Hi all,

24 years ago I was lucky enough to qualify for the Welsh youth team, I did this with a 10' fibre glass rod given to me by my father when I first started fly fishing. As the date for my first international approached my farther presented me with a brand new Fibretube carbon rod, with Fuji eyes, aluminum real seat and black and yellow whipping. It was a thing of beauty. To cast it was as simple as pointing your finger, I loved it from the day I had it.

Tonight, while sea trout fishing on the Conwy I made a misjudgment when entering the pool on my first run down. I stepped into what I thought was 6 inches of water, only for it to be about a foot deeper, overbalancing forward I instinctively dropped my rod and put my hands out at some imaginary barrier that would stop my fall. My right hand hit the water, my left hand came down on where my rod was now lying in the water, and straight through it, about 2 inches above the cork. I had broken my beloved rod.

Unable to contemplate what had happened, and as close to tears as I had been in many a year I just sat on the bank for what must have been an hour. My phone rang, it was my brother-in-law asking how the fishing was going, I explained what had happened, to which he replied "Argh no worries, I'll pop down with my Sage DS2, you can use that tonight"

My heart really wasn't in it, but he was kind enough to come down with it, so I thought I'd cast a line. I entered the pool only to feel the cold Conwy water coming through my waders, I'd caught them on a stone as I fell..could things get any worse?

Casting the Sage was horrible, it felt too light, it couldn't lift a line off the water for toffee, as I back cast and the flies passed around the loop on the transition to the forward cast I could feel the flies go "click, click", my hand kept creeping up the cork, I kept clipping the water on the back cast, and worse of all I felt discomfort in my shoulder after a worryingly short time with it. All this accomplished was to magnify the pain of my broken rod even more.

Tomorrow I'll be packing the gear away for the winter, I don't think I've got the stomach for fishing with a different rod yet.

Many will think reading this "Argh, it's just a rod, get a new one, get a better one", but after casting the same rod for 24 years it's like loosing an arm, like a loved one has died. Words cannot explain.

Can any of the tackle gurus here help? Are Fibretube rods still available? Mine was a 9' 6", #6/7. . .and I loved it.

May be fixable. The rod doesn't flex in the cork or just up from it where you broke it. A dowel (by which I mean a suitably sized carbon tube inside the blank at the break - not cheap pine) and epoxy mend whipped over and varished might do the trick.

Get to a rod builder. Good luck.

It seems the river gods took their dues for that cock sewin pretty quickly, bummer.

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Musha rig um du rum da

I would like to think that every flyfisher out there would relate to how you feel about your beloved rod.

Even those that can afford a setup of rod and reel costing over two grand would not let something of REAL sentimental value go, even if the initial cost was very low.

The very very few that do are not really fly boys in their hearts.

As mentioned there are excellent rod builders out there that when you relate how much your rod means to you they will take pride in bringing it back to life.

I also think that you should copy and paste this into the classified section as there gets the most traffic and sooner or later the forum will deliver.

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GAIA Instructor , GAIC, Single Handed. Qualified Mentor & Trainee Assessor
FFF MCI - Master Casting instructor
ADB Level 1 & Level 2 Coach (Game) http://www.flyfishlondon.co.uk/

I expect there was a great deal of sentiment attached to that rod. You'll soon find a suitable replacement and you can still keep the rod for sentimental reasons.

I can't bear to part with my father's old spanish reed rod he used to slaughter roach on the Trent with over 50 years ago!

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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*****©(

Try the John Norris website - 2nd hand tackle section. You might well find a replacement, and you've got all winter to try. All sorts of gear turns up here.

Over the years there are a few special rods that would really upset me to loose/break so I know how you feel.
Repair should be possible ,or if not you could just use the remaining butt section and fit a new reel seat and handle,I did this with a sportfish rod and now have a useful back up shorty for the Kennet carriers.

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Andy Wren
Winter grayling taking a year off !
Claret not just a great dubbing colour!

Hi', Stuart. My commiserations, I'd hate to lose my first rod, cane, and now 50 years old.
There is a bit of confusion here. You say 10' fibre glass in your description of the new rod, than quote 9'6" 6/7 wt. Fibretube.
No matter. You should be able to repair the rod by fitting a section of spigot material. You will have to feed a length of the same taper up through the bottom end of the butt section, which could mean removing the butt cap etc to get in there. After checking the fit, it's a case of gluing, binding the break area, then cleaning up and whipping each side of the fracture. A rod builder should have no problem doing that, once a spigot of a suitable fit is found.
Hope you manage to get the 'old lady' back in business. TerryC
PS Was it a Hardy fibatube? I once made a 7ft glass with Hardy blanks and four carbons, all nice rods.?

Stu, sorry to hear about this, I lost a Farlow's hickory and brass landing net off my back when I stumbled whilst wading. It was given to me by my late Mother, I replaced it but it's not quite the same.

I would run it down to Foxon's as if anyone can mend it they will.

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“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

[QUOTE=stuartpengs;525471]Hi all,


Tonight, while sea trout fishing on the Conwy I made a misjudgment when entering the pool on my first run down. I stepped into what I thought was 6 inches of water, only for it to be about a foot deeper, overbalancing forward I instinctively dropped my rod and put my hands out at some imaginary barrier that would stop my fall. My right hand hit the water, my left hand came down on where my rod was now lying in the water, and straight through it, about 2 inches above the cork. I had broken my beloved rod.


Stuart, I have done the exact same thing, water is a very deceiving thing when clear, and putting your hands out to save yourself, well thats just instinctive, but it doesn't work, as we have all found out.
I sympathise with you, breaking a much loved possession is bad enough, but when it's a very useful one as well that catches you fish then it's twice as bad.
Was the rod in the photo with your recent large sea trout. ?
I can see you are gutted by this, and only hope that some clever person can resurrect it for you.
I think Sewinbasher has the best Idea, contact Foxons, they are good.
A replacement would be good, but to be able to reuse the old rod would be better.
Good luck with it.
S.

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Ti's here beneath this sturdy bridge,where bats and moths do fly,
That the wily trout of the smallest size, against a rock doth lie. SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.