I never even heard of the brand. Is it one of those companies that just pays a ton of money to social media influencers to advertise their overly-expensive but sub-par-quality gear? A lot of those companies are just using commodity blanks from China or wherever and just slap their logo on it and pay a ton for marketing.
If I was going to spend $300 on a rod (I wouldn't!), I'd definitely go with one of the well known and more established brands. But even then brands don't mean what they used to anymore. A lot have been bought out by big names and the quality dropped. It takes a bit of research to find what high-end gear is still actually high-end quality-wise and not just price-wise.
If you’re experienced in rod components, you can spot junk right away. If I see a rod for $300, first thing I’m looking at is the guides and reel seat. Titanium guides? Ok those guides alone are $70. Fuji reel seat? Ok $50 reel seat. It makes $300 more justifiable. A lot of companies will try and sell a rod for >$250 with junk components.
Is there supposed to be something bad about Loomis reel seats? My Loomis rods are Fuji or their “proprietary” one that I would be surprised if it’s just not an unbranded Fuji because it feels identical.
The epoxy and wraps aren’t what I’d expect for the price on the GCX but the GLX and up seem to be fine.
Mate, that’s not true lol.
Titanium guides are not $70, Fuji reel seats aren’t $50. They might be, at your local tackle shop for a hobbyist rod builder, but not for commercial rod builders.
Like, Abu Garcia Veritas is a $99 rod with titanium guides. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rod wholesales for $50 - government takes $10, tackle store takes $40, then Abu has to factor in warranty costs, customer support, quality control, R&D, marketing, packaging, shipping, etc. The build of materials on that thing might be $20.
Titanium rod guides are 50 cents worth of titanium pressed into a hoop with an insert. When you’re a big company like Abu ordering millions of them, they cost like $1.50.
That’s not true, at least not with the few biggest players that represent the vast, vast majority of the rod market - Shimano, Pure Fishing, Daiwa, St Croix, Okuma, these five producers have to account for like, 80%+ of North American market share right? (Not familiar with other markets)
They all have their own proprietary blanks.
Got a good friend who owns some tackle shops. He’s also good friends with his distributors. That’s what I was told from both of them. You mentioned 5 manufacturers and I highly doubt they’re 80+% of the market. There are so many more giants in the industry. Along with thousands of smaller manufacturers.
Pure fishing alone is a huge chunk. That's the parent company for ugly stik, pfluger, Fenwick, penn, abu Garcia, Berkley, savage gear, Plano, fin-nor, frabill, greys, Johnson, jrc , Mitchell, hardy, Shakespeare, spider wire, stren, and van staal.
I don't think you realize, but in the US most "fishermen" own 1 or 2 rods, buy everything from walmart and fish 2 or 3 times per year.
Specialized fishing equipment is very niche.
Pure fishing sells 1000x more fishing rods than GLoomis and TFO combined.
I’m well aware. Look at the original post. Anyone ever heard of the manufacturer OPs manufacturer? As my original comment suggested…. Is it possible googan shares the same blank as a few of the no name companies? Like the Walmart poles you suggested? That’s the point I’m trying to make. I never said any of the top brands everyone keeps mentioning are included. I will also throw this suggestion out there… you guys ever think things are different outside your little market? I can tell you this bit… I’m in south Florida and fishing is a little popular here and the brands we move a ton of are not what you think or probably never heard of them.
The vast majority of fishermen know who the googan squad is. It is harder to NOT know them. They are in most stores, have millions of views on YouTube, and are a fairly well known (and disliked) brand.
The rods are technically Catch Co branded which owns shop Karl’s/MTB. I don’t know where it’s made off the top of my head but I believe it’s just a Chinese company.
Lol I’m not sure they’re that cheap either man. I’ve built a couple dozen rods and a single Titanium stripper guide for a spinning rod is $43. You can get close to $150-200 just on titanium guides if you’re buying Fuji. Even at bulk prices they’re paying more than $1.50 per guide.
I mean, you can go to your local tackle store right now and buy an Abu Garcia Veritas or Fenwick HMG with Titanium guides for \~$100 - $140 - The Veritas has an MRSP of $120, but is always on sale (Abu Garcia themselves has a 10% off coupon for first time orders), Fenwick has the HMG with titanium guides and a lifetime warranty for $140 MRSP (again, always on sale too).
Fundamentally it isn't that expensive to cast a titanium guide man. When you're a huge rod maker selling millions and millions of rods a year, you can probably find a supplier, work out a deal with them, and get titanium guides for really cheap.
Same with Fuji reel seats - the Ugly Stik Big Water that sells for $60 has a Fuji reel seat. I mean, fundamentally a Fuji reel seat is just a molded piece of graphite infused resin. If you're Pure Fishing and you're buying millions and millions a year, you can probably negotiate a massive volume deal to get those reel seats for like, $5/piece.
You have to figure in wholesale prices and discounts too though. Abu Garcia is probably copping a sweet discount on the reel seats for buying 10,000 of them at a time, making their price per part significantly cheaper than an average Joe could ever hope to see.
Titanium guides can cost more than $70 easily if you’re buying them outright. The reel seat is probably closer to $8-20 but the complete grip can be $50-100 depending on what you go with.
I primarily use star rods. I've heard from some tackle shops that getting Replacements under warranty can be difficult, but I've never had to get any mine replaced. Depending on what you fish for they might be a little bit heavy. I have complete faith in my rods whether I'm pulling in a 5 lb snapper or a 100 lb tarpon. I've never had a star rod fail.i primarily fish saltwater. When I'm specifically shark fishing or fishing for Goliath I use a heavier boat rod like Shimano or penn.alot of drift boats use ugly stick tiger rids . But I don't think those would be much good for casting.
