2 more broken MB rods...Ughhhh

[djd]

I have 3 MB Destroyer Daemos rods. Practiced yesterday and broke 1 swinging a 2lb fish in the boat. Small tournament today, 2nd keeper of the day, maybe 2.5lbs, snap. Both about 2/3 of the way up the rod. This Spring had the same thing happen with a Black Jungle Deep Crank Slow Roll rod. Last fall it was a XX Diablo Spec and a XX Flip Stick. Year before it was a Black Jungle Frog rod. 5 rods in 3 years. I don't think I had 5 rods break in the 20 years before that. Love the MB rods, but I think I'm done with them. Anyone have similar experience?

[Scud_Muffin]

Guy at the local shop said he had a very similar experience and won’t buy them any longer. Good enough reason for me to avoid them since their warranty is so short.

[bronzebacks]

Yes I've owned 6 mb rods. I broke a xx flipping special and a braillist. Now im down to one emft I'll keep until she busts. I liked thier rods but also heard of all the breakage issues so i went different route. I understand when its my fault but 300$ rods shouldn't bust under normal fishing conditions.

[Cal]

I understand when its my fault but 300$ rods shouldn't bust under normal fishing conditions.

Although it is a common practice... boat flipping fish is not a normal fishing f condition and not what a fishing rod is designed to do. Sure, some can handle it, and that might be a plus, but it is not normal.

[Drakestar]

@freelancer27 had a broken Onager on his first trip out just a couple of weeks ago, as well. It sucks, because I love the USDM Destroyers and haven't had any breakage issues yet (no boat-flipping for me, mostly due to circumstance). But it does make me extra careful on where I buy any MB rods - IIRC the warranty only applies to the original buyer, and authorized retailers.

Sorry about your rods! That doesn't sound fun AT ALL

[bronzebacks]

I understand when its my fault but 300$ rods shouldn't bust under normal fishing conditions.

Although it is a common practice... boat flipping fish is not a normal fishing f condition and not what a fishing rod is designed to do. Sure, some can handle it, and that might be a plus, but it is not normal.

Neither one broke boat flipping fish. The flipping special broke on a hook set of a 4lber and the other borke while fighting a dink

[Cal]

Neither one broke boat flipping fish. The flipping special broke on a hook set of a 4lber and the other borke while fighting a dink

Thank you for clarifying

[freelancer27]

Yes, as @Drakestar so kindly put , my Onager snapped within the very few first casts on my outing (with a 4.5oz glide bait).

Wasn't sure what to make of it. Then did a bit more subjective analysis of the Onager reviews out there to find that almost everybody warns of this rod. I don't know what it is with this rod. Maybe their endeavour to make a super light big swimbait rod required them to make some trade offs, but I am not sure I can buy this. I got the Kistler KLX XXH (another recommendation by CAL) and this rod is as light as the Onager, but just as equally powerful, balanced and capable).
The Megabass T.S. BlackJack that I ordered to replace my Onager has a completely different construction than the Onager. Yes, it is heavier but it is just much more confidence building.
I am a bankfisherman for 90% of the time and I can just not pamper my gear when I am fishing.

Also, in conversation with the Megabass warranty team: I told them that I do not want to get a Onager replaced, given its clearly documented history of breakage. So, let's see what they offer...

[djd]

I understand when its my fault but 300$ rods shouldn't bust under normal fishing conditions.

Although it is a common practice... boat flipping fish is not a normal fishing f condition and not what a fishing rod is designed to do. Sure, some can handle it, and that might be a plus, but it is not normal.

We will have to agree to disagree. Megabass clearly targets the bass fishing market in the US, Japan and elsewhere. Boat flipping bass is common if not the most common way of landing a smaller bass. Even MLF Pros boat flip a 2lb class fish they catch on a spinnerbait and risk the penalty.

It was actually 6 rods in 2 years. The other 4 MB rods broke during the hookset or while playing a fish (not boat flipping).

[Cal]

We will have to agree to disagree.

Agreed...

[Drakestar]

We will have to agree to disagree. Megabass clearly targets the bass fishing market in the US, Japan and elsewhere. Boat flipping bass is common if not the most common way of landing a smaller bass. Even MLF Pros boat flip a 2lb class fish they catch on a spinnerbait and risk the penalty.

