[Pond Pounder]

A couple years ago, I decided to start upgrading my fishing equipment, which had mostly been a mishmash of entry level combos and ugly stiks to higher performance reels and more sensitive rods. The salesperson at Bass Pro directed me to the Fenwick HMG line (I was initially looking for a medium light spinning rod for drop shots) and I liked the rods so much, that I purchased several. I’ve used them extensively over the last few years, catching everything from bass and crappie to some bruiser catfish on them. Finally a few weeks ago, one of the rods snapped when a chunky carp took off like a rocket and pulled too hard against the rod in the holder while I had my hands full with another fish.

Fenwick HMG rods are supposed to have a lifetime warranty, but so far, I’ve been less than impressed with their warranty department. I previously had a rod tip on another rod the broke, with the warranty inquiry going unanswered. This time, I received the same non response, but decided to follow-up with a phone call instead. You know when the customer service rep tells you that your warranty inquiry went to their spam trap, that’s probably not a good sign.

After forwarding all of my information to her (again…), nothing. I sent a follow-up e-mail a week later. Nothing. A second phone call resulted in another rep having to contact the original one to get my e-mail forwarded to her. It looks like the claim is now being processed, by I’m fed-up with all of this warranty BS and am shopping for another company now.

I’d like some recommendations for spinning rods in the $100-$200 range that are strong, but sensitive AND have a good warranty. Ideally, you’ve had to make a claim on getting a rod repaired / replaced in the past and had a good experience. I was eyeballing the Bass Pro Carbonlight series, as it has a 10 year warranty and I think you just have to take it to Bass Pro to swap it out if it breaks.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated… thanks!


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[BGfish]

I have a Falcon lowrider spinning rod for sale on here, it's posted under classified section, fishing gear, it has a lifetime warranty and is made in the USA. I like Fenwick rods but they are no longer made in the US they are made in China. The Falcon rod would make you a nice rod for bass, catfish, carp, and any other fish that gets on your line, honestly it's a sweet rod! The reason I am selling it is I have a knot in my hand and I need a special kind of handle for my problem. Let me know if you're interested, there's some pics of the rod posted on here.

 

[salpal]

never had anything but good experiences with fenwick customer service on my hmgs. unfortunate to hear thats not the case for everyone.

is the falcon warranty transferable?
]

 

[BGfish]

All you need to claim a warranty with Falcon is to have proof of ownership, your printed out Paypal payment were you paid for the rod would be proof of ownership. Also I will include a written receipt with the rod if you buy it. You will register the rod in your name online, it has not been registered in my name. The rod sells new for 129.99 plus tax and usually shipping so my price is a bargain! Let me know when you want me to ship it to you.

 

[ice cream man]

Welcome to blind big box store buying. You would think they would just replace your rod with another one off the rack.
That's exactly what my local tackle store did. They understand & practice exceptional customer service.
Buy local, get personalized service, advice & tips.
Take the frustration out of buying, by buying local .......ICM

 

[Pond Pounder]

Welcome to blind big box store buying. You would think they would just replace your rod with another one off the rack.
That's exactly what my local tackle store did. They understand & practice exceptional customer service.
Buy local, get personalized service, advice & tips.
Take the frustration out of buying, by buying local .......ICM

So what store and brand exactly?

There are very few local bait shops anymore, especially ones that sell tacklle beyond just minnows and bobbers. I have an Academy Sports 1 mile from my house… Bass Pro is 15 minutes away… both are likely to have a much greater selection of rods that have good warranties. I’m just soliciting advice from others that have experience using those warranties when their gear breaks.


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[BGfish]

Academy will take a broken rod back within a certain time, I think by their return time policy, after that it's yours or send to company that made it. Academy use to have lots of choices for rods with good warranties but they now have a lot of cheaper stuff, they still carry some ABU, Daiwa, Shimano, and robyn's. Warranties are like I said if you have a receipt return during a time period after that it's yours or send back to company, get online and see what each rod maker's warranty is. Dicks will let you buy a extended warranty for rods and reels. In your initial post you said you used your rods for years so they most likely was no longer under warranty. Very few rod makers left that offer lifetime warranties. Falcon,and ALX, Kistler, Hammer, Ark, and there are others, search the web.

 

[BGfish]

Go ahead and buy my Falcon rod guaranteed for a long..................time. lol

 

[Pond Hopper]

I've always had great service from Fenwick. They replaced an old Iron Hawk fly rod that broke when I closed a rod locker door on the tip. They replaced an older Eagle rod with the newer current model when I had broken it while trying to hoist a big bass up a steep bank. Additionally, when I overtightened a reel seat and stripped it out on a very old model no longer under any warranty, they still offered my 50% off a replacement. As a result of their customer service and warranty almost every rod I own is a Fenwick. Don't mean to give the impression that I'm always breaking my rods. This happened over the course of close to twenty years.

 

[BGfish]

In your first post you bad mouthed Fenwick now you're singing their praises, lol can't decide huh? Things change warranties aren't the same as they use to be on some products.

 

[BGfish]

You live in Pittsboro, nothing down there but Wal Mart and they don't guarantee much of nothing. Chapel Hill those people don't fish, at least not many of them, better go on down the road to Bass Pro or just buy my rod.

