How to get a stuck fly rod apart

Sometimes, it’s the simple things that cause us the most grief. Hooks stuck in our fingers, past the barb. A poorly tied knot that breaks on a nice fish.

Or a fly rod that, try as you might, simply won’t come apart at the end of the day.

Above, my friend Chris Walker, who designs fly lines for RIO (yes, you can thank him for that sweet RIO Technical Trout line), shows us two easy ways to unstick a stuck fly rod.

First, grab a buddy. A straight-line pull is always best, and with four hands instead of two, it’ll almost always come apart. No buddy? No problem. Put the rod behind your knees, brace your hands on outsides of knees and use your legs to pull the rod apart—again, the straight-line approach is what’s best, as it won’t bend the rod and break a ferule.

See for yourself in the video above.

By Chris Hunt.