It appears that the finish on my St Croix med/heavy rod is bubbling. What the hell is happening and is it possible to fix it?

Backstory-its about 10 years old, not abused or neglected in any way.

Is it just the finish over the guide wraps or the finish over the entire blank?

If it's just the guides, I can clean them up and re-epoxy for a few bucks, couple days to dry and it will be good as new.

If it is the finish on the blank, not much you can do. If it bothers you, sand it down with 1200/1500 grit wet paper to make it smooth again. Most spray paints will not work on a fishing rod, so you're best to just leave be.

Thanks Ed, its the entire blank. My garage gets Africa-hot in the summer, could that have done it?

It's possible, but those graphite blanks are baked at high temp to let the resin and blank finish cure. Unless you are talking hot enough to be firing ceramic pinch pots in your garage, I doubt it's the heat.

It's possible that the rod got wet at some point or is suffering from long term humidity exposure. Are there any "soft" spots on the blank or areas that look like the graphite is swollen or compromised?

Also, before I blame St. Croix of anything, when you say the finish is peeling, do you mean the clear coat over paint (if the blank is painted) or do you mean the surface of the graphite that is a grey or almost black thick fiber?

The clear coat is bubbling.

The rod has gotten wet over the years, rain, but no soft spots or compromised blanks or sustained humidity just 90-100 degree heat during the summer months.