DIY: Fishing Rod Tip Guide Repair – Easy, Cost-Saving Install
Eugene L. 11.30.22
I know everyone who has fished for a decent amount of time will have broken the rod tip of their fishing rod. Either you snapped the tip off in a door or a fan, or dropped a rod and cracked the ceramic insert in the fishing rod tip. It happens to all of us and can put an end to a day on the water real quick. And for those of you reading this saying “it hasn’t happened to me” just wait it will, it is just a matter of time. Fortunately, though it’s a relatively easy fix that can be done at home without needing a professional. All you need to repair the fishing rod tip is a pair of pliers, a lighter, and either a rod repair kit like the one shown below or one you order from the fishing rod manufacturer. I do want to note that for the rod tip repair kit from the rod manufacturer tends to only be from higher-end companies.
For off-the-shelf rod repair kits, the process is pretty much the same as what I’ll show today. Just the glue method will be a bit different, the fuji kits the glue is more like a big hot glue stick you melt with a light. The St. Croix kit uses granules of Piccolastic Hydrocarbon resin to melt as the glue. Both use a lighter to remove the tip and melt the glue.
So in this case for the damaged fishing rod tip it was actually 100% not my fault for once. Usually what happens is I prop my fishing rod on my truck and it falls over and cracks the ceramic insert in the rod tip. This time the rod tip was damaged by UPS when it was being shipped to me from St. Croix. Luckily for me their customer service is amazing and was quick to help when I told them what happened. All they needed was the model of the fishing rod and in a few days time, they sent me a package that contained the exact same replacement rod tip, granule glue, and instructions. They didn’t try to charge me or anything, just asked to confirm if I wanted it sent to the same shipping address.
Removing the damaged rop tip is very simple, get a light and hold it under the metal for a couple seconds. Then using some pliers pull off the broken rop tip. Make sure you don’t hit the rod itself with the flame or heat the tip too long. All you’re wanting to do is melt the glue, anything more will damage the blank of the rod and cause more issues down the line.
In this rod tip repairs using the granule glue fill the new replacement tip with the granules.
Then using the light again heat the shaft of the tip guide to melt the glue, make sure not to heat the ceramic insert. If you do heat the ceramic you might crack it which means you need to order another tip.
Now the glue is melted in the tip, quickly line the rod tip up to the rod and slide it on. Adjust quickly to line the tip up to the other rod guides and hold it in place until the glue sets. Once that’s done you should be good to go fish right away.
In the case of using a fuji rod repair kit with the stick glue, the order of things is a little different in the middle of the repair. Remove the damaged rod tip from the fishing rod first using the same lighter method. Then if you have a pair of calipers measure the diameter of the rod you just took the tip off of. Or if you don’t have calipers take the damaged tip and match it to the same-sized diameter replacement tip from the kit and then try a dry fit to make sure the replacement fits. Do note next to the replacement tips on the packaging there are sizes telling you the inner diameter of the rod tip.
Then using the lighter melt tip of the glue stick and slightly heat up the replacement rod tip shank. Give the glue a little more heat and then rub it on the tip of the fishing rod. Then quickly slide on the replacement fishing rod tip. Adjust and then hold it in place till the glue sets. You can reheat the tip a little bit to readjust it till it lines up properly. You have to work quickly with the hot glue or it won’t really adhere the rod tip to the rod. If you try to adjust cold glue it will pull off the tip of the fishing rod and the rod tip guide and not really glue them together.
