The one sound that anglers dread the most, is the sound of a fishing rod snapping in half.
This might mean the end of your fishing trip, but that doesn’t mean your fishing rod is done for.
There are several ways you can fix a broken fishing rod at home, and have it ready to go for your next fishing trip.
These methods work for even high-quality casting rods and the best spinning rods in your arsenal.
Here are some of the quickest and easiest methods to fix fishing rods, that have been broken at different points:
Here's What's In Store For You...
Fishing Rod Repair (Read This Before You Throw It Away)
When fishing rods snap, it is often from the tip.
The easiest way to repair it is with hot glue or super glue.
Here’s how you can do it:
Step 1: Gather the Supplies for Fixing a Rod Tip
To fix a tip top of a fishing rod, you’d need:
- Hot glue/ Super glue
- Some heavy objects
- An old tip or a new replacement tip
Step 2: Glue Up the Rod Tip
Being an angler, make sure you have these glues in your supply closet at all times. Fixing your rod tip as soon as possible will keep you from being a rod short.
A clean break means you can easily use the same tip to fix your rod. You might have to pull it off completely yourself if the tip top hasn’t entirely separated from the rod blank.
When done, slide the broken tip on the rod to align it perfectly straight.
Now that you know it’s in the correct position, keep it aside for a while.
Pour hot glue or super glue on the broken piece, and place the tip gently until it feels in place.
Once satisfied, hold it in place using heavy objects on both ends of the rod.
Keep the rod in a place where it will remain undisturbed for at least the next 24 hours. Do not touch the rod before that!
The heated glue must dry out and set before you can use the rod to catch more fish. Or else, the rod’s tip can end up breaking the second you cast a line, and it will be lost to you forever.
Step 3: Fixing up A Replacement Tip
In the case of a lost tip, you would have to contact the manufacturers for a new tip. Most brands readily provide replacement tips; only a handful don’t.
If you manage to get your hands on a replacement, follow the same process mentioned above and fix the rod with a new tip.
This method of fixing the new tip is the quickest and the most effective.
There are times when the break happens farther down the fishing rod near the first rod guide. In such cases, you’d have to break off the first rod guide, use it as the new tip, and follow the steps above.
Removing one entire rod guide will ultimately shorten your rod and will lead to a loss of a tiny bit of sensitivity but it will still remain functional.
How to Fix a Broken Fishing Rod?
The most useful skill that you can learn as an angler is fixing a broken fishing rod. In the long run, it will save you lots of time, money, and frustration.
Although rare, there are times when a broken fishing pole is beyond a DIY repair. In those cases, you’d have to contact the manufacturers to get your rod fixed.
Fortunately, most fishing rods break in a way that can be fixed at home using a few supplies.
Here’s your step-by-step guide to fixing a broken fishing rod:
Step 1: Gather the Supplies
To fix broken rods, you will need the following supplies:
- Dowels/old rod
- Sandpaper
- Epoxy paste
- Flex coat epoxy kit
- Tin snips
- Superline braided wrap
- Toothpicks
- Soft cloth
- A wooden stick/old brush/spoon
- Rod wrap finisher
- Tin foil
- A bowl
- Food lightening
- Utility Knife/razor blade
You will also need ample time on your hands so you can focus on this task alone, with no distractions.
Epoxying the fishing rod means you’d have to stay there to see it through or risk messing up the results.
Step 2: Inspect and Measure the Break
Before you begin, remove the reel, reel seat, line, and everything else from the rod.
Now measure the diameter of the break at its widest point. You need a dowel or an old rod of the same size, or the size closest to it, to insert it in the rod.
Step 3: Prepare the Dowel Insert
Once you have the dowel, snip off a 6-inch piece of it using tin snips. This will be your insert for the rod blank.
Step 4: Taper down the Dowel
You’d soon notice that the dowel isn’t quite fitting the rod as perfectly as we would want it to.
This is when you take sandpaper and start tapering down the dowel rod. To help speed up the process, use a razor or a knife to make markings on the dowel road to help with sanding.
Don’t taper it down excessively. After sanding for a while, check to see if it’s inserting smoothly.
After a couple of trials and errors, you’d have a perfect fit.
Step 5: Epoxy down the Dowel
Now that the dowel is sanded and fit to be inserted, it needs to be glued down.
Pour some epoxy glue on a tin foil, and using a toothpick, fill both parts of the broken rod with epoxy.
Now take the dowel insert, dip it in epoxy and gently push it inside the top part of the broken rod.
Make sure the dowel is fitted tight and snug in the rod and is at least 4 inches above the rod blank.
Do not use excessive force to push down the dowel, as it can cause more breaks in the rod.
Next, take the top part of the rod (the one with the dowel) and gently insert it into the bottom part of the broken rod.
Pay attention to the splinters caused by the break, use them to align the two rod pieces precisely.
Some excess epoxy will leak out, wipe it off with a soft cloth or tissue paper as quickly as you can before it sets.
Step 6: Let the Epoxy Dry
Give the rod at least 24 hours for the glue to dry and set. Do not try anything else just yet, or the rod will break again and you’d face a major setback.
Step 7: Sand it Down
Now you have a complete rod in one piece, but not a very flattering one. Once the epoxy is set, sand down the newly fixed part of the rod, and smoothen out all the bumps and splinters.
Use a light hand to do so. Fiberglass poles can be vulnerable to damage with excessive sanding.
Step 8: Wrap it Up
Once that area is nice and smooth, wrap it up tightly with a braided super line. The tighter it is wrapped, the smoother and stronger the finish.
You can start wrapping by first tying a knot a few inches above the break, and then proceeding to loop the braided super line around the rod.
Once it is snug and tight, tie another knot a few inches below the break.
Step 9: Create a Clean Finish with Flex Coat
Mix the contents of the flex coat in a bowl and give it a good stir with a spoon, a wooden stick, or the back handle of an old toothbrush.
Apply this mixture generously to the Superline wrap. It can be as excessive as you want.
Step 10: Dry the Coat Diligently
Leave the coat to dry for the next two days, in a way that the rod keeps rotating while drying.
If you place the rod vertically along a wall, the flex coat can drip down and dry up in all the wrong places
Dry it the same way, you’d roast a chicken. Horizontally placed and rotating lightly.
Once it is dried up, take it to your next fishing trip to get used to the new weight and length of the rod.
Final Thoughts
Fixing your broken fishing rod is all about having the proper supplies at hand and using the right techniques.
A worthy repair job should have your rod feeling as good as new!
If you haven’t already, we urge you to head over to your local hardware store right now and gather the supplies you will need if to fix your rod rather than tossing it away.
Most anglers develop their own techniques to fix their fishing rods. Over time, you would also find your preferred method, until then follow our guide.
Fixing your fishing rod is as simple as measuring out a dowel, sanding it, and epoxying the broken pieces to make your rod whole again.
For that quality finish, do a bit more sanding.
Wrap up the break with Superline braided wrap, and apply a generous amount of flex Coat.
Voila! your rod should now look and feel as good as new.