About 3 years ago, 1 built 2 custom rods with 13" rear cork grips. Well the customer kept the rods in excellent condition and cleaned after each use. Now this year, after storing the rods in his boat, which was covered for the winter here in New Jersey, He found damage on both rear cork grips. Just to check my sanity, I have never heard or seen cork this new deteriorate after 2-3 years. The grips were the normal cork grips from Mud Hole which I used many of times. I posted pictures of the damage we found in my gallery. Is it possible some type of insect (ants etc.) or even mice may have caused the damage. The damage doesn't appear to be from the inside out, but from around the outside areas of the holes. (examine the photos up close).
I would appreciate any rod builders opinion if they ever ran into this kind of problem. I'm leaning towards maybe some cork eating critter was the culprit, unless there's some type of cork defect I have never run into.

Thx in advance for your inputs. Hope I got the pictures posted correctly. post in Gallery and Miscellaneous.

Rick Sikorski



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2019 11:32PM by Rick Sikorski.

I have seen this type damage before and it was caused by ants. There are likely other similar type critters that damage cork in this manner.

..............

There are several reasons I won’t store rods in my boat and that is one . The moisture also aids in corrosion of guide frames and reels. Ants in stored boats is pretty common on NJ. I put ant traps in when covering for the winter but also had them access the boat on the water by way of the dock lines.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

It's clearly critters, not sure whether ants or mice or shrews , but it is clear the damage has been done by tiny teeth. I go with carpenter ants. I agree that storing rods in this way is not a good idea for a number of reasons. Regardless of which critter, they have to be eliminated or more damage to other stuff is inevitable.

Carpenter ants cannot be controlled with the usual liquid ant stuff which works on oil and sweet-loving ants, but not carpenter ants. There is a granular product designed for carpenter ants that works very well. Do an internet search. If you cannot find it, give me a shout.

Mice are controlled with the usual traps, with constant checking of the trap-line.

This stuff works well, you don't need much so small size is OK. [www.domyown.com]

Michael Danek:

" But it is clear the damage has been done by tiny teeth"





I noticed and thought the same thing , one of those holes you can clearly see tiny teeth marks that look like clean slices out of the cork , if i had to guess it looks to me like it's from the two front teeth of some type of small rodent but if some say ants no argument from me. Conclusion is, do not store rods in boat . I would also put small sign up that says "Ants & rodents strictly prohibited from using dock lines to enter vessel" .

Rick

Definitely critters. Even though you say the customer keeps the rods in excellent condition I don't think they clean and seal the cork regularly. My guess over the season of active use, fish slime, algae, bait, etc. may have in-bedded into the voids of the cork and solidified. Superficial cleaning may not get deep enough to clean out the "voids" , consequently during the winter storage the critters see these deposits in the "voids" as a source of food and go to town.

Just a theory.

The bottom line is the rods should not be stored in the boat for long periods of time.

Have fun

John



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2019 11:18AM by John DeMartini.

Either Carpenter ants, or mice.

In a word, do NOT store rods in boats. Rather, bring the rods in and give them a good scrubbing with simple green cleaner and a scrub brush and then, after letting them dry for a week, put them in a plastic bag, and store them in the attic of the garage or similar dry location.


If you like you can use plug filler to repair, the cork. You can cut chunks of the cork out and cut new pieces in and glue them in and return the grips on a full length lathe, or you can strip the grips and replace them.

Best wishes.

p.s.
Based on exactly what you have posted and what I have found myself over the years, I keep 0 amounts of fishing tackle, rods, reels, electronics, fabrics, life vests or anything else that may be eaten, rot, or get mold on it if left stored in a boat.

It is a minor hassle to move things back and forth, but I enjoy the fact that none of the items ever have any storage damage.

Good luck

it could be that the critter liked the cork fill that was used to fill the cork voids when the handle was made ,

William Sidney
AK

I at first thought that too, Bill, but it looks to me like the filler was not targeted-they went after just plain cork, too. The penetration of the cork voids by something that smelled good is my bet.

Regarding repair, that cork is of such low quality I wouldn't even try to patch it up other than simply fill the critter holes and sand smooth. Then you use Winn wrap or heat shrink (the type meant for grips, see Mudhole.com) and you will have a surface better than new. This is the easiest solution, I believe, and will give the best results. Trying to cut pieces out and replacing them will take a lot of time and effort, and you still will have mostly very poor quality cork. The existing cork will, however, serve well under the wrap or heat shrink. And probably will only cost a max of $15

Michael,
10-4 on the use of a shrink wrap, after using cork or wood filler to fill the cork voids for a nice finished grip.

Mice. They go for salt from perspiration.

just looking at photo's is not the best way , get your hands on it the best way

William Sidney
AK

Bill...……..thx for your input...…….the pictures were posted by myself.....I have the rod we speak of here in the shop.

Hello Rick,

can you send image by e-mail for i see ?

them i can guive you my answer because isn´t normal, cork damage in 3 years.

you cand send e-mail for jl@cork4us.com

Joaquim Loureiro
cork4us.com

Joaquim,
Actually, I expect that this might be very normal cork damage if there are critters out there that are gobbling up the cork due to any thing that might be on the cork that coulld have attracted the critters. I know that Carpenters ants simply love wood of all kind including cork.

From another source:

"CORK FLOORS
Cork is a sustainable resource that is harvested from the bark of the cork tree and can be repeatedly harvested from the same tree. Cork is waxy and repels water so it is less desirable to termites in its installed state. But if cork is consistently damp, it becomes attractive to termites.

Bottom line? For termites, if it’s wood they will eat it…or at least try to. Unless your home is framed in tualang, you need to take precautions which include keeping your wood dry, making sure you have a current termite treatment or baiting system in place, and having regular termite inspections."

From another source:

"I built my house about a year and a half ago (in a subdivision but the last lot on the street, right next to undeveloped pasture). I keep my boat in the garage.

Haven't had a huge mouse problem until this spring. Over the winter, I had one get in the boat after a trip and chew on a crankbait and a little cork and a reel handle. Killed it. Had another get in and chew some flurocarbon line all to pieces. Killed it. This past week had one get in and do some serious damage to a new Falcon Rod and and a little to some other rods. Think I killed it too (always leave traps baited in the garage and basement).

They always chew on the stuff that has caught fish most recently. Thought at first they were coming in when the OH door was opened. Found later where they had chewed threw the weatherstripping and door trim. Fixed that. Don't know how the last one got in. I've killed 7 I think so far this spring. Put several traps in the garage and rod locker (never caught one it there).

Long story short, I need to fix the Falcon rod. Luckily it just chewed the cork on the foregrip in front of the reel. Figured I could take it off, order a new piece from Falcon, split it in two, and epoxy it back in place.

Anyone got any suggestions on the Falcon rod, how to fix the minor damage to the St. Croix or Quantum rods, or how to solve the mouse in the boat problem (I'm going to have to get a cat I guess)?

Thanks!"