Fly Rod Repair Field Hack

Rod Repair Field Hack

I was fishing over in Yellowstone National Park last week for the 4th and while parked a young angler came over to our rig to ask if we had some duct tape that he could use to repair his broken fly rod.

While I didn't have duct tape, I did have some waterproof Gorilla Tape in my tool kit, but as I was contemplating on how to best use the tape for the repai, my significant other Jen chimed in and said, "Why don't you use zip ties?" I paused and thought about it, it was brilliant

It just so happened that I had a handful of zip ties that I keep in the tool kit as well, they are perfect for lashing items to packs, broken straps, and whatever else may come loose on/in your vehicle.

My first thought was to overlap the two broken sections and wrap the zip tie around multiple times, then cinch up. But as I was doing that it made a lot more sense to just overlap the sections and affix 3-4 zip ties in the regular way they are designed for.

I asked the young angler to report back to me on how it worked, after fishing some streamers for the day with it he was happy to report that he held up!

While this repair won't work all the time, or in all sections depending on the type of break, it could help salvage the day and keep you on the water.

Note: I just had one size zip tie, but it would probably be beneficial to have some other sizes for other sections.

Hope that helps if you ever find yourself in that situation where you may need a quick fix in the field.