Why do you guys build fishing rods ? What inspired you to get into rodbuilding ?

For the same reason that if I go somewhere I drive. I am a control freak. If I build my rods I know how they were put together. I am also a perfectionist. Now I doubt I will ever build the perfect fishing rod but that Idea ticks me off so I just keep trying and trying and .......someday maybe.

Jason Kesckes. Aint no fish'n like bass fish'n

i fish, i like fishing, and i wanted to start a business. one for my friends runs a bait and tackle shop and he told me about a place called the mudhole, and you could build custom rod. i went , i bought, i built, i loved, and i still love it.

I could not find a stiff enough 6ft rod with a short enough or pistol grip handle for jerkbaits. A friend of mine was selling off some StCroix "2nd" blanks that was given to a girl scout group his wife oversee's as a fund rasier for the troop. Few days later my $10 StCroix blank arrvied at my door, .......everyone knows the rest! :-)


DR

Well I guess it started when I was about sixteen.
I started shark fishing with some friends and
they had some custom built rods and I thought that
was cool. Now I'm 49nand building custom rods for
myself and who ever needs one. My keeps telling me
that I got enough rods but I keep building, go figure,
I like having certain ones to fish with during
the seasons. Well I guess all in all once you get into it
your in knee deep and stuck. lol..

I Was Born Without Gills, Therefore I Fish!
Love The Wife! Live Long! Fish Till You Die!

Because I can LOL! Seriously, I love the idea of catching fish on a rod and tackle that I built. A great feeling. Then I realized that I could build a better rod than the manufacturers as far as efficiency, fishability and to match MY preferences and fishing methods. From there it just grew and grew. I absolutely love building a rod specifically for a person and see their reaction when they see/fish it!! It is a VERY satisfying craft.

Since discovering this forum a fw years ago, I am constantly amazed at the talent as well as the willingness to share among builders. I have made some very good friends among this community and look forward all year to getting together with them at the annual ICRBE in High Point

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!!

Joseph,
You are going to get as many answers as there are rod buiders.

I began buiding when I was in the navy. In 1958 I was a week away from a "cruise" to the Western Pacific on board the USS Midway. I happened to be coming back to the Naval Air Station In Alameda, California when I spotted a sign that said fishing tackle. The only thing they carried was parts to make fishing rods. I left with the materials to make a light weight 7 foot spinning rod. A few weeks later I had completed a very rudimentary spinning rod. It certainly was not any better than I could have purchased from any tackle shop. The difference was that I had made it from scratch. The sense of being able to make something from raw materials was very strong. It was probably the reason that I went to college to study chemistry. My view of chemistry is that it is the science of transforming raw materials into some thing that serves human beings. This includes transforming iron ore into a plow or a rifle barrel or petroleum into a pharmaceutical.

Building a fishing rod is in my mind a very similar process. You take the raw material and convert it into a functional tool that is also aesthetically beautiful. Each rod you build is better than the previous one ( we hope). Rodbuilders are always trying to build a perfect rod. This is an ideal that probably doesn't exist, but we chase that ideal anyway. I also think that rodbuilding brings out the best in us. I have found that Rodbuilders are always willing to share their ideas and help new rodbuilders. This alone gives us great pleasure.

For me I also want to pass on my skills to the next generation. I lament that so many of our young people prefer to buy something rather than built it or to have someone repair something rather than learn how to fixt it themselves. Perhaps that is because we have down played the practical aspects in our education. In my generation, all of the boys took woodshop and general shop (that was the way it was--there was never a good reason for excluding women from those courses but schools did). Today very few students take those courses.

Now that I am retired I continue to build rods most of which I sell. I do this because when I build rods I continue to learn new ways to do things and this helps to keep me mentally alert. If the folks who study neuroscience are correct, this will help develop new neural pathways and keep us old folks from atrophying mentally. Any way, Joseph this is my answer to your question. I am sure you will receive a large and diverse number of answers to your question. My last suggestion is join in the fun. This forum is a great place to find answers to most if not all of the questions you might develop as you build your first rod.

Take care,

Mike Blomme

I began by fixing up busted rods, replacing guides, etc. Then started redoing handles using better seats, cork and EVA. Took particular note of how bad some of the longer handles and short handles were to fish with. Stripped down a few and started playing around, then the bug bit deeply. All over after that. It's all about doing up a rod that suits you and your fishing styles, techniques to a "T". Having one that looks absolutely awesome ain't bad either. Heads turn when a split grip comes out, eyes goggle when you pull a custom 4 piece out of your backpack.

