I need to know if i can fix my fiberglass fly fishing rod…?
Posted by admin on Saturday, February 6th, 2010
My brother snapped it in the car door and the tip snapped in half, any easy ways to fix it?… Or should I just look for a new rod?
Filed in Fly Fishing Rods | 5 responses so far
LETS SEE ACTION aka HOT FUZZ!!!!on 06 Feb 2010 at 5:41 am 1get a new one as the carbon fibre is hard to fix
stilhdr1963on 06 Feb 2010 at 5:54 am 2There is no easy way to fix a fiberglass rod. The ends would have to be cut and filed perfectly flat and then an insert would have to be placed inside where the break is. To make a long story short, you are better off looking for a replacement. Yes, Fish’s info is correct, but if it is a fly rod, you will not have the same action as it did before.
FishSteelheadon 06 Feb 2010 at 6:04 am 3Ouch, hey if it’s any consolation it happens ta’ the best of us! Yes you can repair it, there are tip repair kits on the market. You can pick one up at any fishing tackle store, Walmart (I believe have them), along with Bass Pro and Cabella’s. It is a relatively easy procedure sooooo don’t buy a new rod.
Peter_AZon 06 Feb 2010 at 6:48 am 4I’ve done it, though not with a fly rod. I used a long nail (with the head cut off) as the insert, and epoxied it back together (the break was about six inches from the tip). It held up for a few trips and a dozen or so fish, but broke again at the bottom of the insert, at which point I gave up.
(You can’t just melt or glue or fuse the fiberglass together, because the strength of fiberglass comes from the fibers, a few inches long, and once these are broken you can’t reconnect them.)
The other possibility (if the break is up near the tip) is to get a new tip guide. As a kid I broke a brand new 8 ft. spinning rod, put a new tip on it and fished for 5 years with it as a 7 1/2 footer.
However, either of these wouldn’t work too well for a fly rod, where the action and balance of the rod matters a lot more than for spinning or casting rods. So your best bet is to get your brother to shell out for a new rod for you.
mik2222001on 06 Feb 2010 at 7:21 am 5you may be able to have someone put a plug (a piece of another blank) in it but it will never be the same. the two sections of a rod are matched when sent out as blanks before they are built into rods. meaning a rod has a “spine” where the blank is the stiffest and the guides and reel seat are mounted either on it for bait casters or on the “belly” or bottom for a fly rod. repairs to a rod will change the way it feels and reacts.
it sounds like your brother gave you a perfectly good reason to upgrade. shake his hand and go buy a new one. a broken rod is a part of the fishing experience. whether it be a defect in the blank’s material or a booboo. it happens to all of us.