Scott S3 tips breakage

[raw69]

Has anyone had a problem with Scott S3 tips breaking?

I have never broken a fly rod in my life, yet the tip on my Scott (9', 6wt) has snapped twice. The first time I had a fly in a tree and when I pulled to break the leader, the line flew back and snapped the tip. I have done this many times with all of my other rods and never had a problem. The second time I was casting and hit the line, not the rod, of the other guy in the boat and the tip snapped. I love the rod, but this is getting ridiculous.

Is this what I should expect from "fast" rods? Thanks for any input.

[fishin' fool]

First, I wouldn't ever recommend, nor do I think a manufacturer would either, using a rod to pull a snag free. First try giving the snag a slight wiggle with the fly line, or pull directly on the line, but don't use the rod as a lever. It's very easy to bend the rod in unnatural ways that can weaken the structural integrity of the graphite. This may have resulted in your first tip break.

Also, think about the history of your usage of that rod. Have you ever stuck the blank with any weight or weighted flies while casting, knocked it agains a tree or brush while hiking to or from a fishing spot, landed a fish with the rod tip pointing up and away from the fish, gotten snagged on a tree or bush during the backcast and continued the casting stroke after you felt the snag (very hard not to do in my experience), or had a knot from the line/leader connection get snagged on the tip guide of the rod while you pull on the tippet end. Any thing that could have smacked the blank, or caused a stress point in a specific location can cause a rod to break down the line. A rod is designed to have stress distributed along its length, anytime this stress is concentrated, there is potential for breakage, either now or later.

And, yes, faster rods are a bit more susceptible to these issues, in my opinion. They are generally made from higher modulus graphite, thus making them a bit more brittle and delicate.

[raw69]

FF - Thank you for your input. I did pull straight back when caught in the tree. I haven't had the rod long enough to bang it around. Also, I have beaten some of my other rods and never had a problem. I have an Orvis HLS, circa 1995, which I use for Steelheading. I have banged that poor rod so bad I should be charged with rod abuse and nothing has ever happened to it.

I will never say that it was not operator error, but if I'm that bad, I should have snapped a rod long ago.

[Dave E]

Hi Raw,

It sounds to me like you've just run out of luck performing an iffy fly retrieval maneuver and then you suffered a rod to line casting interface....simply stated, you Clouser-ed the rod with the other guys line.

In the S3 series I have two four weights and a five weight, along with a seven weight, eight weight and a ten weight S3s. I fish a mix of those rods often and have done so since the introduction of the series.
To date I've never experienced problems with any of these rods, although I've never attempted the fly in the tree removal process you've outlined.
On the other hand I did break the tip of a Sage XP by doing something really dumb one day. I'm guessing that something like that could happen to any of my rods, be they fast, moderate or slow actions.

If at some point you become disenchanted with your six weight S3, it might interest you to know that I run a home for misunderstood and wayward Scott rods and Bauer reels.

Best, Dave

[raw69]

Dave - I might just take you up on that. Would there be an exchange of US currency involved?

[Dave E]

Dave - I might just take you up on that. Would there be an exchange of US currency involved?

Absolutely, we encourage the previous owners of our rods and reels to contribute to the care and upbringing of their dependants.

So, how large of a donation did you have in mind?

[fishin' fool]

As Dave stated, your luck may have simply run out. I have a few rods that have been bushwacked and used hard. They haven't broke on me, yet. I also have a rod that I try to be a little more careful with, but still use it like it was meant to be used. I broke the tip of this rod once. Sometimes it just takes that one false move in just the right way to cause a breakage. It stinks, but in my opinion is one of the things we have to deal with with todays high performance sticks. I think that some of the lower modulus rods that were and are produced, simply have a tougher skin.

[Clay]

I am almost 50 and never broke a rod in my life, UNTIL this year. I had a bugger stuck on a rod a short distance from me but in deeper water than I could reach. As was my spinning rod technique, I bounced the tip a few times to see if it would come free and it snapped. It was a high end, fast graphite rod that retails over $500. I was in shock. I took it back to the truck and grabbed the backup that I had there. I sent it in and the service department was able to fix it for me. My next couple of outtings, I lost more flies than I ever have in a whole season. I pointed the rod directly at the snagged fly and just pulled back breaking it off. I tie my own flies so it gave me another reason to tie. The biggest thing is that I had to retie tippet and select another fly, but it was better than snapping another rod tip.

Even us old guy learn as we go.

Rick

[raw69]

Dave - I sent you a PM. Let me know what you think.

Guys - Thanks for all of the info. My casting and my klutziness may just not allow me to use a rod that fast. Clay, I beat you by 10 years, just turned 60 at the end of April, and I have only broken one spinning rod (stepped on it) before wrecking the Scott twice. I've sent an e-mail to Scott just to see what they say, but I may have to go to another rod and let Dave try to deal with my wayward Scott. Thanks again everyone.

[Clay]

Raw, that Scott is a beautiful tool. Just like a chain saw can do a whole bunch of work, it can also cut off your damn leg. Use that Scott like a chain saw. It will do you a great job, BUT you have to use it like it was designed. Scott will probably fix it for you, but you will probably use it differently when you get it back. Then again, you might just be up for a change. Many of us fly fisherman have a ton of different rods. It's all good.

Rick