I think to some extent it was creativity and enjoyment of technical things. I was never satisfied to race out of the box slot cars in my youth, or use flies tied by someone who has never seen the trout I fish for. When I came across a golf club component catalog I just had to get into it, and learn about clubhead construction and shaft dynamics. And after being awestruck by ultra high quality bonsai developed by the masters I entered a fifteen year journey of developing living art. Imagine developing a great fishing rod and then having to keep it alive!

In the end it's a bit of satisfaction that you can do this and enjoy the fruits of your efforts. Yeah, let me catch a trout on a fly rod that I build, with a grip and reel seat I turned, using a fly that I designed and tied on my Grandfather's vise - Heaven......

Jeff Shafer

To save money….LOL! Actually I am so new to this that I am saving money. I have fished since my earliest memories. It is a true-life long passion for me. I have made some cross-country moves in my life, and my first question of the new area always is “Is there water and what is the fishing like?”. In the early 90’s a friend/coworker invited me to go fishing on his families boat in the Gulf off the Texas Coast. He came from a wealthy family but did not show it off. I remember I was checking out one of his rods and I saw “Custom Built For” and his name. I was floored. I asked about it and he told me “Yea, a guy in Houston builds custom fishing rods, it’s really not that expensive”. Of course he paid like $100.00 at the time for it and I was fishing with my standard off the shelf Ugly Sticks and such that cost around $15-20.00 for (in my eyes at the time at least) an equivalent rod.
So some 10 years later I wanted to expand my fishing and I start getting into fly- fishing. Man, what fun! I bought a cheap 5/6 wt. big box type combo with reel and line (with flies) that cost like $45.00. Well with the advent of the internet and my fly fishing skills advancing, I realized I wanted (well needed) a new fly rod. I knew what I wanted, but the prices were pretty high on the specific rod I was looking for. But again with the advent of the internet and sites like these I started to read more about people building their own rods. I thought of my friend and thought, “What if I did build my own rod?”. Started looking at rod building suppliers (that a few years before I had no idea they even existed) and found a perfect fly-rod from a kit for about one third of what I would pay for an equivalent off the shelf rod.
I bought it and it came in the mail. I had very mixed feelings, one side of me said, “what the heck did I get myself into?” I was very intimidated. Then the other side would think “It can’t be that hard right?…I want to pursue this and if I don’t build (or in my case assemble) my first rod how am I going to build my 100th rod?” Well I did build that first rod and love it. I have tried fly tying and I was quite proud when I caught my first fish on “my own hand tied fly”. But casting and catching my first fish on a rod I built myself was the ultimate for me (even though it was a small bluegill, I still cherish the picture I took of him with my rod at the time). That feeling REALLY blew me away! I was so proud.
As stated at the beginning of this that I am rather new to this hobby. I’m working on my 5th rod now and have been building for about a year. I must admit I do love the respect I get from fellow fishermen when they look at my rods and ask, “where did you get that?” and I proudly reply “I built it!” I build for my friends and family, but I do love to hear the comments from fishing buddies that say to other buddies, “Harold knows fishing, he even builds his own custom rods” and shows one I built for him and the other guy says “Wow”. And my work is crap compared to what I see here.
YOU guys/gals are the cream of the crop when it comes to fishing. Not only do you love fishing, or else why would you build fishing rods in the first place, but everyone knows how to build what they want (vs. buying whatever the big box stores say are the rod you need).
I’m on the shoulders of giants and I don’t plan on jumping off soon. Shoot I have a good 20 years before retirement…20 years to learn before I do it full time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2008 09:34PM by Harold Krause.

Some great answers to be sure.

I started building when I wanted a particular boat rod I couldn't find myself, then I got into fly fishing and re-started tying flies and making rods to go with. Then came feather inlays, rods for gifts, the cork lathe, the power wrapper, and all the other fun stuff to go with it.

So, in short for me it was sort of in this order:

It's fun to make stuff and I can build what I want how I want it.
I can make it look the way I want it too, but adding some of my art and expression.
I get exactly the type of function I want, with the components I want.
It's fun to make things.
Oh, and did I mention, it's fun to make great looking tools to use.
I also like to look at other's faces when they get their rod. It's most excellent to have satisfied customers.

