Just wondering what everyone sees. Do you see many people still buying rods at smaller independant tackle or bait & tackle shops, or mostly the big Cabelas, Bass Pro, Gander Mountains? Obviously, as custom builders we won't be selling at a meg-store, but there are lots of contacts to be made at the smaller shops.

If you don't mind, please post where you are in the US - it's neet to see if there are any differences accross the US.

I haven't seen many small shops left. You really have to have a niche market or a solid longterm client base I think to survive as a small shop. Lots of extra duties like casting lessons, guide services, etc. to make a go of it. I don't know how you could do it if you didn't already own the building or something.

Cabelas, Bass Pro and - the Internet - have closed all but two or three small shops in my area. Those that are surviving are doing so because of long-term client base where fishing rods sales are a "bonus" to other fishing terminal tackle. Location hurts: Pasadena Maryland just isn't close enough to the coast (Bay or Ocean) or on a major thoroghfare. Even the shops that are surviving seem to be doing so selling manufacturer's rods (Shimano, Daiwa, Penn etc.). Right now, to the best of my knowledge, there is ONE location in Baltimore that sells rod making parts, ONE on the way to the Ocean in Maryland and ONE in Delaware - again on the way to the Ocean. Two of my favorite fly fishing shops have closed in the past three years. Having said that there are two other custom rod builders in Pasadena within 2 miles of me - and we all do ok selling custom rods. That circles back around to having a solid repeat customer base (and their referrals) being willing to do lots of repairs and having some "specialty lines". One of the fellows builds "perch jerker" rods - basic 4.5 to 5' long rods, simple handles, 4 guides and a tip top while the other fellow does lots of freshwater rods & I do most of my business with the charter fleet building trolling rods & the bank fishermen who target striped bass from the shoreline using light surf rods (2-4oz of lead plus bait).

North central Idaho in the Rockies...most of the small bait and tackle shops around here sell inexpensive rods. I have spent time talking with tackle shop owners in the area and hear the same story from all of them. Two main reasons;

1) the regional economy is not good and the locals tend to do more meat fishing than sport fishing. They buy inexpensive rods because that is what they can afford. There are a few locals with enough money to buy higher quality rods, but the nearest mega-store is about a four hour drive. We do have a Wal-Mart about 90 minutes away, but they tend to sell the low to medium quality rods. I have built rods for the locals who can afford the higher end stuff;

2) the region does have an excellent fishery with world class trout, steelhead, salmon, sturgeon and smallmouth bass fishing. because of the fishery we have a fairly strong flow of tourists in the form of sport fishers almost year round. These men and women typically bring their own rods. They will buy a rod at a local shop if they happen to break their own rod while fishing here...but they don't want to spend a lot of money on a quick replacement rod so they tend to opt for the inexpensive stuff just to get through the week or weekend.

In general, those shop keepers who have tried to stock higher priced rods around here wind up with them still on the shelf years later and put them in closeout sales. The exception is Spey rods. There is a small local shop that specializes in Spey rods only and he does well on the higher priced rods. He carries all commercial brands of Spey rods and a complete line of accessories, reels, lines, etc. He also does a terrific job of marketing the rods and his services which cater to the Spey rod user. Spey fishing has a large following on the rivers here and seems to grow more and more popular every year. I have started building Spey rods and selling Spey rod blanks.

I do not sell terminal tackle even though that is part of the business name. I don't really sell rods off the shelf, although I do have some for display and I am not afraid to take money when it is offered. I sell rod building components and custom rods to people all over the world. I do have a web site and take orders there. I get a lot of work from referrals. I try to keep quality and service at as high a level as possible. I also do repair work so I get tourist business for repairs on a regular basis because I'm probably the only guy who does repair work in about a 50 mile radius. I sell rods to the tourists from time to time, but they are not a big part of my trade. They stop in and see my work and place an order to be delivered after they return home. I have some clients who started out this way and now order a couple of new rods every time they come to the region to fish.

Joe Douglas

I think that it really depends on your goals/markets. Personally (just my opinion) I think trying to put rods into a retail store is a no-win situation. First off you are splitting your profit with a 3rd party and still, there is little incentive for a retailer to sell your rod over the brands that he already sells. You have no control over the marketing/info given the customer or even, in many cases, any contact with them. If you are selling production/"spec" rods, that may be fine but I prefer all communication, etc take place in MY shop! I do a LOT of repairs for a couple of shops but all they do is give out my card/phone number and the customer contacts me and brings me the rod and picks it up from me. Both the dealers and I are happy with that arrangement. The dealer is keeping his customer happy and has No responsibilities/obligations/ As for me, I get the person in my shop where, for most, they are seeing/hearing about custom rods for the first time and I have a captive audience. You'd be surprised how often a guide replacement results in a new custom rod down the road.

If the customer looked at a rack of my rods in among factory rods (many of which are fine rods at a fraction of my price) and knows little, if anything, about what makes a custom rod better, they often don't understand what makes it worth several times the price. It's often hard for him to grasp the "custom" concept if I had a rack full of identical "custom" rods. It's a whole different story when the person is in my shop and see rods in various stages and I can explain how the build is made to specifically fit an individuals preferences, type of fishing, ergonomic needs, etc makes it a whole new ball game.

I'm in SE Mich on the Detroit river at the mouth of Lake Erie In what may be the world' premier walleye fishery It's also a major bass, musky, perch fishery with many other species also. Just about every big box sporting good change in the country has a location in the area as well as local shops

Before everyone jumps, let me clarify that this applies to MY situation, and maybe not to most others! I'm retired, don't want another job and LOVE rodbuilding!! I don't want a lot of business. I prefer to be choosey and make my rods to NOT be just another rod of the shelf. Not saying that I'm any better builder that most of you (I'm sure I'm not!!) I just found my niche and enjoy the heck out of it

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2007 09:08PM by Mike Barkley.