24 inch LL Salmon From The Swift
It was May of 2017 when the end came. The rod broke in mid section while casting a soft hackle on the Bliss Pool. I will say that it was a memorable occasion BECAUSE I was into my 14th year with that 8 foot, 4wt graphite rod and it was the only time a rod of mine broke while in the act of fishing! The rod was built by a club member and I won it in a raffle and its sweet moderate action made it my "go to" Swift River rod or whenever I knew that I would not be casting bead heads and such. ( I leave that task to the stouter rods). I put lots of mileage on my rods, easily more than the average angler, but I am careful with what I do. That's why I'm still fishing 10 year old rods (and catching fish!!)
Operator Error or Material/Design Flaw??
It's almost always operator error and I'm not taking about car doors, trunk lids or ceiling fans but the careless things we do while in waders. (I'll discuss design failure later) Here's a good list:
Candy Cane Rod -
Ultra long rods can present problems for the short armed, vertically challenged among us. One solution is to hire a gillie!!!
Death By Beadhead
Before beadheads came around we added weight by wrapping lead wire on the hook shank and then cushioned it with dubbing and wraps of material. Then we began to see (well, I think so) an increase in breakage especially in the tip section. I knew a saltwater guide whose clients broke four quality loaner rods one season learning to cast clousers!!! The beadhead fly can hit speeds of 200 mph on the cast! All it needs is to just touch the rod tip and you will have a broken rod either then or later when it finally fails. That's why that special rod of mine lasted so long - no beadheads!!!!
Seating Ferrules
Make it a habit to check the seating of your ferrules during the day on a river. A loose ferrule will weaken the wall strength of a graphite or glass rod. AND DON'T TWIST THEM ON!!! Push together, push apart and that's it. Twisting will also weaken the wall strength and you may have a devil of a time taking the rod apart.
Don't Walk With The Rod Tip Behind You
Two fly fishers were walking along a river, one behind the other. The first one had his rod pointing behind him. He suddenly stopped walking but the guy behind him didn't and rear ended him breaking the guys rod tip. The rod tip is the most fragile part of the rod and I want to know where it is all of the times. So, rod tips first!!!
Or Material Design Flaws And The Problem With Warranties
As I said most rod failures are due to operator error but one has to take a long look at the design of many rods, especially the nymph variety. They are stretched out to 10 feet and over 11 feet in some models. They are incredibly light with sensitive tips and if what I see on internet searches is to be believed they have a fairly high failure rate. It appears that they just don't stand up to fly fishing. Here is my suggestion: If you want a new rod then search the web for everything about it for breakage (those forums are loaded with info.) and if you see more than two complaints about breakage then find another rod company.
So what's wrong with warranties? Actually everything! Let's say you buy a rod for $800 and it breaks in half on the first day out (this happens, check the web). You send the rod back with $50 and wait for the repair or replacement. In the meantime you are saying things like "$50, that's reasonable". Did it ever dawn on you that part of that $800 price tag may have been made up by factoring in the cost of the warranty. Maybe you are paying on it twice! Remember, the rod companies are NOT going to loose money on you!!!
I like an honest warranty that covers materials and workmanship only. The fly fishing industry sailed over the Falls when it offered "no questions asked about the dumb ass way you mishandled the rod" kind of warranty. Maybe we would appreciate the craftsmanship more and take better care of rods if they were not so easily replaced!
Still catching salmon on the Swift. Contact me for a trip!!
Ken
15 comments:
Yep, got to be careful landing fish with long rods. A long handled net helps. Also, if you cast weighted flies or use split shot be sure to use oval casts to avoid ticking the blank cause it will eventually break a rod (ask me how I know).
Anonymous,
Good points!
Ken
Ken,
It seems that the price of rods rose after the big time warranties came into play so I think you are right on that point. I don't think that too many of us fish the same rods year after year either.
Ted
Ken,
I feel darned lucky that my old 7 foot Fenwick is still with me, along with the original Pflueger reel I bought with it 40+ years ago. Caught a darned nice rainbow today that was sitting tight against the bank. I can't say I was aiming that way, but the end of the drift brought the hare's ear nymph into the zone so it was "bleep" luck I connected. One thing notable though was that trout kept heading back to the bank, almost trying to bury itself in there. Not that long of a trout, but quite a chunk, most likely getting fat on eggs I imagine.
Best, Sam
I've never broken a rod to my recollection. I did have a rod sent for repair last year due to loose ferrules(every 10th or 15th cast the lower section loosened up on me while fishing the Madison..not a good situation. It was 5-6 yrs old and fished not that hard...I did send my $50 or whatever it was and they gave me a the new model which I did not really want...its much too "fast". Their excuse was they no longer had the ability to fix such an "old" model. The new rod went up on Ebay the day after I tested it out. I am sending out my Scott G905 made in the early 90's to get a new reel seat-the butt cap wont stay glued on probably a new internal ferrule it probably has 1000+ "joinings"and is tired..this rod was fished hard for 25+ years and will be repaired for a reasonable fee and returned(confirmed by Scott)..I am likely only doing business with companies like Scott going forward. They too have the "warranty" but maintain the capability to stand behind their old work and don't seem to roll out new and improved crap every year. I avoid the "Orvis pose" aka Candy Cane at all costs.
BobT,
The good thing is that Scott rod held up for 25 years. The "Orvis Pose". That a good one!!!!!!
Sam,
I still have my old Fenwick which still casts very well.
Ken
Remarkable to me, Ken, is how good that old reel of mine performs. When a trout takes line out, the line feeds off in such a good fashion so as not to get a break off. 5X held its own too. The trout did all it could to make use of the high flow.
Sam,
Pflueger reels have been getting the job done for decades now. They may not have the "appeal" of glitzy newer reels but they are certainly more reliable than that $600 salt water reel I saw a few years ago that began to rust out!!!
BobT again,
That rod company wouldn't replace that 5-6 year old rod because it was too old???? That is not a warranty for the goods purchased. It's a replacement program. Replacing the old garbage with new garbage.
Ken
The company would not repair...but they did replace...they got sold to a much bigger company years ago-I thought the rods were manufactured here...maybe not. I dont want to bad mouth them...some of their equipment is high quality I am sure but they are more focussed on making bike parts than small potatoes fly fishing stuff. If I am in need of another stick I will be loyal the companies that live and die by fly fishing...Scott and T&T immediately come to mind.
On the subject, I broke the tip of my Orvis Recon 6wt after falling in the Millers last Fall (wading at Erving center bridge is tough). I didn't think the tip should have broke, it didn't break right away but later in the day.
After the repair fee, shipping and waiting several months I got it back late winter. With the high water on the Swift I tested it out and landed a few big rainbows. The repair was good but I was unhappy about how long it took to fix.
A couple of lessons learned:
1. Don't fall :o)
2. Be careful with the tip of the rod
3. Read reviews carefully (Recon rods are not that tough)
4. Always bring a spare rod in the car :o)
Jonathan,
That section of the Millers has the toughest wading!
I've read the stories about Orvis rods but to be truthful it seems to plague the nymph rod group regardless of the rod maker. And a wait of several months seems unacceptable.
Ken
Ken
I recently purchased a new rod at Orvis over the weekend and the sales man told me to email you about the Miller river fly fishing guide PDF. When you get a chance could you please forward me a copy
Thank you
Peter
Peter,
Here you go!
Ken
Hello Ken -
Enjoyed your talk at Crossroads Anglers in Foxboro tonight.
Please send me the Millers River Fly Fishing Guide that you mentioned was available.
Thank you.
Stephen Messier
Stephen,
You got it!
Ken
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