I've actually have had this problem in past versions as well. I think it was working in 1.6.2, but its broken in the snapshot for me also. Don't know if it's my internet settings or what, but it's definately a problem.
Thanks for reporting this. Was just about to do it myself. Frustrating fishing rods. Sure it'll get fixed, only a snapshot after all.
I've actually have had this problem in past versions as well. I think it was working in 1.6.2, but its broken in the snapshot for me also. Don't know if it's my internet settings or what, but it's definately a problem.