What Do You Do With Broken Fly Rod Tips?

[poke flyfisher]

I had never broken a fly rod tip until two years ago and that year I broke two of them. One during a fall down a muddy sloped bank and the other while trying to work a snagged fly loose by poking the rod at the source of the hang-up. In both situations, the tips broke at the first guide down from the tip-top. One was a 9' 8wt, the other a 8' 4wt and both were lower priced rods without a warranty. As a result, I refitted a new tip top and have continued to use both of them for rough fishing situations (in a boat, heavy brush, etc.) To my amazement, I have experienced very little difference in performance with both rods and still enjoy using them. My question is this. What do you do with your broken rod tips? Do you repair them and continue to use them and have you noticed significant performance differences?

[nowindknots]

Hi Poke. I've only "broken" one rod. It was under warranty, so I sent it back for repair.

However, I did destroy a rod tip in the passenger side electric window. I grafted the tip from an old ultralite spinning rod onto it, and used it for years afterward.

Jim

[David Parker]

Broken rod tips can be useful to some folks. The broken tip can be used for repair purposes where a splice repair is used to mend a broken rod. Longer broken pieces can be used to make ice fishing rods. Rodbuilders collect them for repair purposes but most folks just toss it away. As for your broken rods, breaking the tip down to the first rod guide will alter the action, but slightly, therefore the reason why you do not notice the difference with your casts.

------------------

[Robert McMahan]

Poke,
I've broken quite a few spinning rods and baitcasting rods but never a flyrod. When I'd break the other rods I'd take them to a man that worked on rods and reels around here and he'd mend them back together with some kind of goop and they worked good as new but weren't as pretty as when I bought them. I never asked him what he did. I just paid him a modest fee and took them home and used them. I'll bet most good rod and reel repairmen can do the same.

use em for a hook disgorger

Spin

------------------

[mudni]

If they are not broken to far down the shaft they can be easily repaired(I have a 8 wgt that was broken 10 inches from the tip and repaired it about 10 years ago and it is still going strong,I have also repaired ultra-light spinning rods and fly rods for other people using the nsame technique)The repair requires either a fiber glass rod sheath or a composite sheath,a graphite sheath will not flex enough so will be unsuccessful.The technique involves finding a hollow sheath that the broken pieces will fit tightly in with about and inch 1/2 on either
side of the break.I use epoxy on each of the broken pieces which act as a lubricant and as a weld for the repair.What ever you do do not
use something as a spline----I have found this just wont work---the repair piece needs to act as a sheath.You might have a swollen area in the rod but it works.

[nowindknots]

Spin, I think that's a great idea!

Jim

[Robert McMahan]

What Mudni has described I'm confident is what my repair man did with my broken rods. The rods looked like what Mudni describes.

[poke flyfisher]

Mudni, thanks for the great advice. I have a couple of really old fiber glass spinning rods I haven't used in years that would make great spline material. Almost makes me want to break a rod and give it a try.

And Spin, that is a really creative use for the broken tip. I'm glad I didn't throw them away. Thanks everybody for the helpful responses.