In this video, I’ll show you how to handle them the right way to avoid costly breakages.
Graphite rods are incredible tools—light, sensitive, and powerful.
But they’re also fragile if not used properly.
Today, I want to share a really important tip when it comes to using graphite fishing rods.
Graphite rods are super sensitive, super crisp, and an absolute pleasure to use for lure fishing. But the one thing you need to be careful of is—they can be quite fragile and need to be used correctly.
Graphite rods are built on a spine using really light material, which can make them a bit brittle. So it’s important that when you’re playing a fish, you maintain a nice, even bend through the rod.
I’ve got Glenny here helping out—he’s going to pretend to be the fish. You can see the rod has a nice even curve. It’s bending right down where it’s tucked under my arm, and that bend continues smoothly through to the tip. There are no flat spots or pressure concentrated in any one area—the load is spread evenly throughout the rod.
In this position, the rod is powerful. You can apply a lot of pressure, really pull hard, and you’ll start pulling drag before anything happens to the rod.
Now, depending on where the fish is, that changes how you position the rod. In this example, with Glenny being close, the rod is loaded horizontally, pretty much pointing straight out in front of me—not up toward the sky.
If the fish was further out—say, I’m fishing a lake and it’s 20 meters out—I could lift the rod a bit higher, again making sure to keep that smooth, even pressure on the rod, but still putting solid pressure back on the fish.
It’s also important that when a fish lunges—whether it’s diving for structure or trying to shake the hook—you follow the fish and guide the rod down with it. A lot of people keep the rod stiff, and when the fish surges, that’s when the rod gets put in a really vulnerable position.
Keeping that nice, even bend is key. You want to avoid pressure on any one part of the rod.
What we often see is people lifting the rod really high when the fish is close—right near their feet. That puts too much pressure on the tip section of the rod, and that’s where it often breaks. That’s definitely not what you want with your nice, expensive graphite rod.
So now we’re going to show you a quick demo of what happens when you don’t do it right.
Alright, I’m going to lift the rod up high like this. Glenn’s going to simulate the fish pulling…
[Snap sound]
Bang! Busted graphite rod.
Keep in mind, this is only 8 lb line. When the rod is in the wrong position, you lose all power. On my end, it felt like I had no control—it just felt like all the pressure was building up toward the tip. Eventually, the rod couldn’t take it anymore and snapped.
This was a 3–6 kg rod, which is heavier than your typical 1–3 or 2–4 kg rods. With those lighter rods, you have to be even more careful—they’ll break much more easily.
And this applies to all graphite rods—whether it’s a 50 lb rod or a 3 kg rod. It doesn’t matter. It’s absolutely essential to hold them correctly, point them in the right direction, and maintain that even pressure.
If you do it right, you won’t have any problems.