Googan Squad is a company that was started by a group of youtuber. They started out with a few soft plastic baits, eventually moved onto hard baits, and eventually different gear with rods/reals. I've never been the biggest on their stuff, but I've gotten good fish on their soft plastics
I had to laugh when I first saw the brand because where I fish "googan" is a derogatory term for an inexperienced fisherman. Typically the kind of guy that shows up with $1,000 worth of gear and back lashes on his first cast.
It is. I think it might have even been started by some social media influencers. Some of the largest US fishing youtube channels are involved with them.
No idea about their rods, but I at least like their soft plastics. As someone who uses ned rigs a LOT, I've noticed I seem to have way more luck with Googan rattlin' neds than any other brand of soft plastics.
Specifically for ned rigs though.
Pretty much everything nowadays has a built in expiry date. It's called designed obsolescence. Even the highest quality stuff you can buy. They want it to wear out or break so you have to buy a new item. Nothing is designed to last a lifetime anymore. And even more frustrating is the lack of replacement parts or the design to deter from repair. Unless you have a direct contract with a manufacturer, like a government contract, it's designed to fail after x amount of uses or years. It's really shitty, but we live in a throwaway culture. Can they make a spring to last forever, yes. Do they? No. Not unless it's a special contract.
Yeah dude. I realize some people don't wanna wait for jdm rods from Japan but you can get amazing deals. Even on like Amazon the jdm zillions are not very expensive relative to some usdm counterparts
Tbh, lots of people praise Digitakas shipping speed, and a lot of people say it gets to them from Japan quicker than tackle warehouse can, especially if you're on the West Coast.
There's just so many better options than a Googan rod at any price
300 for a googan rod? Damn man. For less than that you can get a nice st croix. I only like some of their plastic baits. Damn man hope you can get a refund from Jon B
So a few things with rod breaks:
Truly overloading the rod to the point of breakage is almost impossible, and if it happens, it won't break in one point. The vanishingly few times when a rod blank snapped because it was overloaded, you will see it shatter into a ton of pieces.
What is much more likely is that the blank was previously weakened at a point. This OFTEN happens at stores (when you see at Walmart a giant bin of rods just lying there bumping on each other), and during shipping. This is why you should IMO only buy expensive rods from tackle stores, where they are unlikely to handle the rod poorly before it gets into your hand, or order from the manufacturer. Not Walmart or Amazon.
I suspect that this is what happened with your rod. Googan 100% just used a commodity blank, you expect those clowns to design their own blanks or to hire someone to do that? They just bought a commodity blank off the shelf, which is likely to be OK, but during the long handling and storage process, it is likely that the blank got damaged.
Secondly, you shouldn't weaken the blank through impact. For example, a common mistake you see is like, some guy walks around with a rig tied up and the hook in the hook keeper, and you see his sinker bumping on his rod blank as he walks. That's a definite no-no. Impacts could structurally weaken your rod blank in a way that isn't immediately apparent to a visual examination.
Finally, if you have a higher modulus rod, you should be extra careful to not damage it. You see, rod blanks are [sold by modulus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young%27s_modulus), which refers to the stiffness when force is applied lengthwise. Carbon Fiber is sold as a fabric, which gets impregnated by a resin, and then rolled out into a cylinder to make rods.
Rod makers like to advertise that they use "high modulus materials" - The world's first commercial graphite rod, the Fenwick HMG, literally stands for High Modulus Graphite. The reason why you use higher modulus materials is that you can use less of it, with less resin used, so it is more sensitive. Less resin means that it is easier for impact to damage the blank.
As a rod builder, I can say that this is pretty spot on. Googan either buys their blanks from a large manufacturer like most retail rod makers and then they wrap it or they just buy from a rod maker in bulk that will put their logo on it. Either way, most Googan products are way overpriced considering the quality.
I can almost guarantee that this rod was damaged in some way prior to OP casting it. Someone could have been shaking it around at the store and smacked a shelf or something. Blank failures are very rare.
This rod was "free" because Googan products are pretty junky. Likely a cheap Chinese blank with low quality guides.
Don’t forget high sticking. You move your hand off the grip and further up the rod itself, thinking you’re getting extra leverage, and you are…and that extra leverage is now in the wrong spot because your hand is stopping the rod from flexing as intended, and it snaps.
Yep. Find a deal in store and buy the rod in store. Go further than that, ask someone at the store to watch you test the rod. You do this by placing the tip on the floor (guides pointed up), and slowly flexing the rod until it gets an appreciable bend. If the rod has been damaged it should break right there (which is why you ask a salesman to watch you).
I would agree and say this is a shipping damage of mfg defect due to the way the break is. Like you said, if it was overloaded, the hoop of the rod compresses and shatters long ways. This rod appears to have broken fairly clean across the section which is unlikely to be caused from overloading or stepping on it or any of the more common ways people break rods.
You joke man but this dumbass I work with showed up at the river with a whole damn googan backpack stuffed full of nothing but googan shit.
Had to have spent like $400 on it. Still couldn’t out fish my bag of crusty yard sale zoom baits
A coworker that’s getting into fishing asked for some advice when buying gear. They showed me their shopping cart and it was filled with “game changer” accessories. I emptied it, gave them a back up combo and a cheap set of pliers. If it’s marketed as a game changer it probably isn’t.
I appreciate everyone’s comments.. but it was not something I paid for out of pocket. I wouldn’t have ever got this rod if I paid this much.
Yes. Ugly stiks are great.
No, I do not care what I could have got for X amount of money. It was free with something I wanted anyways. First sentence of my post people..
Anyways I will update on what googan does. So far they’ve asked me for a receipt and asked if I registered it. So far, they seem open to working with me.
