Ok so last month I went to Amistad and broke the tip off my Falcon Original 6'6" MH. I was setting the hook on a little fish so I thought that maybe this rod was damaged at some point. Then yesterday I broke a Waterloo Carolina Rig 7' half way down, again while setting the hook. WTH??? Anyone else having this issue? Both had Fireline 20lb test, the Falcon I was drop shotting and the Waterloo I was C-rigged.

Braided line is rough on tough hooksets. I have heard many people have broken rods trying to strong arm fish with braid.

I don't kill it with braid, I just snap the wrist and it's on. Never had any issues with breaking rods.

is it possible that they somehow were stepped on while on the front deck at some point since you've had them? I've had a couple that I got off balance and accidentally stepped on.. they ended up breaking a couple of months down the road

With braid it normally sets hook with just a snap of wrist.
Oh! kat-man-do said that. He is right.

Warranty?

firline is very sinsative thats y its the best

Any time a rod brakes after you've used it a bit, it's almost always because of damage done after you've bought the rod. A defective blank will usually snap the first time you use it. You might want to look at how they are being transported, either to and from the lake or maybe in your boat. Are they resting on a corner or edge. Do they occasionally get stepped on or have things dropped on them?

As Evan noted above, you might not notice any damage when something happens like you accidentally step on it, but it does damage the rod.

The braid shouldn't be the issue, but you can use the advice given so far, but also loosen the drag so that the reel "zipz" on the hookset. These super lines and super sharp hooks do not require a hard hooset to drive the point in. Once you get the fish on you can pump them a couple of times for good measure, but the fight alone is usually sufficient to keep them hooked. I agree with the damage theory more than anything else. It doesn' take but a tiny nick to start a whole chain reaction under the right circumstances with carbon epoxy graphite.

Yeah I see a lot of guys stepping on rods, and I personally think this is the biggest reason. I know I have stepped on my rods when they are on the deck.

normally if you have a defective blank it wont splinter it wil just be a smooth cut if its from wear and tear it will also braid is bad about wrapping around a rod tip or eyes because of the lack of memory it dosent take much wind or sudden tap on a slack line for it to be tossed around the tip with out notice.

I have had two Loomis rods break on me recently, I think braid had something to do with it, I just used the expediter service that Loomis provides, 600.00 worth of rods replaced for 100.00, delivered to your door, no fuss no muss, I guess I could have sent them in for warranty replacement and seen if they would have warranteed them but I would have spent probably 30.00 or so in shipping and packing and they may have declined warranty.

Both breaks were like clean cuts, no splintering or splitting. I have worried about the stepped on thing myself and know that the Waterloo was never stepped on or damaged in any way. I have had other rods break because I stepped on them or closed them in a tailgate but this was different. It snapped clean just above the 2nd eye. I've had it just over a year but only used it 5-7 times. I think the blank was bad. I had just reeled in a 6lber and it broke on the next fish.

a friend of mine makes rods and i have made a few and the blank companies will take them back without question every it is that smooth clean cut that i have tried.

"Impact breaks are usually clean breaks with little to no lengthwise splitting of the blank around the break."

Quoted from Rod Maker Magazine which broke about 600 blanks to test and show all the different kinds of blank failures. A smooth clean break is almost always indicative of a break caused by an impact.

Just go bulk up at the gym and use an Ugly Stick...lol.