Fish It.

Fish It. Fish It is a custom rod repair service for the Reading, PA area. Repairs include guides, handles and broken rods. Service provided by appointment only

Most guides can be replaced, most handles can be repaired and some broken rods can be fixed.

An unfortunate break to the tip of a 5 wt fly rod. At this location, the only option is to cut the break clean and add a...
05/21/2026

An unfortunate break to the tip of a 5 wt fly rod. At this location, the only option is to cut the break clean and add a new tip top. This will change the action of the rod (now a faster tip), but it is the only option. Unfortunately, the original tip top was a 3.5 tube size and the rod now requires a 4.0 tube tip top. The important thing to remember when replacing a break is that there are no cracks extending further down the blank. If you fail to cut them out, the rod will break again. I used a rotary tool to cut the blank clean, but a hack saw works as well. Wrapping it the tip in masking tape can help with getting a clean cut.

Here is a simple fix for a customer. The broken guide was removed, blank cleaned up and the new guide wrapped and epoxi...
04/13/2026

Here is a simple fix for a customer. The broken guide was removed, blank cleaned up and the new guide wrapped and epoxied. I was able to maintain the original gold trim band through careful removal. This isn't always possible, but worked out this time.

This is an old Berkley Cherrywood Medium Light fast (former) 2 piece rod. It was closed in a car door and the rod was da...
03/21/2026

This is an old Berkley Cherrywood Medium Light fast (former) 2 piece rod. It was closed in a car door and the rod was damaged at the ferrule. About 1 inch of the top 1/2 of the rod ferrule was broke (and discarded w/o pictures). This is a straighforward fix:
1. The rod was cut to remove any broken material. It is a graphite rod and you need to be sure there are no cracks in the blank. All cracks need to be removed.
2. The rod was sanded to create a smooth transition area for the thread wrap.
3. The rod was assembled and checked to ensure the guides were in allignment.
4. The rod was wrapped, starting on the bottom half and finishing on the top 1/2. The overlap on each is 3/4 to 1".
5. The last step is to add epoxy to the wrap. This is in the queue as the rod dryer is currently in use.

The rod may have been ok without the wrap, and keeping it as a two piece, but the wrap adds strength to that area without significant changing the action/power of the rod. This falls under better safe than sorry, because if it breaks again, it will be more difficult to fix.

This is a 7 foot, Medium Light - Fast, Rod Forge custom Rod. The handle and reel seat were damaged and needed to be repl...
03/08/2026

This is a 7 foot, Medium Light - Fast, Rod Forge custom Rod. The handle and reel seat were damaged and needed to be replaced. After removal of the seat and handle, it was decided to replace the handle with an American Tackle Tsuka 2 Carbon Handle System. While the Tsuka 2 is a great handle, either for spinning or casting, it is expensive ($100). While the handle is hollow, the blank will not slide all the way through. Approximately 7 inches were removed from the butt of this rod blank to allow for proper assembly. After assembly, the rod is a shade over 7 foot (approx. 1"). The reel seat is approximately the same location with the Tsuka 2 as the traditional handle on this rod. Weights have been added to the butt of the Tsuka 2 to perfectly balance the rod. Without the weight, the rod will be very tip heavy, not ideal for finesse fishing.

03/02/2026

Fees:

Guides - $20.00 plus the sourcing cost of the guide

Handles/reel seats (complete replacement) - $50.00 plus the sourcing cost of the new handle/reel seat

Handle/seat repairs - varies depending on repair

Blank repairs - varies depending on location of break and method used to fix break

Here is a handle that fixed last year. This is an easier fix on a blank because there is much less stress on this part o...
02/23/2026

Here is a handle that fixed last year. This is an easier fix on a blank because there is much less stress on this part of the rod compared to between the handle and the tip. This was fixed by cutting out the broken section, replacing it and wrapping the replacement section with black thread. The thread was added for ascetic purposes only. I was able to use the same fighting butt on the repair. This should last a long time, but with any blank repair, there is no guarantee. You can never tell for sure how far the cracks extend in the blank and any repair is going to create a weak spot. Luckily, this repair should have little to no affect on the power of the rod.

Address

Morgantown
Morgantown, PA
19543

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