Serious question, what's your backup plan when a rigging line snaps mid-limb?

Last Thursday in Eugene, I was lowering a big oak limb over a garage. The 5/8" rigging line, which looked fine during my pre-climb check, snapped about 15 feet from the ground. The limb dropped straight down, bounced off the roof, and dented the gutter. I had to stop everything, re-rig with a new line, and finish the job two hours behind. Has anyone else had a rigging line fail unexpectedly, and how do you check them besides just a visual once-over?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_carr592mo ago

Man, that's rough. In my experience, you gotta run your whole hand down the line feeling for soft spots, not just look. I swap out any line that's taken a few big hits, even if it looks okay.

nancys902mo ago

Yeah, the hand test is key, isn't it? I learned that the hard way after a line that looked fine snapped on a simple cast. Your fingers find those weak spots way better than your eyes can. I don't even wait for a few big hits anymore, if it felt like a real tug on something solid, I'm checking it right then. That little bit of line is way cheaper than losing a good lure or the whole fish.

black.margaret22d ago

Pull your hand down that line like you're checking for splinters on an old dock, @nancys90. I had a pike snap a fresh 20 lb test once because I got cocky and skipped the hand check. Now I treat every "solid tug" like it's a doomsday warning and I'm fishing with wet tissue paper. Saves you the cost of a new lure plus the embarrassment of telling the guys at the bait shop you lost it to a rock.