame, shame on them. No more "Fen" rods for me.

DelcoSol reply :

You're just catching too many fish and wearing them out Just kidding. That does suck though.. maybe try some line with some stretch?

THE_Vue's reply :

Did anyone ever considered that if you have a boat and store them in the rod locker (24/7) over time in sun or humid whether that heat will deform or weakens the blank? I don't know just my thought

webertime reply :

Are all the rods basically the same length?

I ask because if they are breaking at the same place (+/-) and are all basically the same length, maybe there is something going on with the storage locker (getting bounced too much/baits whacking them/etc.) I have a vauge idea what brands you use and the fact that they all break in basically the same place really makes me think it's not the rods or braid, etc. but maybe something in how they are stored.

I personally doubt braid has much to do with it. When you set the hook you do move the fish (defusing the power/lack of stretch) if the fish were bolted down then yeah I can see a rod snap due to braid, but on it's own it couldn't snap a rod.

Perhaps you have a "whippy" cast and the stiffer resins/materials don't agree with it? I have a whippy cast (and a dislocate the bass's head hookset) and found the more moderate fast rod have been bomb-proof and don't lose any (useful) power on my hooksets.

A beast mode hookset may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back, when there is some sort of stressor affecting the rods in that area.

ww2farmer reply :

The rods I have broken in the last 5 years.......7' MH/F St Croix Avid casting rod, 6'3" M/XF St Croix eyecon spinning, Kistler 7'9" MH/MF Argon cranking rod, Kistler 6'3" MH/F dock skipping special, Fenwick HMX 7'6" XH flipping stick, Kistler 7' H/F Mag. TS "Jig+Toad", Abu Vendetta 7'3" MH/XF casting, two cheap 6'6" M Berkley Lightning rod shocks, St Croix Legend Tournament 7'6" MH/MF "pitching", St Croix Avid 6'6" M/F spinning rod, Fenwick Techna AV 7' M spinning, BPS Extreme 7' MH casting.....and those are only the ones I can remember. It's not the rods....it's me. I guess I am just doomed to being "that guy" who is hard on rods.

pbizzle reply :

On 8/30/2013 at 8:55 AM, ww2farmer said:
High end, low end, and I'm stumped, there must be something I am doing wrong.

You're not using ugly stiks.

smalljaw67 reply :

On 8/30/2013 at 10:29 AM, JD96 said:
Sounds like you're making up for not reeling your slack when you get hit by setting high, rod tip toward the sky bending at the tip, best way to set the hook is to reel the slack with rod tip down and set firm but not too high.

This right here is something to look at. I know a guy that used to break rods like that and he had a bad habit of "snap setting" when he got a bite. What you do when snap setting is you get a bite, reel the slack and instead of swinging up or to the side, you drop the rod first and then swing, what happens is by dropping the rod you put a slight bow in the line and then swing hard. When you do that the rod goes from zero pressure to max pressure in a millisecond, do that over and over and eventually it is going to break, add a tight drag or braided line and it will happen sooner. I see this happen a lot and you really have to have someone watch to see if you do it. You may had bad luck getting rods but having them break during hooksets is very telling, to me it sounds like you may be snap setting and if it is the case it is an easy fix.

dodgeguy reply :

like I said with braid you don't need a hard hookset.reel down on the slack UNTIL YOU FEEL WEIGHT then a snap of the wrists upward will do it.

Diggy reply :

On 8/31/2013 at 1:25 AM, ww2farmer said:
The rods I have broken in the last 5 years.......7' MH/F St Croix Avid casting rod, 6'3" M/XF St Croix eyecon spinning, Kistler 7'9" MH/MF Argon cranking rod, Kistler 6'3" MH/F dock skipping special, Fenwick HMX 7'6" XH flipping stick, Kistler 7' H/F Mag. TS "Jig+Toad", Abu Vendetta 7'3" MH/XF casting, two cheap 6'6" M Berkley Lightning rod shocks, St Croix Legend Tournament 7'6" MH/MF "pitching", St Croix Avid 6'6" M/F spinning rod, Fenwick Techna AV 7' M spinning, BPS Extreme 7' MH casting.....and those are only the ones I can remember. It's not the rods....it's me. I guess I am just doomed to being "that guy" who is hard on rods.

you need to cut back on the olympic style lifting at the gym, focus on isolation movements....

bigbill reply :

I just mail ordered 4 New casting rods and today they arrived. For the first time I was whipping each one. They felt like two different rods. The lower section had lots of backbone while the upper section had none. The upper section felt a tad stiffer than an ultralight. The rating on the rod is medium action. To me the tip is too flexible.

My point is what has changed in these newer rods over the older rods. They feel like too different actions. Just my thoughts. Bb

Brian Needham reply :

I have heard Matt Allen, who uses all braid all the time, say when using all braid move down a power in your rods.

meaning if you use a heavy for jigs, switch to MH.

you need the rod to provide the "give" now, since the the braid does not, as opposed to mono or flouro.

mjseverson24 reply :

I have only broke one rod in the last few years and it was on the hookset, much like you describe. I have sense made sure to load up the rod before I set the hook, some people call it a "reel set" but it definitely works to not only hook the fish but reduce impact on the rod. usually when I see people break them on the set it is about two to three seconds into the rod being loaded, when the break occurs, and at this time in the set you are trying to pull the fish immediately out of cover. in my experience this is where the problem lies, try reeling down and keeping the rod away from a vertical/ almost vertical position.

good luck

Mitch

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

2 things will cause a modern blank to fail:

1. Applying pressure that flexes the tip beyond 90* to the tip.

2. Compromising the integrity of the fibers with dents, dings, scratches etc.

A hard hookset on a close fish is the one of the easiest ways to cause #1. The close the fish the lower the rod tip needs to be. I use braid too but don't lock the drag down. As for swinging fish, I think there is an ethical argument to be made against the practice as it relates to successful C&R. If you're going to lift with the rod keep it as parallel to the ground as possible to maximize the rod's deadlift capacity.

SirSnookalot reply :

Television may have a big influence on how many people set the hook, I don't think it's necessary to set it that hard. Even more so with the use of these extremely strong lines that have no stretch to them, the energy created has to go somewhere, and quite possible puts undue stress on the rod. I know many people feel a bass has a hard mouth, that mat be true if you haven't caught other species, so many others have a much harder mouth. Whether it's a bass or something else I don't over exaggerate a hookset, pretty much just raise the rod tip and let the weight and speed of a fish set the hook. I won't argue the fact the smaller fish like 4# and less may need a little bit of help.

derekxec reply :

my friend sets the hook like he wants to rip their face off lol uses braid too but never breaks rods..i hardly set the hook normally the fish sets it and the sharp hook does its job but maybe you are over the top setting it so the rod is facing behind you lol

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