Rod Destruction

chrome/22

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Ever blow one up, l mean really explode one?

Not that soft gentle crunch like a tip in a car door, or that delicate collapse of a wounded blank on a back cast.

But flat, out bent to the max on a big fish jackpot city.

I've seen a few in my day but nothing compares to one Fall season out on the coast my old fishing buddy Big Al had. Country strong and built like a linebacker he was one powerful dude

He found a sale on these Fenwick HMG baitcasters at that little tackle store in Issaquah circa 1987, forgot the name of the place. Anyway he stocked up. And they were all pure crap

Now BA liked to run brand new 8 lb Ultragreen mono on his Castaic 200's. He mostly threw blue fox spinners in size 3, especially loved the classic silver blade blue body. He could throw those things a country mile with reasonable accuracy. He also liked to get his $$ worth on a hook set, probably because he was too cheap to swap out those dinky trebles for a decent Siwash single.

Anyway that Fall I literally watched him mow thru a tackle store of those ill-fated HMG rods. Must have been a rancid mix of scrim on budget graphite because those bassomatics could not take the strain he could dish out.

Remember one back eddy we pulled the Clackie into, there has to be some hiding out in this frogwater sez he. And there definitely were some players present, a boil gave them away.

He launches a cast it, let's it track a second them I hear "there's one" look over to see a fully loaded spanking new rod pump once, twice and literally disintegrate. Must have no joke blown into 8 separate pieces & all going in different directions. I can still see graphite particles floating in the atmosphere around him almost like a halo

Was a spectacular sight, it's fixed in my mind even today. He almost fell over backwards as he was so leaning into that ho. The breakage was so violent it even cut his line releasing the fish. He looked over at me and said "it's under warranty brother, hand me another!" 🤣

Nobody could fish like Big Al.

c/22
 
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During a Christmas Island blue water outing I was in the boat with two guys from Texas. Fly trolling was slow, so they whipped out cheap gear rods and fished diving plugs. After a long period of no action, we passed over a school of decent sized yellowfin tuna. Both Texans hooked up immediately and braided line blazed off their under spooled baitcasting reels. One Texan howled in agony as his thumb burned against the outgoing line, then SNAP he was spooled. The other Texan collapsed onto me when the tuna struck and his cheap rod exploded into several pieces. His yellowfin slowed down just before spooling him and he fought it from the final guide still barely clinging onto his shattered rod. Luckily he was able to pump up that tuna to the gaff. The kitchen didn't have much meat that week, so the fresh tuna improved our cuisine.
 
Ever blow one up, l mean really explode one?

Not that soft gentle crunch like a tip in a car door, or that delicate collapse of a wounded blank on a back cast.

But flat, out bent to the max on a big fish jackpot city.

I've seen a few in my day but nothing compares to one Fall season out on the coast my old fishing buddy Big Al had. Country strong and built like a linebacker he was one powerful dude

He found a sale on these Fenwick HMG baitcasters at that little tackle store in Issaquah circa 1987, forgot the name of the place. Anyway he stocked up. And they were all pure crap

Now BA liked to run brand new 8 lb Ultragreen mono on his Castaic 200's. He mostly threw blue fox spinners in size 3, especially loved the classic silver blade blue body. He could throw those things a country mile with reasonable accuracy. He also liked to get his $$ worth on a hook set, probably because he was too cheap to swap out those dinky trebles for a decent Siwash single.

Anyway that Fall I literally watched him mow thru a tackle store of those ill-fated HMG rods. Must have been a rancid mix of scrim on budget graphite because those bassomatics could not take the strain he could dish out.

Remember one back eddy we pulled the Clackie into, there has to be some hiding out in this frogwater sez he. And there definitely were some players present, a boil gave them away.

He launches a cast it, let's it track a second them I hear "there's one" look over to see a fully loaded spanking new rod pump once, twice and literally disintegrate. Must have no joke blown into 8 separate pieces & all going in different directions. I can still see graphite particles floating in the atmosphere around him almost like a halo

Was a spectacular sight, it's fixed in my mind even today. He almost fell over backwards as he was so leaning into that ho. The breakage was so violent it even cut his line releasing the fish. He looked over at me and said "it's under warranty brother, hand me another!" 🤣

Nobody could fish like Big Al.

c/22
That's a great story!
 