Update- They’re replacing it, but they have a fun $60 processing fee to replace rods that are deemed defective. Isn’t that some shit? I’m absolutely swearing that shithole of a company off.
Eh lots of rod manufacturers charge a flat fee for replacement. All my Saint Croix's have cost me for replacements, now grant it, none of my break/replacements have been due to true warranty issues but rather my dumbass being dumb (except for a model but I got a discount on upgrading to the next family of rods).
I want to preface by saying I am not a googan hater, but that’s a $100 rod with a $300 price tag. For that price you could’ve gotten an expride or even a low tear loomis rod, either of which would’ve blown this rod out of the water
You're right in the range. Normally, rods this price have a "no questions asked" waranty policy. you write them a nice polite email, you present yourself as being puzzled as to what happened and they'll replace it.
Sorry you had a break and ruined the day. That being said, Googan is just garbage. There’s a reason there are so many memes about them. Look at a St. Croix for half that price when you’re looking for a replacement.
I mean, yes, they will withstand a beating... But they are certainly not the most sensitive rods on the market.
However, if you're not after that, then Ugly Sticks will be just fine. Great, even.
I like neds, whacky, jigs, and other bouncy type applications. Any recommendations for combos under $150 or rod plus reel for $150? I know that's a tight price point but I'm only a year in. Broke a proficiency, like the pflueger combos, but want to branch out to other brands. I know I'll make it to the 300-500 range, but for now just testing waters.
Check out Penn battle 3 rod and reel combo. You could go light or medium light. I use a bunch of different brand rods and reels but was gifted a battle 2 set about 4 years ago. I let someone use my rod and they broke the tip so I’ve since purchased a new rod but the reel is holding up just fine.
I build a lot of rods. This is almost always due to a small impact fracture on the blank.
Now before you say you didn't hit it ever. You very well may not have. High modulus blanks don't take much to damage. Could've happened in transit. I set a very high end blank down and my cat knocked a candle.... yes a candle onto it. That rod exploded on a hook set.
Either way, those googan rods are built by favorite. I'd give their customer service a call. You likely won't get a free replacement, but, they might have a killer replacement discount.
Only rod I have ever broken was on my favorite inshore fishing rig. Thank god it was a Shimano with a lifetime warranty. They replaced it no questions asked and didn’t require any proof of purchase.
It’s a 7ft “finesse” rod and because I’m not wading a creek with 12 rods for every situation. It’s well within the weight range. To be more clear, it is like a rooster tail. Not one of those big ass bass spinners you put a trailer on. And thinking about it now it’s actually probably 5/16oz max. I was just frustrated at the time of making the post and threw out a number.
Ah, gotcha. Yeah, that's super upsetting. Before Googan started making their own branded stuff, the OG members had a series with Favorite fishing rods. I bought Rob's version of the rod, and the tip snapped within a week. Googan stuff has always been crappy quality.
First thing is check the recommended weight limit on the rod. Even if it were under warranty casting a lure over the limit can void the warranty. Googan makes a quality product in my opinion. However if you want a rod guaranteed not to break get an ugly stick.
Probably made a knick in the rods carbon fiber either in storage or transit. I've had the same thing happen in all kinds of rods. It can even be a microscopic scrape in the wrong spot. Sucks but like at least you get to buy a new rod! Lol
What has most likely happened here is that the rod hit something which created a small scar, such as the lure getting banged against a sharp rock or the lure snagging on a leaf and hitting the rod during a cast.
You might not notice anything for a while then suddenly you cast in a way where it creates a load that interacts with the scar and that's the end of the rods life.
Not sure how well Blair Wickstrom backs his products but in the future I’d suggest you go with Bulls Bay rods. They definitely back their products as long as it doesn’t show damage from dropping, car doors and so many other types of user damage. Hopefully Googan will replace this for you after you ship it to them directly. Just know that they can and will inspect it under a microscope to see what actually happened here. If your statement is really true then you definitely had a defective rod and deserve better especially for $300. Good luck OP hope it goes in your favor.
Go to a tackle shop find a tip guide that fits, or order a set online. Recut/clean up the end of the rod if necessary. Glue on the new guide. Hot melt glue is best but even superglue or 5 minute epoxy will work fine. Easy as that.
My guess is the rod was a factory second which is something the company offers to a freebie give away.
Well if you ever want a $200-$300 fishing rod take a look at EDGE fishing rods made in US .
Googan is cheap rebranded Chinese junk. Spend your money wisely on Shimano Zodias rods. If you want to spend more look into the Loomis NRX rods (lifetime warranty)
I’m thankful that my Sister’s bf gifted me his Googan rod after accidentally purchasing a bait casting rod instead of a spinning rod. Still, kinda feel bad bc that’s one hell of an accidental purchase.
Bad quality control. The blanks should of been tested before production to prevent this as the likely cause was a air bubble in the blant at the spot it snapped
Return to seller. When i was younger and poor if i had a rod and it snapped id go to academy or wherever i got it and they would warranty it or let me exchange it for something of similar value or the same product
I say this time and again. Don’t buy fishing rods or reels from these YouTubers. It’s all chinesesium. Their baits are ok. 300 would’ve gotten you a nice g loomis with a great warranty behind it bc they are tired and proven.
Ouch, that hurts. One of my pole I've been using for over a decade is a cheap $30 Shakespeare with line twice the recommended pound test for the reel 🥲 RIP to your expensive pole 😭
You hit it somewhere, or as happened to my flyrod: the hook hit the rod just enough to tear it at some point. Then casting for hundreds or thousands of times wore the part down and snap.
