Broke my Okuma kayak rod

I had mine double over at the MBK tourney as I was snagged and it held up quite well.  I was very impressed.  After going with the yo-yo technique and getting no where, I applied as much pressure as possible to try and bring up whatever I was snagged on.  No dice.  Had to cut it.

It was pretty funny though because there were a couple of yakers looking on, probably thinking I was an idiot, waiting for my rod to snap in my face.

Note to self, don't ever pull this stunt again as it may blow up in my face next time.  Thanks for the heads up Jim, sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation.  Hope it is resolved peacefully and promptly.

Michael

pretty much not the way to free up on a snag. point the rod at the snag, so it's straight and has no bend (yes it will be mostly underwater) then reel up until it's tight. hold the spool steady with both your thumbs. pull carefully and it will break if a wave doesn't break it off for you.  if you have mono, you might have to reel down a few times in the trough of a wave.

if you are pulling on a graphite rod like you pull on a fish to break off the snag, you are going to break your rod eventually.

cutting the line leaves a large amount of garbage (the line) in the water. if you break it at the lure/leader, you leave only a leader.

John

Amen to that John... All you guys blowing up rods should listen to his advice... that's how to play a snag perfectly.

Freddie

When I get hung up and I'm certain it's a snag I immediately give some slack and paddle opposite the drift direction, reel in the slack and then jig the rod tip away from the snag.  90% of the time it pops loose.  Only had to break off two or three times this year.

Agreed!

Hello Redyak,

Sorry to hear about your broken Baidarka rod.  Seems like there was some good advice given in the previous threads. 
Give us a call at Okuma and we'll get it replaced for you.  Call 909-923-2828 X 151 or X 135 and ask for Ron or Joe.  These are our customer service specialists and will get this all taken care of.  The Baidarka rods are a great rod and have been holding up very well, but with enough force, will break. 

Thank you for supporting Okuma!

Dave Brown

Jmairey and EricB both have great advice on snags.

I'm actually surprised I haven't heard about more kayak fishers breaking their rods.  Maybe they're just afraid to admit to it.  It seems like I'm always watching guys not only "high stick" snags but also "high stick" fish at the net/gaff.   There is a tendency to want to get the fish as close to the boat as possible for landing and that often leads to the high sticking.  I have an alternative method of landing fish and not high sticking, but it's a bit hard to explain verbally so here are a couple quick stick figure drawings. 

The first drawing is a typical "high stick landing" and this is a good way to break a rod tip. The second drawing is what I'm now calling "low stick landing" and so far it has worked for me ...I look like a total goob, but  I've landed fish and haven't broken a rod.

Brian

first, I agree with eric b, first thing is to paddle the opposite direction of how your line is pointing from snag to yak. so often you don't even have to pull, you can just reel it in. especially if you cuss a lot while paddling back, because the ocean always likes to make you look stupid...

Bsteves, if you search you will even find an article in the new york times about a year or so ago on how to land fish with a long fly rod, very similar to what you are doing but he actually lays the rod behind his neck and levers the fish close for the net. 

I am definitely guilty of being that first guy... (although I'm a lot fatter than him)!  Guess I've been lucky.

Thanks for the lesson!

[quote author=jmairey link=topic=14340.msg135011#msg135011 date=1219348421
Bsteves, if you search you will even find an article in the new york times about a year or so ago on how to land fish with a long fly rod, very similar to what you are doing but he actually lays the rod behind his neck and levers the fish close for the net. 
[/quote]

You know me too well, I can't not search for things like this..  I found it here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/27/sports/othersports/27outdoors.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I can see the advantage of switching form a third class lever to a first class lever using your neck as the new fulcrum that the article suggests.  [I can't believe that made it in the NY Times]  Anyway, I'll have to try that with my longer rods.

Brian

Here is a picture of Fish Flogger using the proper low stick technique. Note he holds the rod by the foregrip and at arms length behind him. Backing off the drag when landing fish also takes some pressure off the rod tip. Rods with a graphite butt section with fiberglass tip combine the weight, sensitivity and strength benefits. These rods (e.g., Calstar, Seeker, lamiglas) run $200-275 but worth the investment, IMO. I have never had a Calstar or Seeker break even under extreme pressure.

Scott

Thanks Scott, I couldn't find a good photo and had to resort to stick figures.

Another good practice when pulling snags in the ocean from a kayak: (like everyone else said, point the rod tip directly at the snag, crank down, put your thumb on the spool) and pull straight up. If you aren't pulling straight up (vertical) from the snag, you might fall over into the water when the snag frees (or your line breaks). I came close to flipping a couple times during my first year.

Thanks Dave Brown/Okuma rep but, as I previously posted on the first page of this thread, the Pro Shop already took care of the rod replacement. Thanks anyways for your prompt response! bsteves I like the newly? coined term "low stick landing". I actually saw a picture of mooch doing this a while ago and at the time I thought he was doing it to get the fish closer to the kayak but I see what you mean about how it also protects the rod. When my rod broke I was just working the jig a little more to see if I could free the snag after trying to "paddle the snag free" in four different directions. I wasn't exerting all the force I had into bending it further. Nevertheless I intend to be more careful with all my rods. Thanks to everybody for all the informative posts.   jim/redyak

graphite rods with nicks and scratches can break at less than their intended strength and without further mistreatment that is for sure. but I think a lot of mistreatment goes on by people that don't know any better. I've never seen a book yet that explains how to break off a snag. funny how basic stuff like that does not get explained.

Good thing I had my back-up rod on my boat. It was kind of funny watching Redyak trying to fish with a broken rod. I gave him my back-up and we continued to fish for a few more hours and he ended up getting the last drop ling.