A few weeks ago I was fishing a small lake with a buddy in his Jon Boat. I had an unfortunate collision between a crankbait and my NRX 852s. Everything looked intact so I thought I got lucky and kept on fishing. The next day I was heading out with a different buddy, while rigging my rods I noticed the mangled guide.  I decided I would just get it fixed later, rigged her up, and headed out.

Well, as fate would have it, I caught my new PB best that day with that rod with the mangled guide....11.3lbs 

So, my question is, would you get the guide replaced or would you worry that would kill the Mojo of this now lucky rod? If I was to get it replaced, would you expect a seamless repair so the rod would both look and function as good as new?

Here are some pictures of what I am dealing with...

i don't see the pictures  

EDIT : i see them now .

I haven't seen that one before. Those guides are nearly indestructible. At any rate, it appears to be perfectly fishable but if you want it fixed it's very doable. The end result depends on the competence of the repairer. 

Exercise your warranty and contact  Loomis.

Tom

58 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I haven't seen that one before. Those guides are nearly indestructible. At any rate, it appears to be perfectly fishable but if you want it fixed it's very doable. The end result depends on the competence of the repairer. 

It's crazy.  I can't imagine how it would have happened without ripping it off the rod.

54 minutes ago, WRB said:

Exercise your warranty and contact  Loomis.

Tom

I thought about it, but $100 is pretty stiff for a new guide if I could get a good job done on the replacement. 

This is why I don't buy Loomis high end rods anymore, the warranty is way too expensive.

The problem you have is shipping cost, replacing the guide locally is your best choice if the guide is available. I would repair the guide, the rod is too expensive to have a damaged guide. Can't tell if the blank was damaged? if the blank is damaged then $100 for a new rod would be worth it.

Good luck!

Tom

21 minutes ago, WRB said:

This is why I don't buy Loomis high end rods anymore, the warranty is way too expensive.

The problem you have is shipping cost, replacing the guide locally is your best choice if the guide is available. I would repair the guide, the rod is too expensive to have a damaged guide. Can't tell if the blank was damaged? if the blank is damaged then $100 for a new rod would be worth it.

Good luck!

Tom

What manufacturer replaces a flagship rod accidentally damaged by the owner for less?  Their willingness to replace a $500+ rod for $100 no questions asked is one of the big reasons I buy Loomis high end rods.

Yeah, if the blank was damaged it would be a no brainer.  I'll probably just rock my lucky ugly guide until it doesn't feel lucky anymore.

Have you contacted loomis yet? If not it might be worth a shot. It may just fall under their standard warranty service, and not have to use the expiditor program. Even though it was an accident and not workmanship fault. The fact is those guides are designed and advertised to take a beating. That one did not. Personally I think it's worth a shot.

Let it ride

It looks fishable, and there's no damage to the rod itself if you landed one over 11 lbs with the rod. On a cheap rod I'd let it go, but if I spent that much on a rod, I'd want it to be looking great. If a recoil on one of my older St. Croix Xtremes looked like that I'd want to get it replaced. If I were you, I'd call Loomis and see what they're willing to do. Being that the guides are marketed as practically indestructible, they may be willing to replace it since it didn't live up to it's advertised durability. If not, you could look into getting it replaced locally. 

I agree. Completely fishable but at the same time it would bug me. A local rod builder would be my first call. Loomis will take care of you but there are going to be shipping costs I'm sure.