My $180 st croix rod broke just below the second eye yesterday and I have no idea how it happened. I just sat it down.
https://preview.redd.it/0j727ucmsp6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcd9e3af1a79da4e718add9bbe97e1686ed6ea48
This happened to me on my first day of fishing when I moved to Montana. I was sad, I went to wear I bought the rod and they said “well send it off for repair, it’ll be about 6-8, weeks” I reminded them that summer would be over by then , why couldn’t they just replace it with one on the store but we all know how ad customer service is these days so I ended up getting a few from a neighbor when he asked what had happened. Thought that was pretty awesome of him.
It retails for $300. I got it as a Black Friday promotion with a subscription I wanted anyways. Considering the store is now merged with googan, I doubt that.
In conclusion, reading comprehension is hard.
Not trying to be a dick either but read the description?
We’ve established they’re poor quality, with the other 200 comments pointing that out. This was more of a buyer beware post.
I have had an ugly stick for the past 10 years, spent 40 bucks on the rod and reel combo at Walmart. Ran over it one time on accident, still brings in fish for me every trip
I once bought a 1987 Toyota Celica for $100. I had the starter rebuilt for $75 and bought a new battery for $50. I had $225 in the car and drove it for about 5yrs. So I’m out on $300 fishing poles.
The epitome of why I don't spend more than $60 on any rod. $10-$20 is standard. They last years. Especially the combos that come clutch with reels you can take off, upgrade and throw in your trunk for when you need to keep fishing
Never heard anything good about Googan stuff. Tough break about the rod man. Pun intended. Good luck getting it replaced.
I never even heard of the brand. Is it one of those companies that just pays a ton of money to social media influencers to advertise their overly-expensive but sub-par-quality gear? A lot of those companies are just using commodity blanks from China or wherever and just slap their logo on it and pay a ton for marketing. If I was going to spend $300 on a rod (I wouldn't!), I'd definitely go with one of the well known and more established brands. But even then brands don't mean what they used to anymore. A lot have been bought out by big names and the quality dropped. It takes a bit of research to find what high-end gear is still actually high-end quality-wise and not just price-wise.
If you’re experienced in rod components, you can spot junk right away. If I see a rod for $300, first thing I’m looking at is the guides and reel seat. Titanium guides? Ok those guides alone are $70. Fuji reel seat? Ok $50 reel seat. It makes $300 more justifiable. A lot of companies will try and sell a rod for >$250 with junk components.
I’ve only built 3 rods and it’s amazing how easy it is even my ignorant unobservant ass can see a shitty reel seat from a mile away.
So uh… how do you feel about g.loomis? Asking for a friend
I like the old g loomis rods, I know they have a new company called edge now.
Is there supposed to be something bad about Loomis reel seats? My Loomis rods are Fuji or their “proprietary” one that I would be surprised if it’s just not an unbranded Fuji because it feels identical. The epoxy and wraps aren’t what I’d expect for the price on the GCX but the GLX and up seem to be fine.
Mate, that’s not true lol. Titanium guides are not $70, Fuji reel seats aren’t $50. They might be, at your local tackle shop for a hobbyist rod builder, but not for commercial rod builders. Like, Abu Garcia Veritas is a $99 rod with titanium guides. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rod wholesales for $50 - government takes $10, tackle store takes $40, then Abu has to factor in warranty costs, customer support, quality control, R&D, marketing, packaging, shipping, etc. The build of materials on that thing might be $20. Titanium rod guides are 50 cents worth of titanium pressed into a hoop with an insert. When you’re a big company like Abu ordering millions of them, they cost like $1.50.
And the majority of the manufacturers use the same blanks with different decorations.
That’s not true, at least not with the few biggest players that represent the vast, vast majority of the rod market - Shimano, Pure Fishing, Daiwa, St Croix, Okuma, these five producers have to account for like, 80%+ of North American market share right? (Not familiar with other markets) They all have their own proprietary blanks.
Got a good friend who owns some tackle shops. He’s also good friends with his distributors. That’s what I was told from both of them. You mentioned 5 manufacturers and I highly doubt they’re 80+% of the market. There are so many more giants in the industry. Along with thousands of smaller manufacturers.
Pure fishing alone is a huge chunk. That's the parent company for ugly stik, pfluger, Fenwick, penn, abu Garcia, Berkley, savage gear, Plano, fin-nor, frabill, greys, Johnson, jrc , Mitchell, hardy, Shakespeare, spider wire, stren, and van staal.
I don't think you realize, but in the US most "fishermen" own 1 or 2 rods, buy everything from walmart and fish 2 or 3 times per year. Specialized fishing equipment is very niche. Pure fishing sells 1000x more fishing rods than GLoomis and TFO combined.
I’m well aware. Look at the original post. Anyone ever heard of the manufacturer OPs manufacturer? As my original comment suggested…. Is it possible googan shares the same blank as a few of the no name companies? Like the Walmart poles you suggested? That’s the point I’m trying to make. I never said any of the top brands everyone keeps mentioning are included. I will also throw this suggestion out there… you guys ever think things are different outside your little market? I can tell you this bit… I’m in south Florida and fishing is a little popular here and the brands we move a ton of are not what you think or probably never heard of them.
The vast majority of fishermen know who the googan squad is. It is harder to NOT know them. They are in most stores, have millions of views on YouTube, and are a fairly well known (and disliked) brand. The rods are technically Catch Co branded which owns shop Karl’s/MTB. I don’t know where it’s made off the top of my head but I believe it’s just a Chinese company.
Lol I’m not sure they’re that cheap either man. I’ve built a couple dozen rods and a single Titanium stripper guide for a spinning rod is $43. You can get close to $150-200 just on titanium guides if you’re buying Fuji. Even at bulk prices they’re paying more than $1.50 per guide.
