barrel swivel always breaking my rod tip!!!
 

I had my rod tip replaced three times co'z the barrel swivel keep breaking it. When I cast and reel it in speacially at night you don't notice that your hitting the swivel aready on your tip and all of a sudden the ring on the tip of your rod is gone. Is there any solution to this guys? The setup i had is I have a 25lb Big Game connected to a 80lb flouro by a barrel swivel.


This is the broken tip.

This is the culprit.

Then stop reeling it into your rod tip...
Problem solved

Or use a wind on leader

what's a wind? I usually reel my rod tip down really slow so sometimes i don't notice that i'm hitting the swivel already.

Just forget the wind on and just pay attention....:smash:

Perhaps a bigger swivel will eliminate the problem?

I put a split ring bigger than the tip in front of the swivel. Problem solved.

Or a plastic bead ;)

Or you could put on a tip that has a size 16 or 20 ring.

Another alternative would be to tie your big game direct to the flouro. Forget the barrel swivel. I don't know what kind of knot to use, but there must me one that will get the job done.

I've never used Big Game so I'm not positive this will work, just an idea.

would it still jam the rod tip ring?

Jpbanoly, tying directly your line to leader isn't going to break or affect the rings or tips. Just keep an eye on your barrel swivel when reeling it next time.

Use a big red and white bobber, that way you can see it when your reeling in

:smash:

I agree, just don't do it :D

It you're using a long leader and wading it may help to shorten it a bit.

-spence

Yah I was wading early am on a live eel I have a 2ft. flouro leader. So just shorten the leader and stay with the swivel?

I tried doing it with no leader well my eel played around with it trying to twist my line.

I wouldn't go under 2'. If you're eeling keep the rod tip high and you should be able to feel the eel come out of the water plenty before the swivel is close to the tip. Even on a dark night there is usually enough light to see how long your drop is. If you pay attention to it a few nights you should get the hang of it.

I've broken 2 guides doing this, but I learned :smash:

-spence

Reeling the swivel in probably doesn't do nearly as much damage as when you cast with the swivel past the tip.

Reeling the swivel in past the tip can happen, but you should know when you do it. Always make sure to let a little line out before casting.

It happens.

1) You should have to be more mindful of where your swivel is before you cast. Always check before casting.

2) You could use a direct knot connection between your main line and leader - like a modified albright knot. However, you risk this knot breaking off after repeated casts.

Because of #2, I prefer option #1.

put the rod but between your legs. hold the rod tip high. when the bait/plug/etc... is reeled out of the water, stop reeling.

One more thing ... since I broke several rod tips this summer doing exactly what you posted here...

I think it's not a bad idea to buy some extra replacement rod tips (alconite is fine if you don't want to spend $$$ on SiC). Then you could repair the rod yourself (the tips are very easy fixes).

I've had the same problem and fixed it. Here's some options.
Get a larger diameter tip. Get a smaller swivel. You can get a Spro Power Swivel rated at 80lbs and it is TINY.

Something else I found helpful at night is the following:

Make your leader a specific length, lets say from tip until your stripper guide. This way when its dark, whenever you see your lure getting close to the stripper guide as you are reeling in, you'll know when to stop because you are coming close to the swivel Hope this helps. It helped me greatly.

All of the above; also keep an eye on your line angle if you cant hold your rod vertical all the time... Also, stay consistent with your leader length it helps it become a habit faster

-- PurpelNoon


What's a striper guide I haven't seen the one before.

mike p has a good one, use a bead they come in all colors.

Its the guide closest to the reel, where the line sort of collects while it is going out. When you hold the rod vertical after casting, if you make the leader so it ends around there, you will know the location of the swivel.

How fast you reeling an eel that you break a rod tip with the swivel ?

I was reeling SLOOOOOO but my rod tip is a size 8/64 and my barrel swivel is I think kind a big so it keeps jamin the ring on the tip.

If he's making the same mistake I did, it was reeling in the swivel so that the swivel made it past the guide (i.e., below the rod tip).

Then casting out...when the swivel goes past the guide on the cast...kabloeey. Cracked rod tip.

I did this on a brittle SiC tip, which resulted in a chipping that I didn't noticed. Every cast I was breaking off and I couldn't figure out why until I inspected the guide. :wall:

I think that might be it that I didn't notice or it might be jamming it all the time.

No more broken tips
 

You have received some good advise above. Let me add what I do while fishing at night.

COUNT THE REVOLUTIONS on your retrieve.

I'll throw a large darter, and get off a monster cast, and count how many times I turn the reel handle on the way in.

All subsequent casts are not as aggressive and I know that I am getting close to the leader when I am at revolution # xxx.

Works for me, try it out. To me adding any hardware to you line, while plugging, is not the best thing to do.

My .02

Mike Lang

Hey Mike,

I remember you mentioned this once when I was having this problem. My only problem is one cast may be farther than the other, so the distance varies. Would this work best for all your maximal casts? How do you get this to work? Thanks.