 

[ice cream man]

Had both Shimano ( Teramar ) & HMG Fenwick rods replaced.
Shimano had a lifetime warranty guarantee at the time, that my tackle store shipped back & replaced at no cost.
That has changed due to too many false claims.
Fenwick was swapped out at the store, no hassle.
My buddy Harold swapped out Fenwick older style with major guides breaking issue 13 different times.
Once again they swapped in out in the store.
He switched manufactures to All Star which has the best warranty.

I honestly think it's more about relationships you have with the store & the store owners / staff have with the company rep. If they know you're not mishandling their product, they will do right by you.

The big box store floor sales staff does not do the buying & may never meet the reps. Most times their staff knows less than the customer & is there just to stock shelves.

Hope this helps ......ICM

 

[meenyt]

A couple years ago, I decided to start upgrading my fishing equipment, which had mostly been a mishmash of entry level combos and ugly stiks to higher performance reels and more sensitive rods. The salesperson at Bass Pro directed me to the Fenwick HMG line (I was initially looking for a medium light spinning rod for drop shots) and I liked the rods so much, that I purchased several. I’ve used them extensively over the last few years, catching everything from bass and crappie to some bruiser catfish on them. Finally a few weeks ago, one of the rods snapped when a chunky carp took off like a rocket and pulled too hard against the rod in the holder while I had my hands full with another fish.

Fenwick HMG rods are supposed to have a lifetime warranty, but so far, I’ve been less than impressed with their warranty department. I previously had a rod tip on another rod the broke, with the warranty inquiry going unanswered. This time, I received the same non response, but decided to follow-up with a phone call instead. You know when the customer service rep tells you that your warranty inquiry went to their spam trap, that’s probably not a good sign.

After forwarding all of my information to her (again…), nothing. I sent a follow-up e-mail a week later. Nothing. A second phone call resulted in another rep having to contact the original one to get my e-mail forwarded to her. It looks like the claim is now being processed, by I’m fed-up with all of this warranty BS and am shopping for another company now.

I’d like some recommendations for spinning rods in the $100-$200 range that are strong, but sensitive AND have a good warranty. Ideally, you’ve had to make a claim on getting a rod repaired / replaced in the past and had a good experience. I was eyeballing the Bass Pro Carbonlight series, as it has a 10 year warranty and I think you just have to take it to Bass Pro to swap it out if it breaks.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated… thanks!


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Many higher end rods now come with lifetime warranties. I had a Dobyns rod break a couple years ago and it had lifetime warranty. It was going to cost about half of what I paid for it to replace, plus I had to pay return shipping. Wasn't worth it to me, so I just junked it. Any warranty is only as good as the company behind it. Sounds like Fenwick's isn't any different. I have four of the BPS carbon rods and really like them, but they are all baitcast rods. Any rod can break, but if what you say is true about taking it back to BPS for replacement. Good luck.

 

[Feetup1]

I have had good experience with Pure Fishing. A Fenwick Eagle rod broke and I contacted them, sent them a picture of the broken rod and receipt and received a new rod in a couple of weeks.

 

[Pond Pounder]

I ended up going to Bass Pro and purchased a Johnnie Morrison MH Signature Series Rod. It cost $30-$40 more than the Carbonlite rod, but it’s exactly what I wanted as far as power goes and has a 10 year warranty. Plus I paid cash for it, so I figure I could always pass along the warranty if I don’t like the rod anymore, lol…


Took it to Johnnie Mercer Pier on Saturday morning to jig for some Spanish Mackerel. Unfortunately, they were all apparently biting on the other side of the pier and I didn’t get a chance to fight any fish on it there. I was a bit concerned at first because I developed 1-2 wind knots while bombing some jigs from the pier, one of which caught in one of the micro guides and sent my jig sailing off into the deep blue sea. However, after carefully picking out the knot (using braid), I didn’t have any more issues. Additionally, I got to take the rod bass fishing today and caught several bass on it up to 3 lbs and I managed to hook just about everything that bit, including One Eyed Willy here.

Case closed, for the time being…


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[Mack in N.C.]

Here is what I ahve found with warranty on rods.....not worth the hassle and time....I break a rod or it breaks. I throw it in the trash and buy another. simple.

 

[Joetrain]

I’m with Mack. However GLoomis does offer rod replacement for a $100 cost if the breakage is caused by the user. I bought a $300+ GLoomis for $80 from a friend. Broke it , sent it in, broke the replacement, sent that in , so in the course of 10 years I have spent the full price but I’m on my third rod.
A month ago I bought a catfish rod from BPS. Broke in half the first time I used it. It was only 4 days old so they gave me my money back. I walked back into the rod area and purchased an Ugly Stick.

~JOE~

 

[Pond Pounder]

Well, finally got a replacement rod under warranty from Fenwick today, about 4 months after I filed the claim. Promptly put it up for sale on eBay, lol…

I’ve purchased 3 Bass Pro rods in the last 4 months - 2 Carbonlite rods and one Johnnie Morrison Signature Series rod. The Signature rod actually had an eye come loose within the first month or two of ownership while I was out of town. I was cruising down the highway and noticed a Bass Pro Shops off the interstate. Rolled up to customer service with the broken rod and a photo of my purchase receipt (I scan and keep copies of all of my important receipts to a Dropbox account, so I always have access to them on my laptop or phone…) Customer service let me pick out an identical rod without any wait and even refunded me a few dollars from the difference in state taxes, lol…. Looks like I’ll be switching all of the rods over to Bass Pro brand in the future!


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[BGfish]

Good luck