Yesterday was a great day fun-fishing on the Savannah River, as many of y’all have seen from my fish posts on Instagram and Facebook. But there’s part I’ve left out - the rest of the story. I actually lost a smallmouth on a hookset with 30 lb braid in open water, and it probably would’ve went over 6 pounds, almost unheard of for a Georgia smallie; easily a Citation fish.
The catch is, the line didn’t break at the knot, but somewhere in the middle. The fish jumped nearly 2’ out of the water 3 times trying to spit my lure (rhymes with Mopper Flopper). Eventually she succeeded and I got the lure back for a while, just to REALLY lose it later when the same exact thing happened again on a 2-3 lb spotted bass.
At first, I thought I needed to re-spool new braid, but upon further investigation I found the real culprit. This photo is magnified a lot, but you can see a small chip in one of my guide inserts. I tied my line to a stationary object 3 times and set the hook hard until the line broke. Each time, the break was between the 3rd and 4th guide from the reel. Turns out the 4th guide had the exposed sharp edge.
A tiny, microscopic detail not only cost me a $17 lure, but more importantly, a trophy smallmouth.
The rod is the Lews TP1 Speed Stick 7’ MH-Fast. I feel like it’s a good rod. I honestly don’t think it’s a defect, just an effect of heavy use and abuse that comes with regular kayak angling, and a costly oversight on my part.
A few months ago, I got a buzzbait snagged in a tree with this rod, and the same thing happened with the line breaking in the middle rather than at the usual weak spot, the knot. I should have investigated then. Ignoring it cost me.
I guess the lesson learned is to not forget about periodic service & inspection on your rods. Everyone services their reels and changes out fishing line, but that’s not all of the equation. This problem was so small, I could barely see it in bright light, and had to confirm with a scratch awl that it really was a chip. It really was a miniscule detail, but an important one.
I can’t imagine this happening in a tournament. Inspect your gear, folks.
UPDATE 11/7/17 - I called Lew’s today, and they are sending me a new line guide free of charge, no questions asked. This is the kind of customer service that will influence what products I choose to use in the future.
UPDATE 11/7/17 - I called Lew’s today, and they are sending me a new line guide free of charge, no questions asked. This is the kind of customer service that will influence what products I choose to use in the future.
Tight lines, y’all...
