HELP! My Rod Snapped!

[iPodrodder]

Yesterday I was fishing Pine Lake, and my 6' 6" Eagle Claw Black Eagle graphite rod snapped to no fault of my own. It was a clean break, above one of my last rod guides. The manufacturer will not replace it, so I am looking to fix it. I was thinking about inserting something in the hollow tube at the place of breakage, such as a nail or stiff piece of wood, then glueing the rod back together with the insert inside. Do any of you have a good way, preferably tried and true, method or a good type of insert for fixing this type of breakage? It has no sentimental value, and I don't care how it looks.

[gpc]

I'm not sure what guide you are talking about. If it is the guide closest to your real, I don't think there is any way to fix it. I have never tried but I'm pretty sure the rod is done. If its the last guide on the pole closest to the tip then they make replacement guides that are very cheap, and most come with the glue to use, if not super glue will work, but don't use gorilla glue. Good luck with the rod it always sucks to break a pole

[iPodrodder]

I'm talking about the one nearest the tip. The guide is fine, just the rod is broken.

[TroutCowboy]

back in my poor college days i slammed the tip of my rod in the car door and repaired it with a thin resin-soaked strip of fiberglass. i put this little bandaid on there like you'd wrap electrical tape around a spliced wire.

in my case the tip didn't break off, it was more like crushed, so i didn't reinforce it with anything inside. i guess you could stuff some wood matchsticks or something in there, but i'd stay away from anything as heavy as a nail or you might regret the change in casting characteristics.

i'm sure there are purists out there gasping at the thought and ready to quote you all sorts of drastic data about the loss in sensitivity and structural integrity but that rod lasted me all through college and then some with no performance loss that i was aware of. i still slayed the fish. ;-)

fly rod? that's another story, as are many other applications where sensitivity is critical, but if it's a kick-around rod a quick repair and you're back in business.

good luck!

[gpc]

I'm talking about the one nearest the tip. The guide is fine, just the rod is broken.

Yeah your rod will be fine. I wouldn't try to put it back together. The last time this happened to me I just got a replacement tip guide and it worked fine. There was only about 2" between the last 2 guides and it looked kind of stupid but it worked fine.But if you still have 5 or 6 inches left it will look good as new. What kind of pole is it? Graphite, wood etc.? Another option is just cut it down to the next guide, it works but it really takes away from the action of the rod.

[iPodrodder]

Is fiberglass at hardware stores? And, did you see the hollow inside of your rod, or was more of a denting crush? I was thinking about one of those 1" very thin ones so that it would fit inside the hollow part. The only reason I didn't put it there now is because I want something longer to give it more backbone. Those short nails would barely help. Yes, my rod is more of a kickaround, all-purpose rod, nothing high-end.

[TroutCowboy]

yeah, you can get fiberglass repair kits at most any hardware store. mine was crushed pretty good and i could see inside. but most of the structure there was intact and just needed some firming up. you might be surprised how strong a fiberglass patch is once the resin has hardened. if you want extra reinforcement i'd just wrap that patch a little past both sides of the break.

as for the kit, there's the braided cloth and two tubes -- one with resin and the other a hardener, i believe. squeeze out an M&M-sized spot of both and then mix them together with something like a popsicle stick or something. then you lay your strip of cloth down and smear on the resin so it's soaked with it. beware, it's a messy job because the fibers from the cloth will start to fray and stick to your hands, your stir stick, the rod, etc. wrap that strip around your rod and smooth it down before it starts to set up. a popsicle stick cut off square really does a nice job both as a stir stick and as a kind of squeegee to work the resin around.

might be worth practicing on something before you gob up your stick with a messy repair job that only serves to snag line. ;-)

PM me for more info. good luck!

[bigastrout]

Go with the replacement tips you will sacrafice the few inches at the end of the rod and some of the lighter action. But you will lose that light action at the tip anyway if you try to insert some kind of blank to bond the two pieces back together. My guess is that it will be a lot more work for little to no gain. I have used the replacement tips many times. They come in different ID sizes. Take an OD measurement of the rod tip where the graphite is still intact and not cracked and purchase the tip accordingly.

**Note** use a hack saw to cut the rod tip back to good graphite don't cut with side cutters or and kind of crushing cutter it will only damage the rod further.

Purchase the tip before cutting the tip back than you can cut it back to the perfect diameter for the best fit.

[Anonymous]

You can get the best price bar none from Flatlanderlures. He's on Ebay. I just got a 7 footer for 13.35 and 9.00 to ship and insure. Nice rods I keep two or three in various sizes on boat for backup. To tell you the truth I like them as well as the lamiglass or gloomis and I don't care if they have a lifetime warranty. At the price I can just switch rods and keep fishing. I learned the hard way to spend the money and get good rod case, it's saved my rear on a number of occasions
Ps tell him I sent you.
Matt