Informal Survey – broken rod blanks?
 

Informal Survey – broken rod blanks?

In conjunction with the mono/braided line comparison I’d like to survey those of you who have had rod blanks fail or break in a surfcasting environment. NOTE: This thread is not meant to bash any product line - Just to get statistics.

1. Brand names of any rods broken: St Croix, Lamiglas, Century, Custom Built, etc.

2. Rod specs: 9 foot, 10 foot, one or two piece blank, graphite, carbon, composite, fiberglass, etc.

3. Type of running line used when failure occurred: braided or monofilament.

4. How it broke: on the cast, fighting fish, pulling out a snag, etc.

5. Where it broke: reel seat, butt section, tip section, ferrule connection, etc.

Thanks for your participation.

Lami gsb 1362mh 11' 2 piece graphite
17lb mono line
Broke casting
shattered the male end of the ferrule
lami was happy to not pay a dime. must have been user error.
other 2 breaks were actually user error: door shutting and tip banged canal road.

I've broken more rods in one trip home from Westport with 4 rods left in the tee top rod holders, than I've ever snapped due to braid:(. I was able to repair one with minimal action lost, the heavier sticks couldn't take the tree limbs I caught, ironically only the lightest action rod survived the ordeal due to the give. Give relates to your query of course, the mono has some, braid has none.

I broke a Tsunami Airwave while fishing... 9 foot spinning rod that brokejust below the 1st guide while fighting a fish. reel spooled with braid; fish surged when I got it close to the beach and rod snapped like a pretzel.

replaced in a heartbeat at the shop I purchased from

1. - rainshadow 1207 I think it was, casting a needlefish plug less than 2 ounces on a sandy beach using 14 lb fireline, rod broke in the middle.

2. - G Loomis 7' live bait rod rated 3/8 to 2-1/4 broke while setting hook on a seabass with 14 lb fireline using a 3/8 oz leadhead and Ledgerunner 4" splittail bait. I couldn't believe my eyes, broke right in half. I sent it back and they sent another.

3. Sabre 1088 9' rod spinning, 14 lb fireline, broke in half when jig caught on bottom and I pulled on it wrong to break it off, SNAP

those are the only 3 for me
I have witnessed others breaking rods also and they seem to break for no reason sometimes.

I'm sure you're not the only one to lose them like that.
I fished at Block with a guy who drove around with his 11 foot lamis in tube holders on his bumper cooler rack...once. Not too many low hanging tree limbs out there...but there are wires between poles. I did warn him.

The only two rods I ever broke were caused by a vehicle door closing and a power window in a vehicle - both had mono ;)

Thanks for the input.

Dennis, random surveys like this are interesting but can be misleading.

You need to know the number of blanks sold in order to make any sense out of the number of failures reported. Without that the company that has the biggest market share probably will also have the biggest failure rate.

Likewise, when comparing mono to braid you need to control for the experience of the fisherman, the type of blank, its type of use, and number of fishermen using each type of line.

I popped a Lami XRA 1083 using braid when I highsticked it.
I popped a cut down Lami GSB 96M codfishing with mono when pulling on a snag.

I understand Numby - that's why I labeled it informal. Definitly not scientific. Way to many variables. Just looking to see if I could use anything from some informal research - and like you say the results can be interesting.

DZ

AIRWAVE 9' MED LIGHT BROKE AT FIRST GUIDE. RETURNED/ REPLACED... BROKE AT 3RD FROM TIP, RETURNED REPLACED... BROKE IN SAME SPOT. WAITING TO SEND BACK AGAIN. ALSO A WRIGHT AND MCGILL 9' LIGHT BROKE AT TIP TWICE. FIVE RODS THIS SEASON ALONE. I SUCK!

1. Tsunami Airwave 11ft think it was the med heavy model, braided line, 40lb forget which brand, van staal 250 on it. Was throwing a floating ss popper on it, broke between the 3 and 4th guide or 2 and 3rd guide, 4 casts with it. Most have a been defect cause when I returned to the edge for the warranty, they had a bunch maybe 4 or 5 that had all broken in the same spot.

2. Lamiglas ISU blank, custom wrapped, 11ft rated 3 to 8oz, fished the rod hard for 2.5 years, blew up casting a rigged eel about 5oz, in a night that was epic fishing.

The top section had worn down the ferrule and was sitting lower and lower on the blank every time I used it. Sounded like a shot gun going off.

Again braided line 50lb

And I've broken a bunch of small freshwater rods in my younger days but probably more user error then.
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broke that one last season. now the replacement has a chipped first guide. sending both back this off season. i like the way they feel fishing with them as far as two pcs go.... and for the money... although the $18 s&h charge kinda gets old

I have broken 2 Lami XRA 1083 using braid during a cast of a 1.5 oz lure and a 2.5 oz lure. both were custom made by different but very reputable makers. In both instances after sending the blank in Lami refused to uphold the warranty. In one case the rod maker was standing next to me when it broke! He called them and spoke the them directly and told them exactly what happened....still no love.

