After a long trip back from the shore and unpacking all your fishing gear in the truck bed, you get an unpleasant surprise when find you find the guide’s tips on your favorite rods are snapped off at the ends of the poles. It sucks. There is no reason to replace the whole fishing rod, just fix the guides at the ends. How Do You Fix a Broken Rod Guide Tip?
- Using a lighter, heat the barrel of the tip guide
- Use needle nose pliers-grasp the tip guide & pull away
- Size the new guide
- Preheat rod tip glue-apply it to the rod
- Let glue dry
- Reheat glue again & slide the new tip onto the rod
- Line up the guide with the rest of the guides
- Remove excess glue from the rod.
If you’re looking to replace the guide yourself, it’s very easy, however, you can do so in a few easy steps with a few materials, and a little patience and you’ll have your favorite fishing rod back on the water just follow these directions.
How to Fix a Broken Rod Guide Tip
Materials Needed For Fishing Rod Tip Repairs
- Replacement rod tip. Sometimes you can also use your old rod tip, depending on how it broke off the rod
- Glue, similar to the type a hot glue gun uses
- Lighter
- Forceps, to protect your fingers
- Knife
Step One: Remove the Damaged Tip
Using your heat source, maybe a lighter heat the tube of the top guide for a couple of seconds to loosen the glue, this will allow you to free the old tip. Pull it free from the rod with pliers or forceps. Once you expose the tip of the rod blank give it a wipe with an alcohol pad or clean rag to strip any dirt or debris from the tip, ensuring a strong bond between the glue and your new rod tip.
Step two: Pick a new guide
Many rod repair kits will come with three top guides varying in size. You can simply try each guide to find the one that fits snuggly on your rod. Size up the diameter of your rod’s tip to best match the corresponding tube bore diameter.
Step three: Apply glue to tip
Glue is needed to affix your guide to the rod. If you prefer to use super glue for a permanent hold, that’s fine. Most will use hot melt-style glue in the event they need to replace their tip-top again down the road. Soften your hot melt glue by heating it up with a lighter, heat gun, or another heat source, and apply a small amount around the blank’s tip also the interior of the guide tube.
Step four: Apply the guide Tip
To complete the job press the glue-filled guide down over the tip of the rod and make sure to align it with the rest of your guide train. Once your new tip is on, a quick wipe with an alcohol swab or clean cloth to remove any excess glue completes the repair job.
Fishing Rod Tip Guide Sizes
What is the top diameter for a fishing rod?
Standard sizes are 6, 8, and 10mm for conventional rods, while heavier saltwater rods may go as high as a 16mm ring
- A fast tip means the rod is bending at the top.
- Slow tip means it’s bending from the base to the end of the tip in one smooth, curved movement
Replacement Rod Tips
The first measurement in a Tip-Top is the OD of the ring (eyelet) in millimeters. Generally, the inside diameter (ID) of the ring will match the smallest guide on the rod. Standard sizes are 6, 8, and 10mm for conventional fishing rods, while heavier ocean rods may go as high as a 16mm ring.
TUBE SIZING
The second measurement in a Tip-Top is the ID of the tube, measured in 1/64ths of an inch. The tube size should correspond to the size given by the manufacturer of your blank. Tube sizes generally range from 3.5 to 12, but they go all the way up to 32 (.500″) in Big Game roller tops. 
INSERT RINGS
Sizes will vary depending on the manufacturer and are determined in millimeters. On guides with insert rings, the measurement is taken from the OD of the insert ring. While for wire guides, the size measurement is taken from the ID of the loop.
The barrel diameter is sized in 1/64” or millimeters. The chart provides the maximum decimal reading in inches for the barrel shown both in 1/64” and Millimeters (mm). Do Not use a smaller barrel diameter as damage to the rod blank will likely occur.
Most rod repair shops prefer to use the next size up to allow for the glue. For example, if your caliper reading is 0.075, most shops will recommend a size 5.5 tip even though a size 5 tip will fit.
What are the Differences Between Graphite and Fiberglass Material in Fishing Rods?
Fiberglass Rods:
- More Flexibility
- Bends from the butt making it for slower action
- Less expensive
- Made to fish small streams
- Good for beginners-more forgiving
Graphite Rods:
- More sensitive could be brittle
- For catching larger fish
- Bends from the tip make for faster action
- Lighter weight
- Made to fish lakes .……………………………………………………………………………………….. Read more
Broken Rod Tip and Guide Repairs
Broken rod tips can be repaired on a fishing rod with some epoxy or glue and heat for an easy fix. Leading the fishing line down the rod and out of the tip-top, guides are one of the most important jobs of a fishing rod. Each guide is as if not more important than the last in reducing the friction on the fishing line and guiding the line out easily.
Whether it’s a double foot, single foot, or trolling guide, all are equally valuable to the overall performance of the fishing rod because, without one guide, the remaining rod’s performance is severely reduced. Removing and replacing broken guides is not only possible but when done with the correct technique, it’s a simple task. Fishermen can learn how to repair and replace rod guides can be done with a rod repair kit, a guide for a rod tip, and little helpful know-how for repairs, and you can save a lot of money.
How do you Re-Spool a Spinning Reel?
- Open Bail
- Tie string onto the spool with an Arbor knot
- Run the Line through the first Guide
- Stand over top of the new line
- Apply resistance as you wind the line
- Wind at least 100 + yds-1/8 to 3/16″ from the lip of the spool.
- For Braided line-Use 1 layer of monofilament line
- Use Uni Knot to tie both together ..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Read more
JimGalloway Author/Editor
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