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Broken rod?

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  WVFLYMAN 
#1 ·
Just a random occurence...
My dad and I were out streamer fishing for smallmouths he was using a standard 7 weight sinking tip on a Three peice St Croix Ultra Legend 7weight. Couldnt have been more tha cast number 10, and the rod snaps on the backcast. It broke just above the ferul on the tip peice. The rod had no previous nicks...
As long as theres an unlimited warantee:hihi:...

Was it poor building, a freak accident, or are there issues of durability for st croix?

I'm fearing for the life of my st croix 5 weight which casts like a dream...
 
#2 ·
I don't think anyone could answer that question. It sounds like the rod wasn't over lined and the fly wasn't too big so I doubt that "just casting" caused the break. If it were a defect, I think that it would have broken pretty quickly after you bought it.
maybe this was the first ime out? or the first time it was cast with the full head? that might reveal a defect.
Every so often I hear about graphite rods "wearing out", and I suppose that is possible (resin becomig brittle? anyone know?) and I had an older favorite rod break in the butt while casting. I always assumed that it had been damaged unnoticed untill the final "big cast".
I have heard of no defect, or general weaknesses in the St.C line.
Unlimmited warrenties are a good thing.
 
#3 ·
Defects show themselves right away, where damage takes time. If this was the 10th cast on the rod, it was defective. If you've had this rod for a long time it was probably a nick from the world's most famous smallmouth fly, the clouser. ;)

Another possible cause is that the ferrule was not seated properly.

I don't know how time affects rods structurally, but I do have old rods (30 years young?) that seem rock-solid and it doesn't really seem like there is any limit of the number of strokes in a rod. Of course these are fiberglas rods and that stuff is just about indestructible under normal use.
 
#4 ·
A good friend of mine built two rods from St. Croix blanks (legends) and they kept breaking on the casts. He never fishes anything larger than salmon fly patterns (all dry). The good news is that St. Croix replaced the blank both times, and even sent hardware, promptly, no questions asked. He's now on his third (he's loyal!), and hasn't had a problem.
 
#5 ·
The rod was bought that year....

But, we were fishing some heavy clousers the day before, and this was only the second time casting a sinking tip, I think that was what revealed the flaw. The warentee is great at least.
 
#6 ·
Well i must say that im sorry to hear that a St Croix Rod broke i have owned them for at least 10 years now and i just recently purchased another. I have legend ultras a 5wt, 6wt, 7wt and now a 12wt and i must say from my experience that non of them have ever failed me. So i would say that it is like everyone else has said that rod was damaged or defective.
 
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