In the recent snapshot (13w36a/b) it was changed so that the fishing rod only takes damage when you catch a fish. It is for this reason that I suspect that it is not intended that the rod also takes damage if the lure hits a block, even the presence of water.
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Duplicate of MC-29768, please use the search function to see if your bug has already been submitted. Currently over 57% of tickets are being resolved as duplicate.
Before and after casting