# Cabela's Whooping Stick. Anybody else have problems with them.



## float4fish (Feb 15, 2017)

Was casting yesterday with my fairly new 5'6" light action rod yesterday when it snapped on a hook set. The "fish" ended up being a snag, but I didn't know that because my rod absolutely exploded about a foot above the reel. Snapped in two, clean break, other 4'6" of the rod is somewhere in the lake because the only thing I heard was a very loud crack, the only thing I saw was a flash of the broken piece, and was left standing with a stubby reel holder. I purchased this thing online as a Father's Day gift. Anybody ever returned anything to Cabela's? Should I expect a hassle?


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

I have had very good luck with the medium action rods. I've been using them for fishing the Intracoastel waters in fl for black drum, redfish, sheephead, and anything else that wants to bite. I use 40# braid and never had the 1st rod break. but I did have one of the lighter rods break on me. I sent it back to cabelas and they replaced it with no problems.
sherman


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## Fishin Finatic (Oct 22, 2010)

Are you sure it was a snag and not a state record 'eye'? You should have no problem with Cabelas replacing it. I use their products and have had very few problems.


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## fool4fish (Mar 21, 2014)

I own a few whuppin sticks nearly an uglystick but not exactly but to answer your question never had any breaks on my 3 and one was literally shut in a vehicle door completely and didnt break amazingly if it woulda been graphite i think it woulda been a different story. I dont know how long whuppin sticks have been on the market but its doubtful in my mind to be out 10 yrs yet and they all have a tag for a 10 yr. Warranty meaning every rod sold in exsistence should still be covered due to the fact they havent been sold long enough to be expired warranty further more cabelas has pretty good return policy with me in the past. Every guys experience can vary tho hope this helps


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## float4fish (Feb 15, 2017)

Fishin Finatic said:


> Are you sure it was a snag and not a state record 'eye'? You should have no problem with Cabelas replacing it. I use their products and have had very few problems.


On second thought, it had to be a state record eye.


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## float4fish (Feb 15, 2017)

fool4fish said:


> I own a few whuppin sticks nearly an uglystick but not exactly but to answer your question never had any breaks on my 3 and one was literally shut in a vehicle door completely and didnt break amazingly if it woulda been graphite i think it woulda been a different story. I dont know how long whuppin sticks have been on the market but its doubtful in my mind to be out 10 yrs yet and they all have a tag for a 10 yr. Warranty meaning every rod sold in exsistence should still be covered due to the fact they havent been sold long enough to be expired warranty further more cabelas has pretty good return policy with me in the past. Every guys experience can vary tho hope this helps


I bought this rod and two trolling rods thinking they would be Cabela's knock off of the Ugly Stick. I still have a Galyan's rod that was a knock off of the Abu rods that is at least 15 years old. The other Whoopin Stucks have been excellent and very durable catching some nasty snags trolling. This has to be a fluke,according everyone's response, which makes me feel much better about the situation. Now to find time to go exchange the remainder of the rod, time which is limited and could be used actually fishing. Thanks for the reasssurances guys!


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

fool4fish said:


> I own a few whuppin sticks nearly an uglystick but not exactly but to answer your question never had any breaks on my 3 and one was literally shut in a vehicle door completely and didnt break amazingly if it woulda been graphite i think it woulda been a different story. I dont know how long whuppin sticks have been on the market but its doubtful in my mind to be out 10 yrs yet and they all have a tag for a 10 yr. Warranty meaning every rod sold in exsistence should still be covered due to the fact they havent been sold long enough to be expired warranty further more cabelas has pretty good return policy with me in the past. Every guys experience can vary tho hope this helps


They came out in 2003. You should not have any problems exchanging a broken one for a new one. The cost on those rods is around 6 dollars. Even with the exchange they are still making money and the customer leaves happy.


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## Draggin along (Nov 8, 2012)

I've been very satisfied with the quality of the Cabelas brand products, but good luck with the refund or replacement. Unless you have a receipt, they consider you to be someone who is looking to squeeze a dollar out of them. It's funny that they can ask you for your telephone number, but can't track a sale based on your phone number. I go across the street to field & stream now, and avoid walking into cabelas.


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## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Draggin along said:


> I've been very satisfied with the quality of the Cabelas brand products, but good luck with the refund or replacement. Unless you have a receipt, they consider you to be someone who is looking to squeeze a dollar out of them. It's funny that they can ask you for your telephone number, but can't track a sale based on your phone number. I go across the street to field & stream now, and avoid walking into cabelas.