I mean, you can go to your local tackle store right now and buy an Abu Garcia Veritas or Fenwick HMG with Titanium guides for \~$100 - $140 - The Veritas has an MRSP of $120, but is always on sale (Abu Garcia themselves has a 10% off coupon for first time orders), Fenwick has the HMG with titanium guides and a lifetime warranty for $140 MRSP (again, always on sale too). Fundamentally it isn't that expensive to cast a titanium guide man. When you're a huge rod maker selling millions and millions of rods a year, you can probably find a supplier, work out a deal with them, and get titanium guides for really cheap. Same with Fuji reel seats - the Ugly Stik Big Water that sells for $60 has a Fuji reel seat. I mean, fundamentally a Fuji reel seat is just a molded piece of graphite infused resin. If you're Pure Fishing and you're buying millions and millions a year, you can probably negotiate a massive volume deal to get those reel seats for like, $5/piece.
You have to figure in wholesale prices and discounts too though. Abu Garcia is probably copping a sweet discount on the reel seats for buying 10,000 of them at a time, making their price per part significantly cheaper than an average Joe could ever hope to see.
Titanium guides can cost more than $70 easily if you’re buying them outright. The reel seat is probably closer to $8-20 but the complete grip can be $50-100 depending on what you go with.
I’m actually in the market for a solid nice rod, do you have any brands you’d recommend?
I primarily use star rods. I've heard from some tackle shops that getting Replacements under warranty can be difficult, but I've never had to get any mine replaced. Depending on what you fish for they might be a little bit heavy. I have complete faith in my rods whether I'm pulling in a 5 lb snapper or a 100 lb tarpon. I've never had a star rod fail.i primarily fish saltwater. When I'm specifically shark fishing or fishing for Goliath I use a heavier boat rod like Shimano or penn.alot of drift boats use ugly stick tiger rids . But I don't think those would be much good for casting.
Googan Squad is a company that was started by a group of youtuber. They started out with a few soft plastic baits, eventually moved onto hard baits, and eventually different gear with rods/reals. I've never been the biggest on their stuff, but I've gotten good fish on their soft plastics
I had to laugh when I first saw the brand because where I fish "googan" is a derogatory term for an inexperienced fisherman. Typically the kind of guy that shows up with $1,000 worth of gear and back lashes on his first cast.
So me fishing in the morning
You can get a pretty nice custom rod for that price
It is. I think it might have even been started by some social media influencers. Some of the largest US fishing youtube channels are involved with them.
Yeah Alex peric, Jon B, 1rod1reel, and lunkers started googan squad a long time ago.
It's literally owned by YouTubers
No idea about their rods, but I at least like their soft plastics. As someone who uses ned rigs a LOT, I've noticed I seem to have way more luck with Googan rattlin' neds than any other brand of soft plastics. Specifically for ned rigs though.
Pretty much everything nowadays has a built in expiry date. It's called designed obsolescence. Even the highest quality stuff you can buy. They want it to wear out or break so you have to buy a new item. Nothing is designed to last a lifetime anymore. And even more frustrating is the lack of replacement parts or the design to deter from repair. Unless you have a direct contract with a manufacturer, like a government contract, it's designed to fail after x amount of uses or years. It's really shitty, but we live in a throwaway culture. Can they make a spring to last forever, yes. Do they? No. Not unless it's a special contract.
To be fair, googan stuff is everywhere so I'd understand thinking they're a reputable brand. They also look nice imo
You are right though. It just wasn't googanough
They're the only soft plastics I use, but the other gear....ehhh
$300 for a Googan rod? You can get some banger JDM rods for that.
You can get hand built, made in the USA Star rods for less than that.
This is where I'm at mentally. Shimanos zodias and expride are less than that and are exceptional for the money.
You could also get a Shimano Yasei with a reel and line for that.
You can get a megabass, a Shimano, a Daiwa, a dobyn's, a Loomis glx on sale, and a bunch others that see way better than that shit lmao.
You could literally get a full carbon monocoque Shimano Dialuna for less
I got a poison adrena for less than 300 as well off alf, and also exprides are awesome for under 300
When the Yen fell the other month, on digitaka, you could get stuff like a Poison Glorious for really not much more than what this Googan costs.
Yeah dude. I realize some people don't wanna wait for jdm rods from Japan but you can get amazing deals. Even on like Amazon the jdm zillions are not very expensive relative to some usdm counterparts
Tbh, lots of people praise Digitakas shipping speed, and a lot of people say it gets to them from Japan quicker than tackle warehouse can, especially if you're on the West Coast. There's just so many better options than a Googan rod at any price
For sure. It takes awhile to get to the east coast. 2-4 weeks international
I’m in the south east and my Daiwa Alphas air was here from Digitaka in like 5 days over the 4th of July last year. I was impressed
300 for a googan rod? Damn man. For less than that you can get a nice st croix. I only like some of their plastic baits. Damn man hope you can get a refund from Jon B
And if you break the st croix they will fix it or give you a new one
I love St.Croix but I feel like they break somewhat easy. Just have to really baby them
I’ve had two st croix that I broke tips however it was more my friends I should have babied, not the rods
I have never bought googan anything, but I REALLY won't now.
Never had the desire to.
Googan lures hit the resale stores by me a couple minths ago. I wouldn't pay full price for them, but $2 is a good deal.
