Yes, I have snapped 3 of them in the last 4 years on the hook set. All of them where the Avid Series 7'6" Heavy. Since they are no longer making the Avid series they are replacing them with the Legend Tournament Series. I just snapped the third one a few weeks ago and am still waiting for the replacement . One of them snapped at the reel seat, one snapped about 2 inches above the cork, and one snapped into 4 pieces. The funny part is I still landed 2 of the 3 fish.
The customer service is usually really good, however, it still costs about $40 to $70 to replace the rods due to shipping costs and if you upgrade.
yea especially that it was only a low 30's inch fish. I know my friend tightens his drag, but not all the way tight, I have my drag always pretty tight and i still pull line when i set the hook.
And yes my friend sets the hook extremely fast and hard, harder than anyone ive ever seen. He always has been like that even when we bass fish.
It was weird that the rod snapped right in the middle, sounded like a shotgun going off when it exploded.
Ive never broke a rod either so i couldn't believe it.
To top it off.. this all started the night before when we were with matt gurd trolling and he snagged his jake on someones stupid buoy sunk 15 ft under water… so the next day we went back looking for it and couldnt find it. We threw the anchor out and we were like screw this then he started pullin up the anchor and we hooked the line. So he followed the anchor line down and cut the lure free, he also noticed a believer and a few other lures on the line too haha. Then 15 min later we fish another area and hes like i got one and it ends up being another buoy line. So he goes down again and completely cuts that buoy out of the water. We got a huge crank bait out of the deal though. Then hes like what else could go wrong, well he spoke to soon as his rod snapped soon after haha.
Too tight? There is no such thing as a drag set too tight for casting. After the hook set then I will back it off a hair to fight the fish. If you feel / hear line slip on the hook set or if you can pull line off the reel with your hand, the drag is set too lose for casting. Keep in mind that not all reels are created equal, some reels will not allow the drag to tighten down all the way. In my opinion, you will lose / miss more fish due to a drag set too lose then a drag set too tight.
"Chris Barton" said:
Too tight? There is no such thing as a drag set too tight for casting. After the hook set then I will back it off a hair to fight the fish. If you feel / hear line slip on the hook set or if you can pull line off the reel with your hand, the drag is set too lose for casting. Keep in mind that not all reels are created equal, some reels will not allow the drag to tighten down all the way. In my opinion, you will lose / miss more fish due to a drag set too lose then a drag set too tight.
I was being alittle smart… obviously dis not come through in my comment. i agree on cranking the drag pretty much as tight as you can get it.
And Jason, wait til you pass 40 [smilie=biggrin.gif]
Yes, I've broken rods on a hookset and a couple on a cast. The Avids Chris was breaking were the worst series in St Croix history for breaking and I’m actually surprised any of them lasted more than a ½ season. That said, all other rods in their line are good and have had great track records. Sure, some will break once in a while that can’t be avoided.
Concerning the tight drags and breaking rods… you can’t set the hook hard enough to break a rod that doesn’t have a defect (or angler created defect). In fact, you would be surprised how little force is really generated on a hookset. I used to think a locked down drag was the only way to go but that was when I fished with short rods and line that stretched. Now that I’ve got 8-9’ rods I don’t agree that a locked down drag is the best option and I’m actually catching more fish and missing fewer on the hookset with a drag that slips a little.
"Will Schultz" said:
I don’t agree that a locked down drag is the best option and I’m actually catching more fish and missing fewer on the hookset with a drag that slips a little.
This is the first year that I've tightened it down all the way. Before, I would just "tighten" it until the lure wasn't pulling out line while ripping. This year, of the fish that have hit my lure, I've lost around 60% of them. This just happened 3 times on Murray Labor Day, and again on Campau a few days ago. I was thinking I wasn't setting hard enough, so Monday, I made a mental note to really step into it. First fish, and I cranked on it. Actually took 1/2 step back. It felt like I ripped right through the meat on the fishs' jaw.
Hmm…I wonder now if how 'hard' you think you are setting the hook could have a lot to do with mechanics. Since this has nothing to do with pizza, I'll have to compare it to golf. I see guys that swing hard as hell – mighty, heroic lashes with lots of heft that look and seem impressive…but the ball goes nowhere. Others swing smooth and get the wrist/forearm/weight shift timing right and, it doesn't look like much effort – but the club goes wooosh, and the ball goes far. With the hookset it could be even more complicated yet because it's not just the rod tip speed, but how tight you keep the line right after the hookset…and all the way in for that matter that plays a role in landed or lost fish. Also, I'd assume that hookset force matters a lot more on a Titt chain pig that has chomped into a hardbait vs. an average mid 40's fish. We just like to pretend it's a 40 lber every time…and that typically results in an airborn dink!
BTW, thinking about it some more, I do recall seeing all sorts of bass dudes snapping their rods on big hooksets on TV…still haven't personally witnessed in the musky world (knock on suick.)
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