donsalmon, breaks up to one and a half inches can be attributed to stupidity; beyond that sheer stupidity gets the credit. Once a decade, you're allowed to use material defect as an excuse. Once in a lifetime, you can cite an "act of God" as the cause. I've broken rods from tips to handles. A UPS clerk told me their company stayed in business by shipping broken graphite rods and their replacements to and from the factories(I was shipping a broken rod at the time). During the mid-seventies, Fenwick and I teamed up to produce the FS81C, a rod particularly suited for jigging herring, or fishing flounders. Hope you can put your custom rod to similar good use. Ryan and Jigman have given you some good suggestions. Might I suggest pole beans, climbing roses, or an ivy topiary
Seriously, good luck getting your rod replaced. Gotta be heartbreakin' to break a GLoomis

[ 06-08-2001: Message edited by: CedarR ]