[yourinmyspot]

Broke a Seeker Hercules 70L factory rod (I know I am as surprised as you are) while fishing and called and sent it back to Seeker. They "inspected" the blank and determined it is not covered under its Lifetime Warranty due to the fact the blank was "Overstressed". I guess where I am having an issue is that I understand the whole "if you slam it in your car door its on you thing", but if it happens while fishing, well, I would think/assume/hope it would be on them, and there would be a better customer service response.

This is me just giving my opinion as a consumer and letting others know the experience I had. I own way too many rods, many of which are seekers, and have had only good experiences, and never claimed anything under their warranty until now. I would have hoped that when I had a legitimate problem they would have been more reasonable, if for no other reason than for good PR.

If nothing else consider this example the next time you think about buying a rod. It may not be the deciding factor, as most of the time Seeker's as well as other high end rods are extremely well built and reliable. IMHO a company should be much more consumer friendly in dealing with a broken product, especially when it is a $300+ factory fishing rod.

Lee

 

[yourinmyspot]

How did the rod break?

The rod broke swinging a blackfish in the boat. It didn't break completely, just split the blank vertically on the underside. This was not a "high stick" or anything close to that, just a regular swing. The seeker pro staffers have posted plenty of pictures on social media showing them swinging fish in, which would lead me to believe that it is not a no-no.

 

[yourinmyspot]

Sorry to read about your problem.

What was the weight of the blackfish and how much lead were you using?

Neil

Neil,

It was not a huge fish maybe 6-7lbs? Using 8 oz. of lead. Didn't think I would have an issue as I have lifted larger fish than that, albeit using a different rod. Like I said, it was surprising to say the least.

 

[yourinmyspot]

I wish i had taken a picture before i sent it back so i could post. The rod didn't "snap" it made a popping sound and then there was a vertical crack through the blank. Not sure whether that means de-laminating or not.

 

[yourinmyspot]

Were you holding the grips when you swang the fish or slid your hand up the blank?

Holding the grips. The fore grip on the factory model is very long and extends up the blank quite a bit.

 

[yourinmyspot]

Hi,

Did this crack happen in the area where the tip goes from flex to stiff? I ask as I have not fished an Inshore Lite.

Many years ago The LI Fisherman had a great article about stress on blanks. Their testing proved that when holding the rod between 3 and 5 o'clock the most stress was placed on the fish and not on the blank. Raising the tip above 3 o'clock heading towards 12 o'clock produced less stress on the fish and more stress on the blank. Swinging a fish over the side is basically high sticking. Many times you see an angler on a pb waiting for a mate with the rod tip up and a fish handing below the tip. I have seen them with the butt resting on the deck and the fish hanging off the tip. And then, a rifle shot! The weakest ares of a blank are where there are changes in design, flexible tip area to mid section of blank and even the mid section to the butt area. Graphite is very strong but it's achilles heel is it's stiffness.

Neil

The crack was on the underside in the bend of the blank it was probably 4 to 5 guides down the blank so certainly close to the point I believe you are explaining. I can accept that things like this happen if you fish enough. What I can not accept is a company that refuses to honor a warranty that it puts in big letters on the tag when it sells the rod. Hopefully they will reconsider their decision, but time will tell.

 

[yourinmyspot]

I broke a Calstar 700M. There was a replacement cost of 75.00 for the blank.

Seeker has the same warranty policy. Its limited lifetime against defects. If you lift any fish over the rail on any brand graphite blank its going to break. Lifting a fish is a high stick. You at some point have to go vertical with the rod.

Seeker didnt offer to replace the blank at some replacement cost?

If a blank is defective they usually break in the first few times you use them.

The did offer a to replace it at a cost, and it may unfortunately end up being my only resolution. However, I do not believe it should have to come to that. I understand that if companies continually honor a blanket warranty they claim to lose a lot of money, however if a factory rod costs $300+ and comes with a warranty, it is silly to think some degree of cushion is not built into the purchase price to deal with warranty replacements.

 

[yourinmyspot]

Randy,

Thanks for your input. That being said I do not believe user error caused the rod to break as you suggest. I did swing the fish, no question. And in a message I sent to Darin yesterday I explained how, and that there was a picture on a popular social media site of a pro staffer also swinging a yellowtail over the rail. If swinging a fish is user error in the opinion of Seeker there isn't much more to discuss. Sorry to have wasted your time, but I believe the situation should be as public as possible so that the consumer understands the ground rules for your warranty and how your company handles issues such as this. If this is the final word, please have someone contact me for payment information on a replacement.

