Greetings to all!

I have decided that I would like to start building custom fishing rods. I have often admired the work that others have done, and have wanted to do the same. I would like to produce a light weight to med. action rod for salt or freshwater fishing. I would like to purchase blanks from a company that actually Mfg's their blanks here in the USA. I need help with what, when, where, how, & why. I have no experience in this, I am an avid fisherman, and know what I want in a rod. Any help and or direction would be of great help. Please feel free to make any comments. All will be welcome.

Thanks!
Brian

First. I would suggest that you check out the LIBRARY, FAQ, GLOSSARY and PHOTO (you have to register for the photo page separately. You can use the same passwords) p)ages. Their is a wealth of info there. Next get a copy of Tom Kirkmans book from a vendor on the left. A subscription to Rodmaker magazine is also highly recommended. Also check out [rodbuildingtutorials.com]

Where are you located? There are probably rodbuilders in your are that will take you "under their wing" That will really shorten your learning curve.

As far as "Made in USA" You will really be limiting yourself to a fraction of the quality components available.
You might want to unhide your e-mail also.

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!!

Im in San Antonio. There is a Rod Builder in Victoria that I would love to learn from. But, he will one day be competition. If you or anyone else know of someone in the San Antonio area, I would love to talk to them. As far as made in the USA... Im looking for Blanks (carbon fiber) that are produced here.

St. Croix, North Fork, Talon, Lamiglas, Sage, and a few others I'm sure I'm forgetting are all made in the USA.

...........

Brian,
one option I can recommend for learning is the Rod Building classes that we offer from Mud Hole Custom Tackle. We have one in Houston in September. On top of that we are the largest distributor of Rod Building Components in the World. We also offer every major US blank manufacturer.

[www.mudhole.com]

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Calstar and seeker as well.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Seeker as well, is a USA made product.

...........

Hydra H2 Made in USA.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

Hi Brian,
so you want to build fishing rods........Congrat's big time......I hope I'm talking for most builders here when i say, IT AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE...........BUT...... you will need to have a science degree in patience, a masters in determination, a really big rubbish bin for the disasters and a very very large pocket chock-o-block full of money...........GOOD LUCK......
nearly forgot to mention..................we all love it........

also Brian, a great place to start ..get into YOUTUBE....and start typing rod building, binding, wrapping, epoxying, anything to do with building a rod is there, mudhole has great vid's on there as well

Also a lot of the suppliers on the left have -how to's - MudHole for one.

Bill - willierods.com

Hey Brian. . . . . Welcome to the world of fish sticks. It's addictive. I'm a 3rd generation rod builder. My Grandfather built rods out of hickory sticks and shaped them with a broken Coke bottle. I built my first rod in the late 60s on a fiber glass blank. I just recently rebuilt it. As I was doing the rebuild, I couldn't believe how the supplies for building have changed. The color choices of the thread we use today is mind-boggling! The adhesives and finishes are almost space-age. Here's wishing you Good luck.

Welcome Brian, building your own rods is an awesome way to be more involved in the sport we are all obsessed with. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you get started.

Tight Lines and Bull's-eyes,

Get Bit Outdoors
407-542-7840
www.GetBitOutdoors.com
www.facebook.com/GetBitOutdoors

There is a Rod Builder in Victoria that I would love to learn from. But, he will one day be competition.

If you noticed, on this forum as well as others. Expierened builders are glad to help newbies. and I think most any builder would be willing to help you also. Today you are a student of hi, s in a few years you may be his competition or even his buisness partner. Take advantage of every situation to learn this craft.

In my general area eight builders get together once a month. (This is not the best area for custom built rods). We do not worry about out selling the other or taking his business. We share ideas and information. and we all grow off of it.

It is a good thing to be around other builders.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

Also Billy Vivonas "Decorative Wraps" and Dale P Clemens "Custom Rod Thread Art" books are worth investing in. Dale Clemens book is what got me started.

Brian,
Any competition is good competition..
it makes you strive to be better than him and he does the same, quality gets better from both of you and you end up with a good reputation because your "competition" is always pushing you to do better..
i would gladly accept a few more rod builders in the town i live in.

Hey Brian, It's been a long time since I have posted on this site. In fact I can't believe I remembered my login credentials!! It has been a couple of years since I built my last rod, but I am in the San Antonio area. I live in Schertz (the N.E. area). I think I have my email available...shoot me a email and I will see what I can help with.

Actually the email address in my profile is an old one. Not sure how to edit it. But if you send me something, let me know so I can check it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2011 01:57PM by Harold Krause.

Harold,

I sent an email to you, but it came back. Give a a shout or email me with you new email address.