DH Custom Ice Rods

[WallyGader]

I also have broken a noodle about 2"s from the end, and i have couple buddys that have them and they both have broken 2 noodles each in the same spot, i wonder why they all break there??

[Coon]

My Thorne bros noodle rod got jumped on by my son before it ever saw action. I lost about 2 inches and can't tell the difference between it and my second one. Just had them clean the break up and tie on a new tip.

hmmm mine did the same thing and I called Thorn Bros to see if I could send it in and they said they couldn't fix it.?

[bobbymalone]

If it broke by putting the hook on the keeper then that blank had an issue and dusty will get you a new one.

I disagree. Rods were never made to bend at that angle. No stretch superlines don't help. If it breaks because you cranked it with the hook on the keeper, that was operator error. I think most of those rods break right there because of the hook keep. I've seen long rods break right there when spooled with no stretch line. I think cranking down on the hook keep puts little fractures in the blank and they focus about 2 inches down. It might snap later.

Noodle rods are notorious for having the tip break. Only so much you can do. One of those things is not using the hook keeper very much and being careful when you do.

[Hardyboy]

Mine did break in that location but i dont user superline.....i had 2 lb mono so it wasnt the lines fault. I never said it was a bad rod but just that i was disapointed that it broke. I want that out for the record. Am i disapointed my rods broke.....YES

[CEDES]

Has anybody tried the TFO Hard Water Rods? the price of the customs and T.B. rods compared to the feel of the TFO, at half the price....Check 'em out...

[iEatNoodles]

I disagree. Rods were never made to bend at that angle. No stretch superlines don't help. If it breaks because you cranked it with the hook on the keeper, that was operator error. I think most of those rods break right there because of the hook keep. I've seen long rods break right there when spooled with no stretch line. I think cranking down on the hook keep puts little fractures in the blank and they focus about 2 inches down. It might snap later.

Noodle rods are notorious for having the tip break. Only so much you can do. One of those things is not using the hook keeper very much and being careful when you do.

Ok, I have been wanting to post this as a service to any and all Noodle rod Owners.. Power Noodle, Meat Stick, DH Al Dente, JR's Lite Bite what i am going to post WILL help reduce your breakage.. Firstly @ BobbyMalone.. you are 100% correct.. if you put your jig on and crank it it will fracture.. may not break right away but WILL break sometime in the near future.. AND this will NOT be covered by any manufacturer.. (they can tell)

Ok, here I go.. There are a few ways that noodle rods can and WILL break.. Firstly if you (even once) over reel your jig and slam it into your tip guide, it will bend in half between the first and second guide.. IF your noodle rod has broken here you HAVE at one point done this! again it may not break right away but will fracture half way between the first and second guide and break down the road. One thing that needs to be understood regarding these style of rods is you are dealing with 1.0mm of fiberglass.. Yes, 1.0mm bend it in half or more than it should be, it WILL break.

The other ways noodle rods break.. besides the obvious Car Door or trying to carry all of your gear in one trip and slamming it in the house door..

Drag.. Many fisherman think that you need your drag cranked to no end.. this is ridiculous and frankly I control drag as much with my hand as I do my reel.. I ALWAYS keep my drag fairly loose and hold pressure on my spool on the hookset, and when they are running. what happens is these noodle style rods are put into a rod case and in most cases people do not release the drag OR flip the anti reverse to disengage and then it gets hung up either with another rod.. or something else inside your case.. EVEN if it grabs your line anywhere you go to lift it out with your Hercules drag set and you will again bend the noodle tip between the tip (first) and second guide and again it WILL break.. not right away but it WILL. I highly recommend using a gun style case if you have noodle rods in your arsenal. the Waffled inserts not only hold your rod firm but prevent anything from catching your line and doing as stated above.

Last but certainly not least the "High Sticker" what is high sticking? well just that.. when you lift a fish out of a hole or are fighting a fish and you point your rod to the sky, My Friend, you are a High Sticker and will be penalized. This of course again flexes the rod past the point of intentional use and will fracture.. typically in a "High Sticking" the rod will fracture or break where the backbone starts to come into play.

I will tell you that IF properly cared for, transpoorted and used you can KEEP your noodle rods in your arsenal for a LONG time.

P.S. Noodle rods when broken can NOT be "repaired" and will in 99.9% of the time NOT BE COVERED in the area of replacement. again They can tell based on where they break. ESPECIALLY when we are talking about a hand made product. The "Al Dente" "Power Noodle" "Lite Bite" "Meatstick" are all succeptable to this kind of treatment.

P.P.S. NEVER store a noodle rod with even the slightest amount of tension on the line.. this is very important as Fiberglass has memory and will retain shape this is a huge no no and why you MUST always release the drag completely OR flip the anti reverse off, or both.

Following these simple stpes will greatly increase the life of your noodle rods.

Lines Tight, Hookum Hard! Noodles

[Scott M]

Spot on advice from ieatnoodles (welcome to HSO!)...Those rods now get get my special treatment - individual slots with slicks, anti-reverse turned off, a lot of times I clip jigs and retie the next time I'm using it. I've broken a meat stick and a couple power noodles and won't do it anymore. These are special rods with tiny tips, hand sanded blanks in a lot of cases. They need very special care, but when they are working well and you are seeing those bites you'd probably miss, they're worth it.

[fisherman-andy]

Bravo! I am in 100% agreement with iEatNoodles. I will not lift a fish with the noodle rod nor apply any type of tension when storing the noodle rod not in use. In part if I am going to leave a jig on a noodle rod for storage I have recoil guides to where the small jig can pass through the guides themselves. I will then hook the jig on the rod's hook rest at the base. This way any tension or stress happens during storage wont be applied to the tip or top half or the noodle rod.