Just wondering about how many custom rod builders presently exist in the United States. Does anyone have an accurate figure or know where to get one? No particular reason just something myself and a buddy were wondering about.

depends on your definition? I know a lot of people that have built rods before, do you consider them a custom rod builder?

The number of custom builders remains fairly constant but the participants themselves tends to fluctuate. In other words, guys get involved, build a rod or two and then drop out of the hobby. As they do, new builders continue to come in and follow the same path - building a rod or two and then dropping out. So for the most part the people involved are in a constant state of change, while the overall numbers involved at any given time remain about the same.

Here are some numbers to chew on...

Jim Cabela once told me that Cabelas sells rod blanks and/or components to roughly 48,000 new builders each year (these are builders that they have not previously sold blanks or components to, thus they consider them “new” builders). This number has remained constant for several years now. The total number of individual builders they sell to each year is about 85,000.

RodMaker Magazine has a subscriber base of just over 13,000 rod builders at present. About half of these will change during the year. I’ll lose about 6,000 +/- of them during the year, but gain about the same number or a few more in new subscribers during that same time period. Figure a loss of about 15 or so subscribers per day, with a gain of about 16 or 17 new subscribers per day. Again, the people change but the overall number remains fairly constant.

Although 2% of an available market is generally all you can expect to gain, everything I’ve done with regard to hard copy advertisements for the Expo has resulted in about a 4% response and if you take that number and apply it to the RodMaker circulation, you end up with the number that was given by one of the fishing tackle trade groups a few years. They listed the active number of participants in custom rod building at something like 300,000.

I have some other figures from various dealers and sponsors here but really am not at liberty to disclose them. Overall, I’d say that 300,000 is a pretty accurate figure. But remember that most of these are only hobby builders and will only build a rod or two during the year. Half will drop out this year but be replaced by newcomers during that same time period. The number is growing each year, but only slightly.

..............

Tom
Of this 300,000, what % are builders that make a living by building rods?
It seems to me that I see the same names on several phourm boards.

Keep in mind that most mainstream custom rod builders, just like the rest of the mainstream public, do not use internet forums. Only a tiny fraction of the custom rod builders out there use such forums, including this one. The internet rod building forums do not represent the custom rod building world. This is the thing that so many do not understand and why the companies that continue to print hard copy catalogs rule the roost in blank and component sales - they're reaching the mainstream rod building craft. The internet-only based companies are not.

All I could do is make a guess based on the numbers from the 50 or so custom rod builders who all live and work within about a 25 mile radius of me. About 10% sell rods to the public. Perhaps 1% or 2% make a full time living from it, but that generally includes tackle sales, guide service, etc., as well.

..............

Thanks Tom
Thats what I thought. With the # of hours involved to build a good rod, it would seem hard to make a living at it. Unless the builder had something or did something that other builders could not.

I did for several years and know a few others that have done it, and are doing it now. But we're also talking about building fewer rods for a lot more money versus churning out a ton of $100 to $200 rods. I don't see how anyone could do that and make much of a living at it. Not enough hours in the day.

I would think that builders who make an actual living from custom rods alone would be very few and far between.

............

Bill Hartman your notation of "with the hours required to build a rod" poses and interesting thought process.

How long does it take to build a rod? What if 10 could be built in the same time as one?

Just curious as to what rodbuilders who use this site think:

$ 200 rods - Narrow market requirements, well built, excellent fit and finish, "churned out", highly functional, quality blank and components, task specific, everything in stock, one man shop, think about it for a minute and get a picture in your mind -

1 Power Wrapper - All guides hand wrapped non power - 200 rpm finish applier - 8 station Flexcoat dryer - organized work space - no grip gluing and turning - models layed out and standard - everything in stock

How long do you think it takes for all thread work per rod including guides -

Market and reputation has been established that will sell all that are built - No volume shows worked -

How many rods do you think are possible in a five day week by someone that is on the proper medication for obsessive compulsive dissorder?

How many rods a week do you think it would take to build and sell at $ 200 to make a reasonable profit that would support your present lifestyle.

What is the number of rods that would disquality someone from being called a custom builder.

Do you have a business plan based upon a fixed set of rules with defined goals?

The reality of reasonable pricing and and the relationshop to volume may surprise some. Again remove time for art form enhancements.

Gon Fishn

Bill
I am just going by my own experance. Granted that I have not been building for that long and it takes me longer to build a rod than an old pro. But by doing the math I would have to build 2-3 rods a week with at least a 50% markup on matierals and average of $150/rod labor to repalce my current income ( that would still be a pay cut).

At my current skill level that just is not going to happen! My goal is to retire ( again) in 10 years. Maybe by then my skill level will good enough to make a little money on my rods.....LOL

To make a living at it, I had to charge an average of about $700 per rod and this was way back in the 1980's and early 1990's. Today I'd have to get about a thousand bucks per rod. Check the prices of folks like Russ Gooding or Bob Meiser. I think you'll see this is in line with what they're doing.

You'll never make it by churning out large numbers of $150 to $200 rods. As you mentioned, there are only so many hours in a day. The key is to build less but charge more. Of course, you have to build the sort of product that can command those prices, but a few are able to do it.

..............

To Bill Hartman -

Another perspective:

Your statement "My goal is to retire ( again) in 10 years. Maybe by then my skill level will good enough to make a little money on my rods..

I can assure you that with proper market identification and defined goals you can meet YOUR expectations for retirement supplementary income and add on the following incentives:

1. Non vegetative state of retirement doing something of value to give direction to life that is self satisfying.

2. Staying in touch with the human race for an extended period.

3. Discovery and improvement of existing technologies.

4. Reduced expendatures to psychaitrists and medication.

5. Respect and loyalty from customers.

6. Association with peers.

7. Improve quality of life with added income.

8. Handing a customer a completed rod and seeing the look on their face!

Suggested changes in the above posts - replace "churn out" with "build high quality rods for fishermen"

Change your output goal to "rods per day" instead of per week - Easily! How many days a week you want to work is under your control.

My choice is to build what I can sell and stay off the couch for as long as I can!

I love $ 200 a rod and so do my customers.

Gon Fishn