Terry

I first bought a custom fly rod for trout fishing from one of the best rod builders I have ever seen. I couldn't find a production rod that would do what it was suppose to or what I wanted it to I went back a few months later to have a bass rod built and the reply was , no, I only build fly rods. But will help you build one. COOL, Iwe finished it and then I was told just come by and pick up your supplys and bring them by when your done. For about 6 months I did this and he would point out mistakes and things to change or try. After a couple of years I stopped due to other intrest, and then I went to a local sporting good store to stock up and purchased a new rod, it was the biggest disipointment of my life, so I stripped it and re done it before it was ever taken to the lake. That was over 20 years ago and I haven't bought a productio rod since The only thing better than catching fish on one of the rods I build is if a client does. The very best reason to build rods is to check youremails and there ne one form a happy client that loves his or her rod. I save and savor all emails and phone calls from clients. For me there is nothing better than a smiling face or someone that is just happy with what they received, let's face it, ya just can't get that everywhere anymore.

I started building because the guy whom was building my rods wanted to charge me USD$700 for a PE5-8 vertical jigging rod. I felt that i could do a better job that him.... so i started. In the end i paid more than USD$700 for equipment and bits and pieces of stuff and i dont think i could ever have a return on my 'investment' ... but it was fun riding down the learning curve. But i dont think one can even make a living doing this in our part of the world ... the anglers here dont really pay for any art associated with a customized rod... functionality over-rides art here.

I never planned to, BUT I was given an Accurate TwinSpin 30 as a gift and could not find a suitable rod for it. Calstar at the time has stoppe making them, I think they are again though.
In my search to buy a rod, I figured may as well build one.... next thing ya know.

-Steve

Tampa, FL

1967 i started building rods i have built 21 this year and a list of 11 more . what was the ?

I started out modifying rods because I couldn't afford the ones I wanted/needed. Eventually I was lucky enough to get a beautiful used bamboo flyrod. I rebuilt it because that was the only way I could make it fishable. I bought inexpensive rods to fish with and rebuilt them. Eventually I built whole rods from some of the kits offered by a number of companies back then (40yrs ago). That led to building a few for other folks, for cost.

And then for profit, for a few folks who wanted them.

And then three years ago we were fixing up some rods we'd pretty well used up on the piers and people out there offered us money for them. And from there it just got out of hand. We've worked a long time to develop designs that fit our customer's requirements. Our sales pretty well confirm we got it right. But in the end, there's nothing like seeing the look on a customer's face when we restore their rod, or uncase a new one for them.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

I started building rods for myself after catching a larger sized northern pike on a factory-built bait casting rod (guides on top) while jigging for walleyes in 1979. I watched, during the fight, as the tip of the rod twisted over to 90 degrees (and possibly beyond that) and was just waiting for the rod to explode in my hands.

I knew that those guides needed to be under the rod to prevent that twisting and tried to find a factory rod wrapped that way. I couldn't find one and two years later, in 1981, I just went ahead and dove into building my first custom, a spiral wrapped jigging rod. I had never seen one, but pretty much still wrap them like I did that very first one.

I still love building a rod and handing it to the new owner and watching their eyes. Makes it all very much worth it to me.

Putter
Williston, ND

Joseph Bailleaux Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why do you guys build fishing rods ? What inspired
> you to get into rodbuilding ?

When I was teenager just to see if I could. Now it is because I can, and it is fun, and I can build a simple rod that fishes really well. If I couldn't make those 3 statements I wouldn't do it. I'm not good enough to do it for other people.

I have no idea where, in the mid 70's, a kid even hears about "rod building." My dad and I always fished and maybe in Sports Afield or something there was an article I read. Anyway somehow I got a white fiberglass 5 ft rod with the handle already on it. I got some guides and thread and did it. I caught a lot of bluegill, crappie, and trout with that rod. Add in a few bass and carp as well.

Fast forward about 30 years and I was really into saltwater fishing in the San Francisco area. A guide broke on my favorite lucky broomstick. I needed to fix it and probably looked up the how to on the net. It turns out there was a shop in Hayward just down the road from me that sold what I needed. I figured out how to do that and it looked ok, but worked fine.

I bought a book on rod building and have built 3 complete rods in about 1 year all for my new passion, freshwater fishing on the lake where it all started, and where that little white rod sits in a corner, Clear Lake CA.

Because I cannot get what I want "off the shelf".....

For me..............I want people to pick up one of my rods and just stare..........................that's when I know I have just blown them away.......

I love to create, be different. Every one of my rods has a piece of me in it....even rods built for someone else has a little of me in it.....Love that!

Terry