I was out fishing hooked up a 20 pound shark .i was raising up on rod with a lot of power for the mate ot get ahold of the leader when bang the rod and line broke don"t know if the line broke first or the rod. The line broke away from the break in the rod .The rod blank was a graphite blank don't have any other info on it .The break was between guides it has a angle going from the bottom to the top where the top is longer. This was a boat rod set up with the spine on the bottom.

MY question is with the rod bent down with all that pressure on it and if the line broke first would the recoil of the rod make the blank snap????

when it snapped the captain heard it i the wheelhouse and the mate and I were in shock and ask each other if we were ok. Lost top half of rod overboard and the shark didn't get released the right way.

The other bad part did I get Bust on by some of the regulars on the boat

Yes, that is what can happen when the line breaks and the blank is under max or near-max stress. We have a large enclosed blank testing/destroying machine that flexes blanks for testing/entertainment purposes. Sometimes when the line or the butt section gives way under heavy load the blank will subsequently break in multiple other places from the sudden energy release. We have some slow motion video of it somewhere. If most blanks are not high-sticked, they will, when under steadily increasing pressure always flex all the way into the butt section and break near the fulcrum regardless of their action/taper.

-The Batson TEAM
BatsonEnterprises.com

You do not mention the type of line. If it is a type that may cut easily, it may well have cut after the break on the sharp edge of the break.

Sounds like the drag was set too tight for the line, the rod, or both.

the line was 30lbs spider wire on a penn 310 GTI

."i was raising up on rod with a lot of power for the mate ot get ahold of the leader when bang the rod and line broke" ..."it has a angle going from the bottom to the top where the top is longe" To me this sounds like a classic "high stick" maneuver lots of pressure & the rod at an acute angle. Spine on top / spine on the bottom doesn't matter. 20 lb shark / 30lb spiderwire sounds like the line got "clipped" by a sharp edge on the break.

Sounds like a you were on a head boat. Most likely bottom fishing . So lets assume a Bank style sinker was used and when the boat is making a move to another drop the sinker was left attached to the line. During the move the boat may have been unsteady casing the sinker to strike the blank. Now a 20 lb shark on the line and reeled up to the leader that is not that long. Mate WILL not grab braid line as he should know better so you lift the rod tip past the 90 degree point and high stick the rod putting excessive pressure on the smaller tip section and it failed. Just guessing but I have witnessed it several times.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

Randolph drag was set at 7lbs checked it with two scales

Ken the line was broken far away from were the rod broke and it is a clean break on the half of rod that i have

Fred I put sinker on the deck when we go to move, mate had put gloves on,

I have not read of what Blank or Rod was used
Line ratting LB test Was it over lined
if it broke inbetween the guides Was some one trying to get away with ONE less guide ???

Bill - willierods.com

30lb spiderwire (actual breaking strength is above 30) - 7lbs of drag on the reel = simply had to be a high stick with the rod. Since the break is longer on the top of the rod that also suggests (at least to me) a high stick. To me it is unlikely that the line parted first - although that's possible if the shark somehow managed to get at it. Just seems to me that if the line snapped and the blank rebounded the longer piece of remaining blank would be on the bottom of the rod.....

What Blank Was Used -- What was the blank rateing ????? If the blank was not rated for the Fish
And was tooooo Light ?????

Bill - willierods.com

ken what do you mean by high stick?

Rod was lifted nearly vertical; tip section (area near the break was 75+ degrees & fish was close to the boat - means there was little "give" from the line (no stretch in spiderwire); the fish made a short/quick run and the rod just couldn't absorb the pressure. This is seen a lot with bass fishermen.

High sticking is when the rod is raised too far beyond 90 degrees. As stated above it is often done while trying to land a fish close at hand. I have seen fishermen raise a rod to almost 180 degrees, and get away with it, but they were lucky! Carbon fiber rods are not designed to go much beyond 90 degrees when under a heavy and active load!

Sorry for the typo "was 75+ degrees & fish was close to the boat" === should have been 175+ degrees..... Missed the "1 "