Yep! Cross the street and ask for yours truly. Our return policy is great.


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## Brahmabull71 (Jul 30, 2014)

Deazl666 said:


> Yep! Cross the street and ask for yours truly. Our return policy is great.


I cleaned out a BUNCH spoons for salmon and Walleye at F&S. Buy 5 get 5 free. Same for Rapalas. Way better deals than Cabelas it seems.

OP...sorry I only use St. Croix.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

my question is, how did you end up losing the other half of the rod in the water? i guess the line broke along with the rod , right at the reel?


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

A few years ago I was looking at buying one and didn't because I had heard of a handful of them snapping - I am sure the quality is a lot better now but haven't bought one yet.


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## float4fish (Feb 15, 2017)

9Left said:


> my question is, how did you end up losing the other half of the rod in the water? i guess the line broke along with the rod , right at the reel?


Yes. The rod broke about a foot above the reel and the line snapped with it. To be honest I was dumbfounded for a minute when it happened, never had anything like it happen. The remainder sank before I gathered my thoughts.


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## fool4fish (Mar 21, 2014)

I thought id put in my 2 cents about cabelas. I am a loyalty guy but its fair to say if u have a gear obsession like mine price still wins over everything. But imo i feel cabelas is one of the most laxed return policy around.hence just scope out the bargain cave those are legit returns they granted. So thought id share what works best for me. cabelas has a club card not a club charge acct. Just ask for a reg.club card its just a 2 percent or some figure close to that loyalty program i use it for every purchase u get club points to save up n spend and all they gotta do scan that n every purchase is on there. Im not picking a bone at any commentors character just saying they seem really easy going for me it just like a kroger plus card with gas discounts so to speak. I can be a corporate hater but for a major chain cabelas has the best gear selection available for all i do **big water trolling to ice fishing to camping to tying my own jigs to euro style carping to kayak fishing**** u name it ! For me bass pro doesnt even compare not a plug just saying if you figure out how to operate within thier consumer program they work ok for me and oh yeah fyi.they ask for a phone number at cabelas for customer demographics it doesnt tie the purchase to a person just where that person lives no one likes to give out a phone number to spend thier hard earned money you can decline to give it or make up one using correct area code to still verify where you are from if u desire to be counted for demos good luck in all ur gear endeavors


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## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

fool4fish said:


> I thought id put in my 2 cents about cabelas. I am a loyalty guy but its fair to say if u have a gear obsession like mine price still wins over everything. But imo i feel cabelas is one of the most laxed return policy around.hence just scope out the bargain cave those are legit returns they granted. So thought id share what works best for me. cabelas has a club card not a club charge acct. Just ask for a reg.club card its just a 2 percent or some figure close to that loyalty program i use it for every purchase u get club points to save up n spend and all they gotta do scan that n every purchase is on there. Im not picking a bone at any commentors character just saying they seem really easy going for me it just like a kroger plus card with gas discounts so to speak. I can be a corporate hater but for a major chain cabelas has the best gear selection available for all i do **big water trolling to ice fishing to camping to tying my own jigs to euro style carping to kayak fishing**** u name it ! For me bass pro doesnt even compare not a plug just saying if you figure out how to operate within thier consumer program they work ok for me and oh yeah fyi.they ask for a phone number at cabelas for customer demographics it doesnt tie the purchase to a person just where that person lives no one likes to give out a phone number to spend thier hard earned money you can decline to give it or make up one using correct area code to still verify where you are from if u desire to be counted for demos good luck in all ur gear endeavors


Cabela's customer service sucks. Ours is the best, and we also have a club card - the SCORECARD - as does BPS for that matter. But as far as selection goes, however, BPS wins hands down. Their volume is yuge.


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## MIGHTY (Sep 21, 2013)

Hopefully everything works out for ya. I had a similar thing happen to me on a one year old St. Croix on the first trip out in early March a few years back. I set the hook on the second smallie of the day and the last 7-8 inches of the rod broke. Drove to gander where I bought it and no dice on the warranty so I made some calls. Talked to someone at st croix and they said to send both pieces of the rod in along with $20 and a detailed letter about what happened and they would determine if the break was my fault/abuse related or something from their end. Figured I'd just keep my $20 and the money for shipping instead of waiting for them to tell me "sorry you're just going to have to spend another $110 on a new rod" and buy something else. I hope you're in and out with a brand new one with no hassle.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

MIGHTY said:


> Hopefully everything works out for ya. I had a similar thing happen to me on a one year old St. Croix on the first trip out in early March a few years back. I set the hook on the second smallie of the day and the last 7-8 inches of the rod broke. Drove to gander where I bought it and no dice on the warranty so I made some calls. Talked to someone at st croix and they said to send both pieces of the rod in along with $20 and a detailed letter about what happened and they would determine if the break was my fault/abuse related or something from their end. Figured I'd just keep my $20 and the money for shipping instead of waiting for them to tell me "sorry you're just going to have to spend another $110 on a new rod" and buy something else. I hope you're in and out with a brand new one with no hassle.


