Broken Rod Tip Guide

I found something was wrong with my reel and rod. When I was retrieving lure, it made squiggling noise. At first, I thought that sand came into my reel. So, I cleaned my reel. But the noise continued. I also noticed that long portion of my mono line was badly scratched and even scraped. I thought that rocky bottom damaged the line.

Well, I was an idiot. All damage and noise were caused by a broken rod tip guide. The guide is made of ceramic and can be broken by careless retrieving.

I remembered that I lent the road and reel to a friend who was a fishing beginner while we were fishing together last weekend. He might damaged the tip guide.

Broken tip at a different angle. See the sharp edge.

I checked rod maker, St. Croix's website and found that they sell tip replacement kit at $5. Probably, this mishap happens often. For now, I decide to use braid line for the rod. I hope to fix it soon.