I was having a good time out by the lake when I put my ultra light rod down to change bait, when I stepped backwards and,CRACK!!! broke in half and crushed the graphite , so I cut off the splinters and the part went in the other pretty good so i fished for a while longer, the only good part of it all was that i caught a 2lb, crappie, which is really pretty good crappie for these parts, I checked the rod when I got home, amd it cracked some more, it is unrepairable, it sone of those American Tackle fly rod blanks a 2wt. its not the cost that bugs me its all the time I spent on it, I just hope that none of you goes through that this fishing season, Have a good one!

I did that with a Castaway about 10 years ago. It wasn't a custom built rod, but it was a little expensive. The worst for me is I built a custom rod for me and left it sitting on the bank of a pond while I went down the street about 100 yards to get some bait and someone stole it. It was a 7' baitcaster with my name weaved in and a fish cross wrap. I was sick about it for a while. Lesson learned. Never, ever leave my rod unguarded!

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

Your so right David, I did teh same thing about 5 years ago, i had 3 brand new spinning rods and reels, about severa; hundreds of dollars worth, i stopped at a resturant to get some food and left it outside for a few moments, and when i came back they were gone. like you said said lesson learned. Hope this year is really good to you on teh fishing part, and everything else.

Especially now that I build rods, weave, decorative wraps, good name brand blanks etc. I protect them very carefully.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

I may leave the keys in the boat but the Lowrance and my tackle come with me. Insurance will replace the boat but my wife would freak if I had to write down and submit what I've got in tackle.

With all my builds I give the customer a list of "Do's and Dont's", amongst them is the precaution.....never lay your rod on the ground, because you will step on it! Alesson learned!

lol! Yep! I do not want to leave my rod on teh ground again, i'll just keep in hand or lean it aginst something.

Hold it like you would a Good Woman !! LOL

Bill - willierods.com

LOL! last time i did, she left me for another. lol!

bill boettcher Wrote:
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> Hold it like you would a Good Woman !! LOL

I guess that's one way to do it.
I treat my rods like old girl friends. Use 'em hard and give 'em a quick rinse when you're done. But never let a buddy borrow either one if you ain't around, you might not get it back.

Sorry to hear that Lorenzo. I know the feeling. I built a honey colored Lamiglas fiberglass rod for me. I use it for surf fishing for striped bass. Last year I was moving from one spot to another at about midnight on the rocks I was fishing on. My spikes got caught on the toes of one foot and I went head over heels. Put my right hand down to break my fall and crack...split it right in half. 30 minutes later my friend caught a huge striper from my spot. 44" and 31 lbs. UGH



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2011 05:52PM by Jim Meallows.

Jim-
VERY BAD!!
I have an old 12' Honey that I only take out in the DAYLIGHT!!!
BTY- the first guide is a 70mm
I love it!!!
Happy Striper!

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." Mark Twain
John in Wethersfield, CT

Yeah they don't make those big old rings anymore

By the way I patched the rod over the winter. Looks like new. But we'll have to see how it handles a bigun'

I just ordered a new rod blank to replace the broken one, no more leaving it on the ground, I;m trying to fugure out how to take off the foam grips, I think I might cut the blank where the grips are and drill them out to fit the size of the new rod. and the handle also. any suggestions would help. Thanks.

A few years back I was camping and had a roaring fire going. My buddy Bubba came over and he had a truck load of sticks and other twigs. As the fire died down we went to his truck and brought back a bunch of twigs, threw them on the fire and sat down. All of a sudden I heard him yell , "HEY, IS THAT MY FISHING POLE IN THERE?" I looked very intently and said , "yup"

Bubba isn`t well and can`t fish anymore, but we sure still laugh about it.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

" Never, ever leave my rod unguarded"

I've got some stuff so bad, I leave out intentionally but no one will steal it.

Tom,
Try taping a $5.00 bill to the stuff!

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." Mark Twain
John in Wethersfield, CT

one of my first builds got stepped in by my bro. we were trout fishing and I just landed a beautiful brown and was getting ready to snap a pic when I heard a crack...I knew exactly what it was...I was able to quickly splice the rod together and land a couple more browns and a nice rainbow.
on another note, I know how it feels like to lose a ton of tackle. I lost over $700 worth of lures when my tacklebag was stolen last year

Cheng, You must of felt like screaming when you lost and your rod got broken. well. I know that i did, but as they say, "you learn from your mistakes" well i guess we can put it down as a lesson learned. Have a good fishing season!