I received an email from my site last week that brought up a problem all fishermen have at some time. The person emailing me had broken a guide on his rod and wanted to know how to replace it. When a relatively minor problem happens to a favorite rod, you would like to get it fixed and start using it again.

Rod tips often get broken off and are fairly easy to replace. If the tip breaks near the end you can get a replacement tip, just be sure you buy a tip with a hole big enough to go over the rod where it broke.

To replace a tip, scrape or cut off any remaining thread used to wrap the old tip. Sand down the rod tip for an inch or so just enough to roughen it up, then use ferrule cement to glue the new tip on. Ferrule cement comes in a stick and you melt it, dab it on the rod and then slip the tip over the glue and end of the rod. Make sure it is lined up correctly before the glue hardens.

A line guide is more difficult to replace. Guides are either single or double footed. They are put on by wrapping thread around them then coating it with epoxy. If one came off it probably broke the threads or slipped out from under them if it is a single footed guide.

To replace them you need to cut off the old threads – they may look like tape on the rod, and some companies use a type of tape to put them on. If it is tape, remove it. Then you put the guide on the rod by wrapping thread around the guide foot and rod. Dental floss will work but a you should be able to find some rod thread.

Wrap the thread tightly working from the end of the foot to the guide. After the thread is wrapped, you can coat it with epoxy or even clear fingernail polish.