Now is the time of year to start thinking about the spring trout fishing trips. If you are like me, you will be anxious to get going after a winter of rest, in fact in a panic. That is how I have broken rods before, as I rush to get going, I slam the rod in the trunk. Unfortunately, the rods are always a little longer than my trunk’s capacity and so click; I have trimmed the tip off. Also, rods are a little longer than the inside of the car is wide, so I have trimmed the tip off by slamming the car door or by closing the window. Accidents or mishaps that result in a broken rod are usually the result of being careless when transporting the rods. To avoid this potential heart breaker, invest in a rod case.
While fishing, there are a few other careless ways to break rods as well. To understand these, it takes a little understanding of mechanical advantage as the term is used in mechanical engineering. If you do not take the time to ensure that the rod sections are joined tightly, the force of the fish will put additional leverage on the point where the sections are joined and bingo, there goes the rod.
Another common mistake is what I observed while fishing in the Russian River in Alaska. The gentlemen fishing next to me had a big salmon on the line, which would not have been a problem. However, for some strange reason, he held the pole in a straight vertical position. This produced a “coupling” moment about the handle of the rod. If the rod was say 8 feet long, that made the ratio of the force about eight times greater than it needed to be. Needless to say, the rod broke and he went away with some choice words. It is far better to align the rod in the direction of the fish, letting the force be applied to the line rather than the rod itself. With proper drag set for the proper line weight, a large fish does not pose a problem for the rod.
A third error while fishing is to attempt to help the rod by placing your hand somewhere up the rod and not at the handle. If you place your hand three feet up a nine foot rod, you have placed the fulcrum three feet up the rod. This cuts down the leverage of the rod and makes the effective length only six feet.
Finally, over stressing the rod is a recipe for disaster.
I have seen the fly rods bent into a complete “U” as the fisherman was trying to tie a fly onto the end of the rod. This can over stress the rod and can also cause a fly to get hooked into your finger or, worse yet, into your eye. The same over stressed condition can exist if the fisherman tries to lift a large fish out of the water. In this situation it would be far better to use a net. These are some obvious examples of how to break a rod. If you have any other methods, please feel free to contact me [email protected]
