Stupid...stupid...stupid....

[Old Coot]

iFisher Nestucca and I drove south from his place and took the toons down a mid-coast stream last week hunting bluebacks. Navigating one swift little pinch with a rootwad and a bunch of brush river right and a steep bank on the left, a lone gust of wind caught me just as I was threading past an alder with maybe 5 leaves dragging on the river surface.

The tip of my sweet little Redington travel 4-wt was projecting out in front of the floats by a foot and when the wind slapped and spun me I managed to wedge the tip between two still-green eensy little tendrils of alder not even big enough to be twigs for two more years.

You know the rest. Lost an inch and a quarter of the tip section.

I've had a drift boat for 25 years and I knew better than to have the rod projecting forward on a brushy stream. Shame on me. Fortunately, the tip top will still fit the truncated blank. It will be interesting to see the effect of that inch-and-a-quarter amputation, but I would have preferred to remain ignorant.

Played tag-you're-it with maybe 7 fish to an honest 15 inches. Learned two new things. Pink is still popular in a barbless 12, and Busch is pretty nasty even when it's free.

(The Busch did not play a role in the rod mangling, it was offered susequently as a condolence.)

[Hayseed]

I bet you're the first person to ever do that.:wink:

[MsOutdrs]

Oh boy...that hurts. If this makes you feel any better, wasn't a fly rod, but hubby was with someone in their sled, coming down the Clackamas one evening..low water so moving along pretty good...came a little close to some overhanging branches...didn't break the tip, lost the entire Loomis or Sage rod and an expensive reel (can't remember what kind...he has one of each ever made, I think..lol). he still mentions that every once in awhile and that was probably 20 years ago. Either way, broken rod tip, or lost rod/reel...some big hurt! Sorry that happened to you.

[crawdad]

Just lie and tell everyone it was an intentional modification. You didn't break it...you customized it. Everyone knows Redington 4 wts are better when you take exactly 1.25 inches off the tip right :wink:. People will think you are a fly fishing genius as opposed to stupid....stupid. Sorry you had to drink Busch though that's rough.

[dirtyCut]

Sorry you had to drink Busch though that's rough.

amen to that...

[Derrel]

I thought everybody knew one of the best ways to modify a blank to suit one's exact tastes was to trim a little bit off the top of the tip section. Heck, I once took almost a foot off of one of my favorite steelhead rods...it was a nine-footer, and now it's eight foot-one.

All courtesy of an overhead branch I hit kind of hard on a missed strike; I smacked the maple limb pretty hard, but it didn't seem to have done any visible damage. Then about a half hour later, I hooked a steelhead,and I'll be darned but the top section of the rod snapped right off about five seconds into the fight, and slid right down to the fish.

[Newbs]

I can customize a rod with the back door of my jeep better than anything. My brother doesn't like it on his but he's kinda picky about things. :confused:

[ling killer]

I can customize a rod with the back door of my jeep better than anything. My brother doesn't like it on his but he's kinda picky about things. :confused:


or when ur parked on a slanted hill driver side lower than passanger and u got the loop strap off the doors and ur buddy lets the panssanger door slam shut on ur favorite trout rod:passout:

[nookslayer]

I feel your pain. The thing that really sucks is the majority of the time we can only blame ourselves for these situations, but of course being fishemen (like golfers) we blame our gear or elements outside of our control. The Busch only adds insult to injury.
I know I had to own my brain fart when I broke the same rod, on the same trip in consecutive years. Oh yeah, don't leave your back up rod in the rig 8 miles away....:whistle:

[wedgeman]

iFisher Nestucca and I drove south from his place and took the toons down a mid-coast stream last week hunting bluebacks. Navigating one swift little pinch with a rootwad and a bunch of brush river right and a steep bank on the left, a lone gust of wind caught me just as I was threading past an alder with maybe 5 leaves dragging on the river surface.

The tip of my sweet little Redington travel 4-wt was projecting out in front of the floats by a foot and when the wind slapped and spun me I managed to wedge the tip between two still-green eensy little tendrils of alder not even big enough to be twigs for two more years.

You know the rest. Lost an inch and a quarter of the tip section.

I've had a drift boat for 25 years and I knew better than to have the rod projecting forward on a brushy stream. Shame on me. Fortunately, the tip top will still fit the truncated blank. It will be interesting to see the effect of that inch-and-a-quarter amputation, but I would have preferred to remain ignorant.

Played tag-you're-it with maybe 7 fish to an honest 15 inches. Learned two new things. Pink is still popular in a barbless 12, and Busch is pretty nasty even when it's free.

(The Busch did not play a role in the rod mangling, it was offered susequently as a condolence.)


Whats a toon ?

[Woodguy]

pontoon boat...