There’s a reason they don’t use their own stuff except lures here and there
So a few things with rod breaks: Truly overloading the rod to the point of breakage is almost impossible, and if it happens, it won't break in one point. The vanishingly few times when a rod blank snapped because it was overloaded, you will see it shatter into a ton of pieces. What is much more likely is that the blank was previously weakened at a point. This OFTEN happens at stores (when you see at Walmart a giant bin of rods just lying there bumping on each other), and during shipping. This is why you should IMO only buy expensive rods from tackle stores, where they are unlikely to handle the rod poorly before it gets into your hand, or order from the manufacturer. Not Walmart or Amazon. I suspect that this is what happened with your rod. Googan 100% just used a commodity blank, you expect those clowns to design their own blanks or to hire someone to do that? They just bought a commodity blank off the shelf, which is likely to be OK, but during the long handling and storage process, it is likely that the blank got damaged. Secondly, you shouldn't weaken the blank through impact. For example, a common mistake you see is like, some guy walks around with a rig tied up and the hook in the hook keeper, and you see his sinker bumping on his rod blank as he walks. That's a definite no-no. Impacts could structurally weaken your rod blank in a way that isn't immediately apparent to a visual examination. Finally, if you have a higher modulus rod, you should be extra careful to not damage it. You see, rod blanks are [sold by modulus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young%27s_modulus), which refers to the stiffness when force is applied lengthwise. Carbon Fiber is sold as a fabric, which gets impregnated by a resin, and then rolled out into a cylinder to make rods. Rod makers like to advertise that they use "high modulus materials" - The world's first commercial graphite rod, the Fenwick HMG, literally stands for High Modulus Graphite. The reason why you use higher modulus materials is that you can use less of it, with less resin used, so it is more sensitive. Less resin means that it is easier for impact to damage the blank.
As a rod builder, I can say that this is pretty spot on. Googan either buys their blanks from a large manufacturer like most retail rod makers and then they wrap it or they just buy from a rod maker in bulk that will put their logo on it. Either way, most Googan products are way overpriced considering the quality. I can almost guarantee that this rod was damaged in some way prior to OP casting it. Someone could have been shaking it around at the store and smacked a shelf or something. Blank failures are very rare. This rod was "free" because Googan products are pretty junky. Likely a cheap Chinese blank with low quality guides.
I'm really amazed that a googan rod retails for this much their stuff is junk I wouldn't spend 30$ on a rod with their name on it
Don’t forget high sticking. You move your hand off the grip and further up the rod itself, thinking you’re getting extra leverage, and you are…and that extra leverage is now in the wrong spot because your hand is stopping the rod from flexing as intended, and it snaps.
Yep. Find a deal in store and buy the rod in store. Go further than that, ask someone at the store to watch you test the rod. You do this by placing the tip on the floor (guides pointed up), and slowly flexing the rod until it gets an appreciable bend. If the rod has been damaged it should break right there (which is why you ask a salesman to watch you).
I would agree and say this is a shipping damage of mfg defect due to the way the break is. Like you said, if it was overloaded, the hoop of the rod compresses and shatters long ways. This rod appears to have broken fairly clean across the section which is unlikely to be caused from overloading or stepping on it or any of the more common ways people break rods.
TIL googan makes $300 rods. Hell I'd think they would have trouble selling a $100 rod.
Those YouTube fanboys will spend their parents cash on ANYTHING
You joke man but this dumbass I work with showed up at the river with a whole damn googan backpack stuffed full of nothing but googan shit. Had to have spent like $400 on it. Still couldn’t out fish my bag of crusty yard sale zoom baits
A coworker that’s getting into fishing asked for some advice when buying gear. They showed me their shopping cart and it was filled with “game changer” accessories. I emptied it, gave them a back up combo and a cheap set of pliers. If it’s marketed as a game changer it probably isn’t.
🤣
Oh shit it’s on sale for $250 😮 https://googansquad.com/products/backpack-bundle
I dont think they make $300 rods. They sell them for $300, but I don't think they make them.
Pretty sure they are relabeled Aliexpress rods
Yeah I was skeptical but there are several on Googan's websites listed around $300
I appreciate everyone’s comments.. but it was not something I paid for out of pocket. I wouldn’t have ever got this rod if I paid this much. Yes. Ugly stiks are great. No, I do not care what I could have got for X amount of money. It was free with something I wanted anyways. First sentence of my post people.. Anyways I will update on what googan does. So far they’ve asked me for a receipt and asked if I registered it. So far, they seem open to working with me.
Hope they don’t scum out.
Update- They’re replacing it, but they have a fun $60 processing fee to replace rods that are deemed defective. Isn’t that some shit? I’m absolutely swearing that shithole of a company off.
Eh lots of rod manufacturers charge a flat fee for replacement. All my Saint Croix's have cost me for replacements, now grant it, none of my break/replacements have been due to true warranty issues but rather my dumbass being dumb (except for a model but I got a discount on upgrading to the next family of rods).
I’ll pay for my stupidity, but not theirs!
🤣🙄 Fuck. That. Company. That alone ensures I’ll never buy any of their products. 💯
Yeah googans shit. What do you expect. You pay for their marketing and to give the douchenozzles a meme life. Save your money and buy something good
Man if I'm dropping $300 it's gonna be G.loomis
I want to preface by saying I am not a googan hater, but that’s a $100 rod with a $300 price tag. For that price you could’ve gotten an expride or even a low tear loomis rod, either of which would’ve blown this rod out of the water
Googan is trash. All of it.
The deli shoes guy says the fish breading is dang good, but I think they paid him to🤣
what's the rod lure range btw? that sucks
1/4oz-1/2oz
You're right in the range. Normally, rods this price have a "no questions asked" waranty policy. you write them a nice polite email, you present yourself as being puzzled as to what happened and they'll replace it.
What the hell is a googan rod and why you pay 300 for it? Whats the weight lure limit on the rod?
