So..The wife broke her rods last trip.....

On our spring trip this year, the wife's rod broke. The seat came loose, and the reel would spin around the rod. The choice was to buy another one, or repair. I chose to repair just for kicks. She insists that the rear grip be long enough to rest under her arm for leverage, but I liked the looks of the split grip style and wanted to "play" a bit. It took a while to find split grips that she liked - and that would fit the 5/8" butt diameter. In the end, a purple camp design from Mud Hole fit the bill, and would work for her small hands. I wanted to experiment with a cord wrapped design with Heat shrink tubing so I got a chance to play a bit. In the end - I spent $30 to fix a $50 rod. But it was fun, and she loves her custom Penn rod. http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...tid=5154&stc=1

PS - this is one of my Flea-Bay special reels, a Penn 712Z that I paid $20 for. It's a perfect fit for the rod and has good balance with this rod. I think I will hang a Bubble Rig on this one for her when I come down this fall.