I think the issue is two-fold:
1) How to do you define acceptable use case boundaries for the warranty? Each rod has a different tip strength, and supports different bass weight, at what point do you go from "that angler did something we support" to "that angler abused the rod".
2) The desires for a rod that has max sensitivity on the one hand and max boat-flipping strength on the other are opposed. You can't have both. So what should a blank manufacturer optimize for? I'd very much like blanks that are as sensitive as possible and that don't break under the normal load of fighting a fish.
2 1/2) At what power level do you support boat flipping in the first place, seeing how that support is a function of the rod's power and the weight of the fish? Should we ever boat-flip on a Medium rod? If not, but a Med-Heavy officially starts supporting it, can't flipping a 1-pounder on that Medium be officially supported? All those distinctions sounds like a bit of a mess.

[Polkfish1]

I understand when its my fault but 300$ rods shouldn't bust under normal fishing conditions.

Although it is a common practice... boat flipping fish is not a normal fishing f condition and not what a fishing rod is designed to do. Sure, some can handle it, and that might be a plus, but it is not normal.

We will have to agree to disagree. Megabass clearly targets the bass fishing market in the US, Japan and elsewhere. Boat flipping bass is common if not the most common way of landing a smaller bass. Even MLF Pros boat flip a 2lb class fish they catch on a spinnerbait and risk the penalty.

It was actually 6 rods in 2 years. The other 4 MB rods broke during the hookset or while playing a fish (not boat flipping).

Yes; the MFL example popped into my head as soon as I read the beginnings of the discussion above. Their objective of catching as many fish as fast as possible certainly has made boat flipping standard practice in that game... And they don’t just flip them in the boat trying to get the weight off the rod quickly. They high stick and pendulum the fish into their hands so as not to get that penalty. Of course, they’re all fishing duckets, ike series abus, and the like. I think I’ve seen only one filmed rod break while watching mlf, but I’m sure it happens. Obviously these are not super high end sticks with maximised sensitivity. Instead, they’re optimised for durability as duckett states in their advertising.

Back to megabass. I’ve noticed over the years that some extra care needs to be taken with these rods in general. I don’t know if it’s the Mitsubishi rayon they use or whatever it’s called and it seems parsimonious to suggest that the optimised sensitivity/lightness makes for a rod one needs to respect. As I dabble in expensive rods and don’t think twice about sourcing rods without warranty, I tend to me ginger with the pricier ones I get as I am with the megabass in my arsenal. However, the issue with the Onager, and I’ve found with the previous generation (what was then called “new destroyer” series) super destroyer model, is something different. There is something just not quite right with their design or there was some inconsistency with their production, because those failures seem to occur in the act of simply fishing. There’s always someone who fires right back—mine never broke...Well, I’m glad for you. But mine did. That’s why I suggest there might have been some inconsistencies with these stand out models. I fish daily, so my gear gets tested. But I fish it with reasonable care and I know when I break one because of a screw up versus when one just fails in the process of fishing with a fish on the end of the line.

[Cal]

...because those failures seem to occur in the act of simply fishing.

And I've no problem with people reporting those issues. Could be the result of any number of causes and that's what the warranty is for. I've been fortunate with my experiences, but I tell you, if you want a swimbait stick that's on the higher end of the scale and can seemingly take some abuse, get something built on a North Fork blank. The Kistler KLX and Leviathan Omega Swimbait sticks continue to impress. I like my Onager more than both those sticks, but I can understand if people are gun shy based on their own experience.

[poot04]

As far as boat flipping a fish goes, I believe it is an art in itself. You can’t just lift the fish out of the water at any point and hoist it in the boat or you can essentially high stick the rod. If you have the fishes momentum coming towards the gunwale you can put enough pressure on the fish to clear the side of the boat and rest him on the deck without over torquing the rod. The pros are fishing for a lot of money and most aren’t paying for the rods so getting the fish into the boat at all cost is the name of the game.

[Cal]

... and rest him on the deck ....

I'm not fond of that practice either. Fish have a somewhat delicate slime coat that protects them from parasites and bacteria. Laying them on the deck rubs that off and can compromise their health in the long term. I like to believe this is the basis for the MLF penalty of the fish hitting the deck.

But speaking of MLF and art forms, how those guys craddle the fish into the boat just blows me away every single time. I can't understand how fish don't flop out of their arms! I know if I tried that, it wouldn't be pretty!