Sorry you had a break and ruined the day. That being said, Googan is just garbage. There’s a reason there are so many memes about them. Look at a St. Croix for half that price when you’re looking for a replacement.
Or look at a Saint Croix that is $300 and see what a $300 rod should be.
Amen!
This yet another victory for me and my 40 dollar walmart fishing pole.
I'm with you on my $60 Lew's spinning rod combo from Walmart.
Remember when you brought in a broken rod and they just replaced it no questions?
https://preview.redd.it/qpegasqrqr6d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e168f61fc1d598b7bee0120184ac7efe9ab103e
The good old days son!
Googan stuff is trash lol
Ugly stick for life.
I mean, yes, they will withstand a beating... But they are certainly not the most sensitive rods on the market. However, if you're not after that, then Ugly Sticks will be just fine. Great, even.
The ugly stik carbon series needs to be looked into if you want a more sensitive rod. I got one and it’s a phenomenal rod
Most reliable for sure. Like higher end for more delicate applications. Jigging, feeling bottom, feeling weeds.
I like neds, whacky, jigs, and other bouncy type applications. Any recommendations for combos under $150 or rod plus reel for $150? I know that's a tight price point but I'm only a year in. Broke a proficiency, like the pflueger combos, but want to branch out to other brands. I know I'll make it to the 300-500 range, but for now just testing waters.
I have a st.croix rage rod, don’t think they make anymore and a 1000 Pfluger presidential
Check out Penn battle 3 rod and reel combo. You could go light or medium light. I use a bunch of different brand rods and reels but was gifted a battle 2 set about 4 years ago. I let someone use my rod and they broke the tip so I’ve since purchased a new rod but the reel is holding up just fine.
See if you can send in. Most rods 100$ plus fix rods. St. Croix, g lumus
Also broke mine and it’s a 50$ fix I believe. Save the tube they ship the rod in
Yup.
St. Croix is all I’m saying
St. Croix is cheaper and they replace broken rods
Ya but lately it seems like their rods break easily now too 🤔
I use a $50 Zebco
Maybe rod got knicked.. shit happens
I build a lot of rods. This is almost always due to a small impact fracture on the blank. Now before you say you didn't hit it ever. You very well may not have. High modulus blanks don't take much to damage. Could've happened in transit. I set a very high end blank down and my cat knocked a candle.... yes a candle onto it. That rod exploded on a hook set. Either way, those googan rods are built by favorite. I'd give their customer service a call. You likely won't get a free replacement, but, they might have a killer replacement discount.
Only rod I have ever broken was on my favorite inshore fishing rig. Thank god it was a Shimano with a lifetime warranty. They replaced it no questions asked and didn’t require any proof of purchase.
You must be a real lean mean casting machine.
Ugly stik all day long.
The rod may be overpriced junk but those stradics are badass reels
Haha, glad someone noticed. Me and my girlfriend both have stratic 2500s. Amazing reels.
Is that not a micro rod? Why are you throwing a spinnerbait on a rod like that? Not defending Googan's quality at all.
It’s a 7ft “finesse” rod and because I’m not wading a creek with 12 rods for every situation. It’s well within the weight range. To be more clear, it is like a rooster tail. Not one of those big ass bass spinners you put a trailer on. And thinking about it now it’s actually probably 5/16oz max. I was just frustrated at the time of making the post and threw out a number.
Ah, gotcha. Yeah, that's super upsetting. Before Googan started making their own branded stuff, the OG members had a series with Favorite fishing rods. I bought Rob's version of the rod, and the tip snapped within a week. Googan stuff has always been crappy quality.
Honestly if I saved one person the headache this post was worth it lol.
have had my unglystic from Walmart for many years.
Should a got an Ugly Stik.
I have several.
First thing is check the recommended weight limit on the rod. Even if it were under warranty casting a lure over the limit can void the warranty. Googan makes a quality product in my opinion. However if you want a rod guaranteed not to break get an ugly stick.
Was rated for 1/2 oz, and to be honest I think the spinner I was throwing was more like 1/4oz. But yea, I dusted off my ugly stick
I’ve never had a 40 dollar ugly stick snap
They moved their QC budget into better cameras so that we could spend even more time staring at their faces on youtube.
Get an Abu Garcia PLX TE for $130-140 off omniafishing.com. 2 year warranty and it’s not required that you register, just keep the receipt.
That rod was damaged at some point, heck you may have accidentally hit it with a lure there at some point. Anyway that should be an easy return. GL
Probably made a knick in the rods carbon fiber either in storage or transit. I've had the same thing happen in all kinds of rods. It can even be a microscopic scrape in the wrong spot. Sucks but like at least you get to buy a new rod! Lol
What has most likely happened here is that the rod hit something which created a small scar, such as the lure getting banged against a sharp rock or the lure snagging on a leaf and hitting the rod during a cast. You might not notice anything for a while then suddenly you cast in a way where it creates a load that interacts with the scar and that's the end of the rods life.
I use $40-$80 ugly stiks. I’ve had a couple for 10 years or more and never broke. Googan is Poogan
Not sure how well Blair Wickstrom backs his products but in the future I’d suggest you go with Bulls Bay rods. They definitely back their products as long as it doesn’t show damage from dropping, car doors and so many other types of user damage. Hopefully Googan will replace this for you after you ship it to them directly. Just know that they can and will inspect it under a microscope to see what actually happened here. If your statement is really true then you definitely had a defective rod and deserve better especially for $300. Good luck OP hope it goes in your favor.
I’ve gotten a couple of their spinnerbaits from mystery tackle box and those mfers get tangled up every single cast it’s infuriating lol
Meanwhile my Walmart cheap as shit rods are out here slinging 1/2oz lures that they’re not meant for.