I also broke a brand new lami tog rod during the fight of a tog. In this case I took a photo of the fish and broken rod (that was two weeks old) and in this case they did replace the rod.

I like the product but wish they moved to a no-questioned-asked replacement. I buy different brands now but I still have a bunch of lamis. Many rod makers are moving to a NQA breakage policy or a fixed price replacement. And I find myself moving to their gear. Funny thing is, there stuff does not break as easy. All my boat gear is mostly shimano now for that reason. You break it they give you a new one.

Montague split bamboo 8ft. Laid it down on rock and buddy stepped on it.
O ya Ashaway 4 thread,36lb test

:)

Two Ron Arra XRA 1204 blanks built up by myself.

50lb Braid.

Both were broken about 18" down from tip during a normal cast.

I no longer have a XRA 1204

Blew up a st croix premier surf 10' 1-4 with 40#pp right above the ferrul high sticking a bass on a jetty during a surging storm when the action was red hot... threw it in the dunes.

9 ft one piece custom lami broke just above the wrap. Casting an eel. 30# braid.

8 ft,custom one piece, loomis casting rod, broke in half just above the reel fighting a fish. Got the fish though. Nice one too. 30# braid.
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I broke a star steller 10 ft rod years ago had 20lb big game mono on a 706 I believe maybe I had a vs dont remember.I was pulling the rod straight back to free a snag. Then years went by bf I broke any other rods. And then this year I snaped a 1201 m when I cought my plug on my bag that was resting on the bank behind me. 50 #braid went right throw the tape and cut me deep. Och! I also just had a v.t. 3/6 11 ft rod blow up on me right at the ferrule the female end. 50#braid casting a bm atom jr with a skin under 3 oz I would guess, the trip bf it snaped I was out catching sm fish on a 3 oz pencil and could hear the rod making a twisting sound. Thought it was bc the conection wasnt good bc the top half was spinning,

Allstar 1087 launching a pencil at a bayside beach to breaking fish. Sounded like a .40 cal round going off.

I high-sticked a Lami Arra 1321... It was John R's fault...

Popped a 5 1/2 foot UglyStik freshwater bass rod. "Hey Honey, watch this. You can touch the tip to the butt of this rod" :rotf2:




Pieces were stuck in the walls and ceiling, no injuries, made a great big BANG!

Busted a Legend 10 6' 2-6 oz last night at the canal setting the hook on a fish with a eel attached.

Did Redlite teach you how to set the hook on a fish?

Had a Stealth S2 break a foot from the tip on a hookset in current this spring. 30lb braid with an eel

Lami 9ft S-Glass 1pc, built by myself, broke right above the reel when landing a bluefish in the surf. 20lb Fireline spooled on a DAM Quick 440.

lami csb1202m, 30# fire line, fish in last wave, near tip, i assume that I had previously damaged the tip but do not know. Lamiglas replaced it with no issue. Think i paid shipping.

st. croix mojo, 10'-6" 2-6 oz modle, 40# suffix, casting a 6" stick shad, just above the handle (where they all seem to break). St Croix would have replaced it, but it wasn't worth $50 to me to get it replaced. Hated the rod.

I had a Lami S-glass custom wrapped back in the `90's The wraps were so tight it crushed the blank.. I found that out after it folded on me like a piece of caramel!

I have a good, but embarrassing, broken rod story that I'll share. This one happened back about 2003/04 on Wasque point. I had loaded up the truck and made the trip over on the ferry hoping to have a long night of fishing at a primo spot. It was a new moon and visibility was minimal. I threw on one of my brand new plugs from one of the best plug makers around. My first cast was a beauty.....off into the deep, churning waters off Wasque. I instantly locked up with the mother of all mung tangulations. Determined to retrieve my "After Hours" plug that my brother had bought for my birthday I pulled and cranked with all I had. Eventually the rod snapped, I spent a half hour pulling in the 60 lb braid by hand to recover the plug, detached the Penn reel and deposited the broken rod in the trash bucket back at the parking lot. One trip, one cast, one disaster..... The funny part was that I had shared this with a friend or two the next morning and by the time I was at #^&#^&#^&#^&'s buying snakes for the next nights adventure the word was all over town about my great trip to Wasque. :-) Sometimes things work out for the best and sometimes they don't. That was not my night, but we all have to put in a few of these to learn and gain experience. I learned a lot that night!

Sorry DZ I forgot to add the particulars you were looking for:

1. This was a Penn rod (reel combo)
2. 9 foot, 2 piece graphite
3. 60 lb braid (I was and still consider myself a surf amateur, no 20 lb test for me yet)
4. Didn't miss this part........BIG PULL from the mung
5. Right below the connection. Actually I don't hold any ill will against the rod. I was hauling with everything I had!

But all this was nothing to this one time, at band camp, story for another day....

not a surf rod, but the only rod I ever broke was a fenwick pacific stick s-glass top half graphite bottom half, 20 # mono. I highsticked it.