Beulah Platinum 11’ 7” 5 wt, the rod is more accurately a 4wt, #10 maxima UG.
This was the first rod that I really loved the feel of, I used it for summer steelhead. The summer runs on my home river are mostly in the #4-#8 range and of hatchery origin. I fought fish hard and got them in quick as possible pushing the limits of that little rod.

One day I decided to fish a run that is close to home. I walked down to the river and up to the run. I start at the top end and am working my way down when my fly gets crushed near hang down, the fish pulled hard and I pulled back to get a good hookset. Before I could release the line to let the fish run it responded to my hookset by pulling back even harder.
My rod snapped about 3” above my top hand. It was a horrible explosive pop. I brought my line in hand over hand until I came tight to the fish, it broke me off instantly.

I went to my local fly shop dropped the rod off to be repaired, went back home, grabbed my 12’ 4” 8wt and landed a fish out of the same run an hour or so after breaking the first rod. I would have really liked to have gotten a look at that first fish. I am haunted by the strength of that pull, and the instantaneous breaking of the #10 maxima.
 
Not quite. Out on the OP a few years ago and just below Cottonwood my fishing partner and I pulled over on a nice looking stretch. Pulled out the long rods, he stayed near the boat and I worked my way downriver a bit. I put in 200ish feet below my partner. and slowly worked my way out and down. It was a dry overcast day and I was concentrating on my line when I heard a sharp noise but in the distant and upriver. The noise is much like when your outside after a large snow fall and the next day it starts to warm up, the snow starts wetting itself. The wet snow bedded on the 100' fir trees starts to weigh down and stresses branches and eventually "SNAP" a 3" diameter branch gives way. That is the sound I heard. I looked upriver and didn't notice anything but my fishing partner was just standing in a foot deep of the river and statued. His fly line from the tip of his rod looked odd at first, but it wasn't his line, he had a 4' section of his rod dangling down and wavering a bit. It had broke in the upper middle section. Sadly not from a fish but while he was casting (it shattered) His beautiful 20 year old Sage 14' 9 weight Euro style had actually shattered/splintered over a 1.5-2" stretch leaving a couple jagged edges. It hung together by a few fiber strands or something but you could tell some rod material had taken flight. That was his Alaskan spey rod. RIP. Now he totes around a Sonic 7130 via the warranty.
 
First session on a just purchased TFO Deer Creek 11' 9 wt switch, had been a really good week of tidewater swinging for hot Kings fresh from the ocean. Stuck one on the swing, and just as I began the strong double pump to drive the Clouser deep the big King cartwheeled up out of the water and the rod snapped at the fourth ferrule from the tip. Managed to land the fish after dropping anchor and chasing it around some, a native sent on it's way. Switched to a fave Powell 9/9 for the rest of what became a personal best session of landed Kings.
Had the replacement rod from TFO within a week.

Temp just reached 35 - time to hook up the boat and head to the lake where wolfpacks of Browns have been cruising the shallows as the water temps continue to drop...
 
Dateline mid December Washington coast Salmon river hatchery steelhead run. If you've been you know, it's kinda like the combat fishing you pay for.

We started the day on Cooks creek it was corked with white boys looking for smoker material. When I saw the black bear hightailing out of there at 1st light figured they were in & they were

After a few hours on the creek out native guide Levi took us over to the Salmon. Nice looking water for a small river, it was just dropping in after a big rain event, perfect.

Was watching this one character drift fishing a little slot, he was standing in the best position with his buddy next to him. They had a few on the bank and were dialed in.

He comes back on a nice one that immediately tears across the river, he's apparently in a rush as stomped his thumb on the spool and starts reeling it back in.

I'm mentally critiquing his technique, too fast, give it a minute there boy.