St.Croix won't argue with you. Trust me. The detailed explanation is a formality...


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## Draggin along (Nov 8, 2012)

fool4fish said:


> I thought id put in my 2 cents about cabelas. I am a loyalty guy but its fair to say if u have a gear obsession like mine price still wins over everything. But imo i feel cabelas is one of the most laxed return policy around.hence just scope out the bargain cave those are legit returns they granted. So thought id share what works best for me. cabelas has a club card not a club charge acct. Just ask for a reg.club card its just a 2 percent or some figure close to that loyalty program i use it for every purchase u get club points to save up n spend and all they gotta do scan that n every purchase is on there. Im not picking a bone at any commentors character just saying they seem really easy going for me it just like a kroger plus card with gas discounts so to speak. I can be a corporate hater but for a major chain cabelas has the best gear selection available for all i do **big water trolling to ice fishing to camping to tying my own jigs to euro style carping to kayak fishing**** u name it ! For me bass pro doesnt even compare not a plug just saying if you figure out how to operate within thier consumer program they work ok for me and oh yeah fyi.they ask for a phone number at cabelas for customer demographics it doesnt tie the purchase to a person just where that person lives no one likes to give out a phone number to spend thier hard earned money you can decline to give it or make up one using correct area code to still verify where you are from if u desire to be counted for demos good luck in all ur gear endeavors


Don't kid yourself, I've worked in retail, and you can do a heck of a lot more with the information once you enter a phone number in their computerized register than just use it for demographics. They can also use my cabelas card information to see how much I've spent in there. Those registers provide a lot more information than just ringing a sale. Their customer service SUCKS period. They used to be a top of the line outfitter until they decided they had to open their mini marts all over the country. Their selection is very pedestrian. No more loyalty from me. I have other options.


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## float4fish (Feb 15, 2017)

Forgot to follow up on this post. When I took the rod back to Cabela’s the only hassle I got from them was finding which rod they wanted to give me. At first they could not find the exact rod, so they started handing me rods that I could exchange for my broken one. I was very impressed. The guy who started helping me patiently explained to the lady in customer service that yes my original purchase was a combo, but the Spider Wire I had spooled on the reel isn’t cheap. So he suggested to her that I keep my reel or they exchange the combo equally, plus a complete spool of Spider Wire. I ended up leaving with just a rod and my original reel, plus about $200 in lures I purchased. I will be doing more business with Cabela’s for sure.


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## my vise (Jun 12, 2011)

Cabelas is fair. Took a broken 2yr old Fenwick rod in and explained Fenwick wouldn't return calls or emails. Cabelas replaced it. Actually credited towards st croix


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## fool4fish (Mar 21, 2014)

Draggin along said:


> Don't kid yourself, I've worked in retail, and you can do a heck of a lot more with the information once you enter a phone number in their computerized register than just use it for demographics. They can also use my cabelas card information to see how much I've spent in there. Those registers provide a lot more information than just ringing a sale. Their customer service SUCKS period. They used to be a top of the line outfitter until they decided they had to open their mini marts all over the country. Their selection is very pedestrian. No more loyalty from me. I have other options.


....to each his own opinion i know im a time tested outdoor consumer and have had plenty experience on the good and bad sides of retailers sitiations but a club card does track what u purchase but the phonenumber does not unless its tied to a club acct. But thier selection is pedestrian couldnt be further from right you must have a widely varied line of gear you need but i didnt intend to argue im just saying i have needs when it comes to gear and many times ive tried other providers and didnt find them until i went to cabelas one thing is for sure times are changing for outdoors consumers


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## fool4fish (Mar 21, 2014)

Oh yeah and fyi on the mini marts comment gemini place store has 100 % inventory that dundee mi. And wheeling wv. Has just litetally half the floor place


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## foton (Nov 25, 2012)

Chasing deals is not my thing.


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