 

[yourinmyspot]

a company advertised broken rods replaced no questions asked. Sounds good. But here is what one guy did. Bought the rod and at the end of the season he would purposely break it, return it to the tackle shop and get a new one. Started the next year off with a new rod.

Another guy lifted stripers with a lite rod and it broke. Goes to the tackle shop the next day gets a new rod. Goes fishing that night and breaks the second rod lifting a striper. So he goes back to the shop and gets a new one. This time the employee tells him I know what you are doing. This is the last rod you are getting replaced.

This is the one area of custom rod building that I don't like. Rod breaks and regardless of the reason some folks expect me to build them a new one for free. Wasn't my fault the rod broke. I do offer to build them a new one for 1/2 the labor rate plus parts.

This is certainly a gray area for both the manufacturer and the purchaser.

Capt Neil

The entire situation really sucks. It sucks that it happened and sucks that I have to deal with the return and warranty/non-warranty questions. The good news is now I know the parameters of the Seeker warranty, and can evaluate it as one of the factors when I am buying the next rod and the next one....

 

[yourinmyspot]

Sounds like an expensive rod, how much was
It? 75 bucks to replace sounds pretty darn good for a few year old rod.
If a rods defective its gonna break probably the first day .
I've had lamis literally break on the first fish ever. And
I've had that same blank last many many years with
Thousands of bass on them . And I treat my stuff horrible
You'd be blown away at the size of fish I can make come flying
Over the rail like the fresh water guys do . On a ic70mh
It's all in the technique . If your hand is anywhere north of the
Foregrip it's your fault

Rod was a little over $300

 

[yourinmyspot]

So am I reading this whole thread correctly?

YIMS wanted to swing a 7 pound fish and the rod broke?

I'm sorry, but in what reality is that NOT considered an abusive action? No one else feels this way? Take a Herc Inshore Light and fill a bucket with 7lbs of lead. Now dead-lift it off the floor, up high over a make believe rail or gunnel, and then tell me how that works out. Would that not be the very definition of "high-sticking?"

I give YIMS plenty of points for honesty, sounds like a genuinely nice fella that really believes that the blank company is trying to skate on the warranty. But in my opinion the disastrous results of his action is just not something that you can hold a blank company liable for.

These new high-tech carbon-graphite rods aren't the old broom-stick glass Lami's from the 1970's. I recall swinging 10lb bluefish like they were minnows. Nope, these fancy graphite blanks need to be treated with care if one expects to cash in on their extreme sensitivity. Like anything else, its all a trade-off. We receive great sensitivity and get to hold a very lightweight stick all day - which is good, but this great new utility comes with the implied caveat that they just will not tolerate the kind of use that is indicated in this thread.

Sorry, but that's my dos centavos worth.

Lep

Thanks for the input Lep. Certainly will have to think twice before doing anything like that again. While I was doing it, it didn't seem like that big a deal until the popping sound.

 

[yourinmyspot]

I've broken my share of rods, lifting fish, setting hooks, car doors etc. All were my fault. And In dealing with the warranty depts of such rods, I've stated it was my fault. There were times, they replaced them for a fee and other times I lucked out and just paid shipping. Regardless of the outcome, I knew going in that I screwed up and would have to face the consequences. Lifting fish is and always will be abuse. Rods are made to catch fish. Nets are made to land them.

The reason why I chimmed in is because of another recent thread regarding Seeker in which it states that Seeker is replacing a rod, on their own accord and out of praise, on a rod that was railed so badly, that the rod actually flattened on the underside and hypalon foregrip was worn through. I know that this is not fact that this was done because you cant always beleive what you read, but if so, how can Seeker reward one person for abusing a rod and not another? If this were the case, YIMS should have ground down the rod and posted pics on how many big fish he caught with it....

Speaking as a parent, rules are put in place for continuity, among other things. Rules are rules though, and once you give in to those rules, you lose those rules. You cant be discretional from one child to the other. So why is this any different? Why is YIMS suffering the consequences when "Peter" is being rewarded? I'd call it bad parenting

Funny, I read the thread you are referring to and thought the exact same thing...

 

[yourinmyspot]

WHat do you know about what is the most common way to break rods is? What research have you done? Have you worked in the warantee department of any rod manufacturer? Do you know that they do not snag bunker in FW lakes, ponds, in the PAcific coast, in Europe?

I think what he said was it was the most common way HE breaks rods.