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Daiwa fishing rods exhibit some of the highest quality in the entire industry, and are made with high-strength graphite. However, if there’s one single issue that most fishermen experience with their rods from time to time, it has to be a broken tip.

Overloading the rod during a cast, high-sticking when fighting a fish, or just accidentally stepping on the tip of the rod - all of these can cause a broken tip.

Fortunately, the issue is quite common and can be rectified very easily.

Here’s what to do.

Fixing a Daiwa Fishing Rod Tip

Let’s say you’ve broken your Daiwa fishing rod’s tip. The first thing you’ll need to do is put the rod aside until you can get an appropriate repair tip. Put it somewhere that it will not be damaged until you can make the requisite repair.

They sell these at pretty much any tackle shop and even big-box retailers like Wal-Mart, Bass Pro and Cabela’s sell them too. If you buy a kit, it’ll come with multiple replacement tips as well as a heat-sensitive adhesive stick.

The one thing to make sure of is that you’re getting a repair tip that will be compatible with your rod. A little bit bigger is alright but for obvious reasons if it is too small in diameter to slide over the damaged end of the rod, it will not work.

Once you have an appropriate replacement tip and an adhesive stick, you need to get the rod out and assess the damage.

Clean breaks are rare in fishing rods, since they are mostly made from graphite, which is a fibrous material. You will probably have some fraying or separation among the fibers around the tip of the rod.

What you need to do first is figure out how far down the rod the separation continues in the fibers. You need to find the point where the damage ends, and cut the end of the rod off beneath that.

But this part is important - you must use an appropriate tool to cut off the tip of the rod past the point where the fraying ends. If not, you will be contributing to the damage of the rod. A hand saw will not work, as it will encourage separation of the graphite fibers.

The best tool for this is a rotary tool with a high-speed cutoff disc. You’ll also need eye protection. Equip the rotary tool, secure the rod tip in a vice or some other tool holder (very close to where the break has occurred), run the rotary tool on the highest speed acceptable for the cut-off wheel, and cut off the end of the rod below the point where there is no damage.

Once you’re done with that step, place the rotary tool aside and inspect the end of the rod. Make sure there is no fraying or separation at the rod tip. It should look like it’s been cleanly cut off.

If it does, you’re good to go. Wipe off the end of the rod to make sure it’s clean, and that there is no dust on it (this will hamper adhesion). Now you’re ready to place the new rod tip on.

For this, you’ll need to get out one of the replacement tips that came with the kit you bought, along with the adhesive stick. You will also need a candle or a lighter, as well as a bit of paper towel.

Peel back some of the paper from the glue stick to expose some of the glue. Heat up the end of the glue stick using either the candle or the lighter until it has turned clear and started to melt. A few seconds at most and you should be good to go.

Apply some of this melted glue to the end of the rod (not to the replacement tip). Make sure there you have evenly coated the end of the rod, then slide the replacement tip over the top of the end of the rod. Immediately rotate the replacement tip so that it is in line with the rest of your eyelets.

This glue will cure fast as it cools off, so as soon as you have gotten the replacement tip in line and where you want it to be, wipe off any excess glue around the base with the paper towel you have on hand.

Then, set the rod aside to cool for a few minutes. Within an hour, the adhesive will have cured fully and you’ll be ready to fish with the rod again.

That’s all there is to replacing a Daiwa fishing rod tip, and it is an invaluable skill to have.

Here for a New Daiwa Fishing Rod?

If you break your Daiwa fishing rod near the tip, you can follow the instructions here to make the repair. If you break it too far down, however, it’s time to retire that rod and get a new one. We can help with that; just make sure that you don’t do twice whatever you did to break the rod in the first place!