Breaking Rods...

[Din]

So I've broken three rods this year. And these rods aren't cheap. Using a Orvis 9' 6wt, 4 piece, TLS Power Matrix. I don't think that I am overly rough on my rods. The warranty is great with orvis, minus having to wait 6 weeks to get them back, but each time they have sent me a whole new rod.

 

Should I up the weight of the rod, to say a 7wt? Will this help with me breaking them? I am cautious doing this as I don't want to loose the ability to present dry flies without scaring every fish I target. The have been breaking at the ferrels.

 

Any insight or suggestions would be great.

 

Thanks.

[Glenbow]

I broke my TLS 4wt this year by setting the hook on what I assume was the bottom. It broke right above the cork. I couldn't believe it. I used my 5wt as backup until I got it back, but it makes me wonder if there's something up with the TLS rods? I can't believe you broke 3 times, that's crazy. I assume you are not overly hard on gear as you would likely not have a TLS in the first place if you were, but I am not the most gentle with my gear & I have not had bad luck except with my TLS. Wierd. Try buying a TFO 6wt as a back-up & fish with it. If it breaks too, you still have warrranty & a TLS to fish with. You shouldn't be breaking a 6wt with any regularity at all unless they are flawed or you are a monster with your rod!

[Brownstone]

Mitch, only time I've ever broken a rod was accidentally, never in action .. I fish 5 and 7 weights .. some cheap (Pflueger Trion) and some higher end rods (Sage Z-Axis) and I have a couple in between..I'd say, without seeing you fish..your probably stressing the rod too much (maybe putting too much of a U in the rod) or have had some incredible bad luck with bad rods..Ive noticed my 4 pc rods do not bend quite as uniform as my 2 pc ones..

 

 

are you breaking your rod at one of the top ferrels, when the fish is close and you have a large bend? If so i'd say over stressing..

 

If i were you i'd try to pin point the problem before weighting up your rod..

 

 

- it sucks having to send your outfit away for weeks to get it replaced...was without my sage for 6 weeks this summer..

 

Gregg

[Din]

Thanks for the input guys.

 

I have broken the top ferrel twice and the middle one once. two have occurred while casting. So I think you may be right that I am over stressing my rod. Guess I should slow down my casts and let my rod do more of the work instead of trying to power right through it all the time.

 

 

With getting them replaced a couple times, I have come about to have two rods, except they both are broken, so I did have a back-up 6wt.

 

Maybe its for the best anyways...can't fish...leaves me nothing to do but school work that I have been putting off....

[lonefisher]

sounds to me like your casting with loose ferrels.... and maybe over powering your casts. I always figured the ferrel would be a strong point in the rod except for when they are loose...... get a bit of jiggle room in there and it becomes a weak point. Its just a guess I would check your sections a bit more often make sure they are seated nice and tight and maybe ease up a bit while casting. What sorta stuff are you casting when you get the breaks and are you overlining at all? Which line?

[Din]

sounds to me like your casting with loose ferrels.... and maybe over powering your casts. I always figured the ferrel would be a strong point in the rod except for when they are loose...... get a bit of jiggle room in there and it becomes a weak point. Its just a guess I would check your sections a bit more often make sure they are seated nice and tight and maybe ease up a bit while casting. What sorta stuff are you casting when you get the breaks and are you overlining at all? Which line?

 

70% of the time I am roll casting. My sections do come apart, but do check them frequently. But that quite possibly be it as well. I have taped them up the odd time, but thats a pain in the @ss, and wasn't sure if it would hamper the rod performance. guess if it will save my rod its worth it.

 

Casting tripple nypmh rigs or streamers. Using SA GPX 6wt line.

[rusty]

Many ferrule breaks are caused by getting a small piece of sand or debris caught in there, which slowly weakens the connection over time.

 

I agree with LF though - your ferrules are probably not tight enough. Wipe the male end on the side of your nose and snug them together nicely. You don't need to brute force it in, but at the same time, it should be good and snug.

 

If you're throwing a lot of weight, it may help to open the loop a bit.

 

Also, never use the rod to loosen a snag - always point right at it and pull directly on the line. Snags probably cause 75% of rod breaks.

[Mykiss]

Din,

 

For sure if your roll casting your ferrules will come apart if not taped up...That is probley the problem as said before if the ferrules are not that tight then they are the weak part of the rod and subjected to a fair amount of stress when the rod is loading...I'v seen rods blow apart @ the ferrule when not taped with two-handed rods and think that is your problem....I'd tape'em up to save some huge head aches.

[Glenbow]

I agree totally - I was not aware that you were primarily roll casting when this occurred. I would think this to be the primary cause.

[lonefisher]

I was taught to put sections together with guides 90 degrees offset push in and twist into place...... I find it works and I do a lot of roll and single spey typa casts. I have been told that this is a bad habit and bad for the rod but like anything you get conflicting views sometimes.... I do it and have never broken at a ferrel but I do tighten mine frequently

[birchy]

I guess this would be a good argument for 2 piece rods versus 4 piece then..