ceiling fan will do the same. i have twice stuck a rod in a fan and it didnt break. the 1st cast or fish it would break.

I did that with a brand spanking new loomis.. . .shocked me.. was my 2nd cast or something....I called the company and started to complain.. she politely stopped me and said we will send you a new one asap.. almost like they heard it before.. she was so nice.
She did say that sometimes the graphite can have an issue in production.. and it will come out in the first few uses.. it is not 'common' but it does happen.
she also said sometimes a 'bump' in the right place can weaken the rod and just the right application if tension can snap it. She also said it depends on where it breaks.. if it breaks in an 'odd' place it can point to a defect in the rod.
Anyway.. they sent a new one. .in tube. .with return label.. and some free stickers.. great company.... my 3rd rod replacement with them (others were from stepping on them).
did you know if you break any loomis they wil replace it ... no questions. .for $50.. including shipping.. amazing.. good for us clumsy people..
loomis or bust..

+1 most of mine have come from me being a dumDa.., and not paying attention.

LOL...Yes!!! Not laughing at you, just remembering a time this happened to me.

A good buddy of mine and I had been scoping out this BEAUTIFUL pond for months. It was perfect. Great structure, clean water, easy access, etc. There was one problem though. It was on private property. It was old cattle land that had been for sale for years, and still is to this day. Well, one night after a few frosty beverages, we decided to hop the fence and give it a try. We quickly scurried under the barbed wire and jogged over to the pond to avoid being spotted. Each of us had one rod and a bag soft plastics in our pocket. We get down to the water's edge and get ready to make our first cast. I rared back and let her rip...SNAP!!!! I was left holding nothing more than the cork handle. Rod, reel, lure and all took off into the depths. My buddy laughed so hard, he almost passed out. To make things worse, he slayed 'em for the next hour while I could do nothing more than watch. That was many moons ago and the first and last time I ever trespassed. I chalked it up to karma.

I have also broken a few one shimano, the other St Croix, both snapped while casting large crankbaits, but you could tell they both had nicks near the the lure eye attachement by the handle, I have had good luck with most brands since I started to wrap my line once I attach the lure this way the hooks or lure will not bang or vibrate against the rod blank and leave marks thus causing a week link

Be sure to look at the decal on your rods.. matching line weight/ test and lure weight to he recommended range will make them work more efficiently. Throwing a 3/4- 1oz bait on a rod rated for 1/8-1/2oz lures can over stress the rod blank. A rod is made to load and bend at a specific rate.. when you exceed this load rate it can damage the fibers and seporate the resin that bonds the blank together.

Also one thing a lot of Fisherman miss is the line rating/ range. If your rod is rated for 10-17# test line it's best to stay between 12-15# line. That is the called fishing the Sweet Spot which is the middle of the line test range on the Rod MFG decal.

If you use braided lines be sure to set your drag a little loose to account for the lack of stretch in the super lines. That way you do not over stress the blank on hook sets and fighting larger fish. Use a net more and avoid over stressing the blank swinging fish in the boat.

As many have said.. if you break a rod in the first few uses it's most likely a factory defect.. if you have had the rod for a few months/ years it's almost always due to damage that weakened the rod blank. Our Texas heat will bring out defects/ damage because it expands the composite fibers and resins that bind them together. Excessive exposure UV rays due to rods sitting on the deck can weaken the blank as a whole.

The newer super sensitive thinner blanks and stiffer modus rods take a lot less abuse than the older thicker rods most of us grew up with. They take more TLC in storing, fishing and handling on general. You can't just throw them in a pile and kick them around if you expect them to last.

Bazz

Thanks Bazz for all the info. I have never really paid that much attention to the line and lure wieght decal on the rods. I also use lots of super lines when I fish at Falcon.

Funny, I broke a Shimano Scimitar earlier this year and Academy gave me full credit for the rod.

The thing just all of a sudden snapped like a toothpick.

i was fishing a caralina rig and snaped the tip off wall casting this hapend to be a week after a 1 year warente