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Tailing off from other rod thread…

How many broken rods have you piled up over the years? Got a dollar figure to go along w it? I’ve seen some past pics on here that probably clear a grand with one tailgate close or ice locker tipped over, and yes ice rods count.

Been pretty solid for myself last couple years, but overall I’ve broken a handful. Almost always a stupid mistake on my end. Maybe 7-800 bucks total, warrantied 2 of em which worked out well.

Haven’t broke any rods for several years but probably 12 to 14 hundred overall. Croix warranted every one.

I’ve broken maybe 6 in all my times. And 3 were at one time from my dog and my old river boat. She jumped up as I was swinging a fish in and got wrapped in 3 rods lines that were out on the floor and broke all 3 tips. The other few I don’t recall. But the dog incident was a 1000 bucks I’d bet. Ice rods I’ve broken a few of them. And I’ve watched my son drop a couple down the hole. But again that was a few years back and nothing in recent years

I would bet about 6-8 open water rods over the years no one large event, some cheap some not. Ice a few I can think of, when I was using my JT Panhandler on LOW it snapped after 20-30 eye/saugers (I know the rod is a little light for the application but it worked awesome for it). Lost one that still may be attached to a fish today, cheap bobber rod it came off the bucket it was sitting on and before I could get to it the fish had it under the ice. Cash value idk maybe $1000

Might jinx myself, But 20 years, zero broken rods. I still have and use the Ugly stick combo my dad gave me as a graduation gift 20 years ago. That being said, As a rod builder, I have fixed hundreds of guides, reel seats, handles, and tip tops over the years.

My college buddy broke my first muskie pole in college…. he replaced it.

I have broken 2 Legend Extremes and 1 Legend Tournament Rod…. All my fault and all replaced by St Croix.

I do have 1 Legend Extreme combo on the bottom of Winnie. Got pulled in when I was netting my Mother-in-laws fish on the opposite side of the boat. So I’m down $600.

ekruger01 wrote:

still have and use the Ugly stick combo

My first rod, and first one I broke. Literally had a tear in my eye, got me thru my youth, thought that clear tip was really something cool.

I’m gonna guest 1200$ I have no basis in fact and no idea how many rods I’ve broken. I used to bushwack into some pretty deep backwater though. I brought 3 into the boundary waters one year and fell down on my first portage and broke all 3. That sucked.

I can think of maybe 3 in my lifetime. 1 by a buddy, and 2 in a car door in college.

Now I have a rod rack in the garage on the wall that holds everything in the offseason or when it isn’t in the in-floor storage of the boat. It’s pretty rare for them to not either be on the wall, in the boat storage, or in my hand.

I have probably broken about 5 rods in my lifetime, but none of them were spendy rods. I havent broken a rod in many years with the exception of a custom ice rod, but that broke because of the stupid rod case I was using at the time.

I haven’t broke any but my one son has broke 3 fenwick HMX rods but warranty covered the first 2 (same rod) then on the 3rd time it was his dumb fault and we didn’t even try to warranty it. So he is out $80.

I have had the lining in the tip guides fall out or wear out on 3 rods in the last 5 years.

But as far as broken rods, I haven’t broken any rods for at least the last 12-15 years. The last one I broke was weird, it broke about a foot down from the tip when my son had a 2-pound walleye on in Canada. It wasn’t right by the boat, it was still 15 feet back, not a lot of pressure on the rod, it just popped. Strange.

Now that I think if it, it was probably cumulative stress from the thousands of fish that rod has fought. That’s just the kind of problem I have…

I won’t count broken guides since that is easily repairable. I am at 3 rod blanks. 1 hard water and 2 open water. One of the open water rods was a XXH musky rod where I snapped the tip guide off at the tube. (stepped on it landing a 48” muskie) So that only lost ½” after I repaired it. One would never even notice it unless I said something. Still using that rod. So 2 depending on how you look at it in my lifetime. My son has broken 3 and he is only 11 years old. He stepped on 2 and snapped his first custom fishing rod when he was 8 or 9.

There is a member on this form that has broken 3 rods I have made him within the last 3 years. None of them broke because craftsmanship.

I just look at a rod and it’s broken. Mostly bad luck and my own fault. I do baby them but somehow they break. Except for 2 brands of rods that were quality issues the rest are on me. I’m always moving my rods from the truck bed to the house to the shed to the boat locker etc. Most have been broken trying to get in the house.

Deuces wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>ekruger01 wrote:</div>
still have and use the Ugly stick combo

My first rod, and first one I broke. Literally had a tear in my eye, got me thru my youth, thought that clear tip was really something cool.

Kinda fun watching my boy use it, Getting the same joy I did for all those years. . My kids have watched me fix many rods, so they definately take care of what I let them use now.

I bought two Sage fly rods to go to Christmas Island with. By the last day, both tips were broken off. One was from a slight twitch to get the fly out from under a rock, the other on a bone fish. Both were replaced without a comment from the factory. Turns out they had a run of easily broken rods and my serial number fell into that group.

The only other rod I had break on my was a carbon proto type cat rod. Again, one little pull and 6 inches from the end snapped.

I think catfish/sturgeon fishing is pretty easy on rods in general.

I’ve broken a few over the years, best story is on a 46″ XH Slugger on a lake trout ice fishing. Approximately 5 seconds into the first spot of the day, set the hook on a decent laker and the handle exploded at the reel seat. Cork shrapnel everywhere, rod one way, handle another, reel another direction. Good times!

LOL! We had that happen on a muskie guided trip. He was pretty close to the boat when the explosion happened and reeled it in using the reel only.

We all know what happens when a ski gets close to the boat! LOL!