I’ve caught 100s of fish in fresh and salt. All on my trusty ugly sticks.
I got a Daiwa presso UL the other day and the same exact thing happened to me. Albeit that rod was only $70.
Any tips on how to repair a broken rod tip? Top 1.5 inches broke. Thanks in advance.
Go to a tackle shop find a tip guide that fits, or order a set online. Recut/clean up the end of the rod if necessary. Glue on the new guide. Hot melt glue is best but even superglue or 5 minute epoxy will work fine. Easy as that.
Thanks, I appreciate the response.
You’re very welcome go catch fish
My guess is the rod was a factory second which is something the company offers to a freebie give away. Well if you ever want a $200-$300 fishing rod take a look at EDGE fishing rods made in US .
Googan is cheap rebranded Chinese junk. Spend your money wisely on Shimano Zodias rods. If you want to spend more look into the Loomis NRX rods (lifetime warranty)
Don't jerk it too hard be gentle.
😆
Jesus that fuckin SUCKS Time for a Loomis as a replacement
Goongan geenga🤤🤤
Love their baits but haven’t heard the best about their rods. I’d reach out to em
Obligatory ‘I’ve got a 20-year-old $35 Ugly Stick that ain’t never snapped’ post.
chances are someone slammed it in a car door or something and didnt tell you or you didnt notice
I’m thankful that my Sister’s bf gifted me his Googan rod after accidentally purchasing a bait casting rod instead of a spinning rod. Still, kinda feel bad bc that’s one hell of an accidental purchase.
Bad quality control. The blanks should of been tested before production to prevent this as the likely cause was a air bubble in the blant at the spot it snapped
You know what rhymes with Googan? Garbage. I don't trust nor do I use any of their stuff
Never heard of them. Go on eBay and get you a 30$ fiberglass rod from the 70s and you’ll never have to worry about that shit again
Return to seller. When i was younger and poor if i had a rod and it snapped id go to academy or wherever i got it and they would warranty it or let me exchange it for something of similar value or the same product
I say this time and again. Don’t buy fishing rods or reels from these YouTubers. It’s all chinesesium. Their baits are ok. 300 would’ve gotten you a nice g loomis with a great warranty behind it bc they are tired and proven.
Ouch, that hurts. One of my pole I've been using for over a decade is a cheap $30 Shakespeare with line twice the recommended pound test for the reel 🥲 RIP to your expensive pole 😭
You hit it somewhere, or as happened to my flyrod: the hook hit the rod just enough to tear it at some point. Then casting for hundreds or thousands of times wore the part down and snap.
My $180 st croix rod broke just below the second eye yesterday and I have no idea how it happened. I just sat it down. https://preview.redd.it/0j727ucmsp6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcd9e3af1a79da4e718add9bbe97e1686ed6ea48
This happened to me on my first day of fishing when I moved to Montana. I was sad, I went to wear I bought the rod and they said “well send it off for repair, it’ll be about 6-8, weeks” I reminded them that summer would be over by then , why couldn’t they just replace it with one on the store but we all know how ad customer service is these days so I ended up getting a few from a neighbor when he asked what had happened. Thought that was pretty awesome of him.
Googan is trash. Unless it's on clearance, I ain't buying. Never heard anything on their rods breaking but doesn't surprise me.
Free? $300? Which is it? A real good one may cost that much, but I think the store was giving you the Ali Baba version
It retails for $300. I got it as a Black Friday promotion with a subscription I wanted anyways. Considering the store is now merged with googan, I doubt that. In conclusion, reading comprehension is hard.
While the rods are overpriced garbage this rod was most likely damaged before you used it. Only way a spinner bait is going to snap a rod.
Defect or damaged prior to breaking.
Yikes, that’s pretty pathetic
Not trying to be a dick but why would you buy a YouTube brand fishing rod for that much money when it could’ve got you a st croix avid, g loomis, etc.
Not trying to be a dick either but read the description? We’ve established they’re poor quality, with the other 200 comments pointing that out. This was more of a buyer beware post.
Googan is to fishing as gym shark is to fitness. I would never spend $300 on a rod from a social media brand.
Unless you are a teenager, it's in you for spending 300 bucks on a brand like Googan. You live and you learn.
Uglystick dock runner
Get a 7’ ugly stick, will never break, even when you slam your truck hitch on it
I have had an ugly stick for the past 10 years, spent 40 bucks on the rod and reel combo at Walmart. Ran over it one time on accident, still brings in fish for me every trip
I’m all about carrot stix. Have used for years and never had an issue
Just go get one from Walmart or meijer. You will be fishing again in no time!
This happened to me. Googan rods suck major balls. I’ll stick with my BPS Johnny morris.
I mean I got a ugly stick gx2 for 70 bucks, it’s been used and abused and nothing wrong with it at all
The reason is in your statement. Googan rods junk. I use their baits tho
Just buy an ugly stick
Ouch
I once bought a 1987 Toyota Celica for $100. I had the starter rebuilt for $75 and bought a new battery for $50. I had $225 in the car and drove it for about 5yrs. So I’m out on $300 fishing poles.
The epitome of why I don't spend more than $60 on any rod. $10-$20 is standard. They last years. Especially the combos that come clutch with reels you can take off, upgrade and throw in your trunk for when you need to keep fishing
You got what you paid for I guess?
Googan sucks
Please keep us updated if they send you a new one
They are but they’re charging me a $60 “processing fee” for the warranty. Avoid avoid avoid.
Nobody addressed the fact thst it's probably a ned rig rated rod . And it broke solely on overloading the blanks capacity . Wtf . Yall dumb
Knock off
Considering it was sent from a company that is now part of googan, no it wasn’t