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Need some advice: 2nd broken orvis rod of the year!

2K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Dave17 
#1 · (Edited)
Brand new Orvis Power Matrix 909 Tip flex 4 piece. Used rod on Scorton Creek. Fishing a Lefty's Deciever. I was doing a single haul cast just as I hauled the rod, it snapped in half! The tip of the second butt section is now at a 90 degree angle. I never never dinged this rod or anything. It busted from the cast!

What the hell am I doing? Do Orvis rods have a tendency to do this?

The only thing I can think of is that the ferrel wasn't secured properly. I did, however, make damn sure it was before I started casting. Has anyone else had this problem?
 
#3 ·
Hey Massflyfishing,

Fishhawk has it right-- I would bet that even though you THOUGHT you'd secured the ferrules prior to starting your day, they worked loose while you were fishing.

Not to kick you while you're down but in 30 years of fly fishing, I have never broken a rod while casting or fighting a fish (I won't go into the off-river episodes of rod breakage....)

Am I just lucky? No, I am completely neurotic about:

1) applying wax to the male ferrule prior to fishing
2) ALWAYS checking the joints throughout the day.

I fish for larger fish (Northwest salmon and steelhead) so there's no room for error. And get this: as soon as I've hooked a fish and have gotten it under control I lay the butt of the rod down on the beach and physically check each ferrule to ensure they're tight (4 piece double handed rods, some of them irreplaceable)

ALSO, I make my own rods and the final bit of labor is to purchase salmon and steelhead decals, cut them in half, then affix the head of the fish to the female portion of the ferrule and the tail of the fish on the male portion. I then cover the decals with Flex Coat or Dura Gloss (thread wrap polymer) and there you have it:
With a glance I can tell if the ferrules are properly placed together. You could easily do this to an off-the-rack rod as well.

Good Luck!
 
#5 ·
I'll second the ferrel problem. I've had three Orvis rods break from not checking the ferrels regularly :mad: . It always happens on the cast. They've been great about servicing the rod. I've only bought one rod from them and even after three breaks (on that same rod) they replace with no questions asked.

.02,
Dave
 
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