He doesn't and his bud scrambles for the cheap net on the bank. Our hero really puts the wood to this 10 lber his rod doubles over to full taco, I'm thinking oh man that's WAY too much rod, high sticking it too boot. His buddy anxiously awaiting with the net to scoop the prize, is cheerleading on

As if on que it spectacularly lets go

I bust out laughing at the keystone kops routine you can't make this stuff up.

We wanders of muttering about this G-da*m piece of Sh#t Okuma.

Anyway a nice slot full of chrome just opened up so win - win for us

c/22
 
Ever blow one up, l mean really explode one?

Not that soft gentle crunch like a tip in a car door, or that delicate collapse of a wounded blank on a back cast.

But flat, out bent to the max on a big fish jackpot city.

I've seen a few in my day but nothing compares to one Fall season out on the coast my old fishing buddy Big Al had. Country strong and built like a linebacker he was one powerful dude

He found a sale on these Fenwick HMG baitcasters at that little tackle store in Issaquah circa 1987, forgot the name of the place. Anyway he stocked up. And they were all pure crap

Now BA liked to run brand new 8 lb Ultragreen mono on his Castaic 200's. He mostly threw blue fox spinners in size 3, especially loved the classic silver blade blue body. He could throw those things a country mile with reasonable accuracy. He also liked to get his $$ worth on a hook set, probably because he was too cheap to swap out those dinky trebles for a decent Siwash single.

Anyway that Fall I literally watched him mow thru a tackle store of those ill-fated HMG rods. Must have been a rancid mix of scrim on budget graphite because those bassomatics could not take the strain he could dish out.

Remember one back eddy we pulled the Clackie into, there has to be some hiding out in this frogwater sez he. And there definitely were some players present, a boil gave them away.

He launches a cast it, let's it track a second them I hear "there's one" look over to see a fully loaded spanking new rod pump once, twice and literally disintegrate. Must have no joke blown into 8 separate pieces & all going in different directions. I can still see graphite particles floating in the atmosphere around him almost like a halo

Was a spectacular sight, it's fixed in my mind even today. He almost fell over backwards as he was so leaning into that ho. The breakage was so violent it even cut his line releasing the fish. He looked over at me and said "it's under warranty brother, hand me another!" 🤣

Nobody could fish like Big Al.

c/22
Yes. The rooster in my avatar killed my favorite 10wt. We rolled up to Las Arenas lighthouse. Basically ground zero for big roosters. Like a dumbass I picked up the 10wt and cast a mullet fly into the live sardina boils. Line came tight and it was immediately apparent I chose poorly. I pushed that rod, and reel to the limit. 40 minutes later, in 115 degree heat and not a whiff of breeze, I had it boat side under maximum pressure. The guide grabbed the leader and the rod literally exploded into 6 or more pieces. I cant find the pic but it shows pencil sized chunks of graphite floating by. The fish was in far better shape than I was on the edge of heat stroke.

download.jpeg
 
You may wonder what this has to do with spaghetti noodles...the great physicist Dr. Richard Feynman known for the Manhattan project, Challenger disaster investigation, Nobel Prize winner (among many others!) was puzzled by why when you break a bending pasta noodle it explodes in many pieces and is seemingly impossible to just snap in two pieces. No theoretical/experimental solution to the problem was found till 2005 when French scientists postulated that high-speed flexural waves (shockwaves) are responsible for secondary and tertiary fractures happening almost immediately after the first fracture and snap back waves.
Still, it took until 2018 for MIT scientists to further solve the mystery by finding that twisting the noodle before maxing it out its bend results in a clean two-part snap. Although too late for Feynman (he died in 1988), this finding has potential uses for nanotechnology, fracture control of multifiber materials and others. I wonder if spiral wrapped fishing rods also prevent this type of catastrophic destruction; in any event they won't work for fly fishing!

See below for an MIT article on solving the spaghetti mystery and also two animations of high speed camera and simulations of dry spaghetti destruction, not as expensive as fly rods, but same principle.

Explosive bending destruction without twisting:
crack-control-1.gif

Solution: twisting before snap dissipate shock waves and creates clean break
crack-control-2.gif

 
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