Well my friend and I are 14 and 15 and we are just wondering if there is any other young builders out there. When did most of you old timers or experienced builders start making your rods? Tom K.?

All posts are welcome
~Don~ <°)>}}}}}}><

I am 68 years old and feel every day of it. You are lucky to be starting out young. Your fingers work well and your eyesight is fine. I have built rods for maybe less than 10 years I guess. So I'm an old timer but a fairly young rod builder. Have one grandson about your age that I wish would get interested in fishing and rod building. Maybe once he gets past the teenage years and settles down a bit. It's a good craft and one day could even grow into a part time business for you. Good luck.

My daughter is 8 and she has finished hir seconed rod and also wrote a report for her schools show and tell .

I'm only 47 but sometimes feel I started fishing back in the days of clubs and rocks. I didn't start building rods until about 5 years ago, after I got finished traveling the world, flying airplanes, and trying to drink all the whiskey.

Don,

I built my first rod when I was 15 years old. I still have it. Age has nothing to do with rod building. I am 43 now and still love it. You would think a rod, is a rod, is a rod... but over the years components get better, building techniques get better, epoxies get better, your skills become better. Every rod is a chance to try something new or perfect something old. Good luck to you and your friend with all your rod building.

Bill Doherty
www.dohertycustomrods.com

Don:

I am a high school teacher. For six years of my teaching, I taught English to Alternative Education Students, who most folks know as "At-Risk" students. They were all about your ages and a little older, were court attached for an amazing variety of things, and had a hard time paying attention to anything butt rap music most of the time...

...that is, until we finished a school year with a rod building project. Each student's mission was to write a booklet on rod building -- after building his own rod in class, of course (the class that year was all males). The field trip afterwards was a fishing trip at a local lakeside campground.

We built ultra-light spinning rods and I was very impressed, not only by the work the guys did, but by the pride they took in doing something that they could be proud of (and that they didn't have to worry about leaving finger prints -- except in the wrap finish).

I've fished with several of the kids since then, and it's some of the more enjoyable fishing I've done lately. Not to sound corny, but watching a person "grow up" in front of your eyes, and on a river bank, is a very satisfying feeling. A few of the guys are even interested in building a fly rod or two now and trying their luck with fly fishing, since that's been my fishing of choice for nearly 25 years and they've heard me yap about it so much.

I think you're doing this at a great age! Best of luck with it. You're probably the only "guys on your block" who fish with rods they made themselves -- at least guys your ages.

Scott B

Yeah Buddy, good to see some more peeps my age wrapping rods. Im 15, but know a few guys that are bout 17 and 18 that wrap rods, but they are few and far between. Shoot me an email sometime, i wanna see some of your work.

Joel Goyette
Caliornia

Don,
I happen to be twice your age a 31. I have been at this heavy now for two years. I have researched it though for at least seven or eight years. It just took that long for me to put aside some very bad habbits (The Bars) and get into real solid and worthy hobbies. My first year I maybe sold ten rods but gave away twenty to thirty. Now this year I am licensed for business and so far I have sold twenty and the season here in N. W. Indiana hasn't really started. Of course the Salmon and Trout are running along our shore line of Lake Michigan and the creeks, so I will be doing more fishing than building for at least four weeks. Unless I get a few orders.
Nice to see young guy's use their time constructively. If hind sight were 20/20 I would be a great person and Rod builder, but instead I am of an average class at the moment working on greatness!!!!
Good luck to you and all the new rod builders.
Mark Schulte

I have been wrapping rods for going on 40 years. Lots of repair in my area. So good to see the young guys coming along. A few more years and I will have to sell out or just close. Getting a little too old to keep up anymore.

Good luck in your rod building.
I built my first at 15 and am still going at 39+.
One suggestion, make sure to keep your early work,
it will become special to you later in life.
Best wishes,
Ron

So Tom Kirkman how long have you been building rods?

Don,

I'm 16 now and built my first rod about 4 years ago with help from my uncle. I'm lucky to live about 20 minutes away from Richard's Rod and Reel and I have to say that he has been a great help in my rod building. I havn't meet anybody else our age yet and wasn't sure how many of use there were. I'm glad there are others out there like me.
I'd like to see some of your work, I think after I finish a few or the rods I'm working I will probably post on the moment of fame site.

Rob Plumridge
Fort Frances Ontario Canada

I am 14 and I have built 2 rods so far and have repaired 1. Planning on building a 1 weight and a 5/6 weight fly rods.

Hey Anyd if you get a chance e-mail me. I tried to e-mail you and It got returned.
Tight wraps,
~Don~

My screen name is SkilledFisherman