Repairing broken guides

[Pink Nighty]

I had an issue last time out on the river. When I put together my rod the middle ferrule were a bit tight but I pushed on and fished. When I went to break down, it was STUCK like all hell. I was able to twist it about a quarter turn and gain a little less than half an inch, but in the process I loosened an eye.

I got it home and after 5 or 6 times through the frozen paper towel procedure it finally came apart, but not before I snapped a different guide off and further loosened the original failure. It was a bit of a Lenny moment, I wanted to be gentle but was simply incapable, and I need to learn how to fix my bunny when this happens again.

I've never wrapped a rod. I have thread and bobbins, uv resin, loon head cement, superglue, 3m tape and electrical tape currently at my disposal. I dont care much about how it looks, but care deeply about how it performs and it's no longer under warranty (because echo already replaced it on the cheap when they didnt have to.)

Can someone lend me a procedure using the materials I have? Am I missing a crucial tool or material? My biggest concern is what to finish it with, so that it isnt tacky and grabbing at the line.

I'll attach some pics, and I promise to try and be nicer to my shit in the future!

 

[Buzzy]

I'll let others more in the know on repairs offer suggestions but I will offer this video on how to get a stuck rod unstuck. It works.

 

[Wetswinger]

Go to Proof Flyfishing. Com and look at their tutorial videos. They show you how to remove old guides,, clean up the rod, wrap and epoxy. If you tie flys you can easily do this repair.

P.S. I've also ruined a stuck rod. I now run hot tap water over the ferrule which loosens the wax I keep on my male ferrule..PM me if you need any help..

 

[Bajema]

Yeah, that shouldn’t be a hard repair and there should be lots of tutorials online. You’ll just need some thread and then epoxy (like ThreadMaster) to coat the wraps. I’ve got some stuff you could borrow which might make it easier (stands and thread tensioner for wrapping, motor to slowly rotate the rod while it dries)

 

[Salmo_g]

Fortunately it looks like you didn't break any guides. You just pulled a couple free from the thread wraps. It's an easy fix. The hardest part will be removing the old thread and epoxy. Look up one of those videos on to do that. You'll need a spool of size A nylon thread to re-wrap. I haven't bought any since Angler's Workshop moved to the mid-west, but there are several that carry a wide selection of colors. Get some color preserver while you're at it, and you might get a pretty close match. If you don't want to mix up a batch of epoxy for doing just two snake guides, you can apply a couple coats of Sally Hanson Hard As Nails clear fingernail polish. It lasts a really long time. I use it for fly tying head cement and found out how well it works one time when I just needed to replace a single guide on a rod.

You might as well invest a few minutes and learn how to do this, cuz it's pretty common if you hike with your rod in brushy areas, or don't look up before making a back cast and whack your rod tip on a tree branch, etc. These things happen.

 

[Old Man]

When I was young and dumb, I rewrapped a rod. I took the old eyes off and added spinning rod eyes. I took some furniture casters and attached them to some blocks of wood. I had 4 of the casters. It made do when one is not equipped with brain cells to make do. It worked like a champ I attached a whole set of eyes on a 9' rod. I did all of this before the internet. I only had my brain for a guide. It all worked well. This was about 30 years ago. I have no idea where that rod is now. Maybe in a land fill someplace. It was an old Yellow Eagle Claw rod.

 

[Pink Nighty]

Thanks for the direction guys! Some other priorities and a complete lack of swing able water led to some procrastination, but rain is finally in the forecast so I gathered up my materials and sat down today to wrap it back up.

Made a jig from a baby wipes box, got some heavy duty thread from Joanns and raised the wife's nail polish for Sally Hansens Hard As Nails, Invisible.

Worked pretty well i think! Not the prettiest but I think theyll hold.

 

[Adrian M]

I thought this was going to be about some guide who was down on their luck, jaded by the many obnoxious clients, boat just isn't big enough, etc...

 

[Pink Nighty]

I thought this was going to be about some guide who was down on their luck, jaded by the many obnoxious clients, boat just isn't big enough, etc...

I'd sing him a sad, sad song while he lowholed me in one of the three walkin runs that hold steel on my local crick.