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Are their any custom rod makers out there? I have made a few but I took a rod making class so I could use the techniques for making carbon fiber buggy whips. I have made them complete with thread art decorations.
I wanted a carbon fiber whip for my carpel tunnel wrists but bought ones were too expensive. So I took a rod making class and adapted it to whips.
I have orders for 4 fly rods between the kids, grand kids and daugherin law. It's one of those projects that I don't want to do every winter, but enjoy a small dose of. The ones I have built for fund raiser auctions have been well recieved.
I want to get to Mountin Home AR for the class on building cane rods from scratch.
Local Boy Scouts make kits every other year. In general they go for a light - medium spinning rod. I would like to see some pics of really nice rods. I live 25 miles N or the Winston Rod Company and the one their employees started when they went all for $$, I think it is Sweetwater?
I'm with Dirt Farmer I have built a few fly rods and a couple of extreem ultralight panfish rods. Not something I do every year but once in a while I'll get the urge to build something that is not available. It is kind of neat to be fishing with one of my custom rods and somebody will ask where did you get that? OH I made it! The next question is would you make me one? Nope, this is a one and only and there ain't never be another one like it. You ain't got enough money anyway. Most of them are made out of discontinued blanks anyway but I don't tell them that.
RB
I built a few rods back in the days of glass rods.
I buy mine these days.
My favorites is GLoomis....dale
I took a chance and bought a rod kit, 9 ft 3 wt for a song, it arrived and was a G Loomis.
I just finished this 6.5 ft 2 wt 4 piece flyrod and case for my daughter for Christmas. Grip is birch bark with ebony caps.Attachment 58381
Man, that is beautiful! I've always wanted to make at least one custom rod but I have too many hobbies now. Lure making, especially crappie jigs keep me busy along with casting, reloading, shooting, predator hunting. I told my wife that I needed to hire someone to help me in the shop.LOL!
+1 there. I have so many hobbies I can't do much of any of them as often as I like.Quote:
Originally Posted by fishnbob
That is a Beautiful work of art....nice jobQuote:
Originally Posted by chsparkman
Thanks Bassmaster.
chsparkman - fantastic. I didn't think the 4 pc would work very well till I got one, now that's almost all I use. Made the mistake of using a 2 wt @ Branson on trout - really ticked off a lot of people but it was a real fun fight. Now I just use that one for mountain stream trout. Advantage to making one is you don't have to pay $$$ for a 7-8 ft rod. Where do you get blanks cheap? Like I need another hobby.
Thanks popper. Cheap blanks can be had from several sources: www.hookhack.com, www.mudhole.com just to name a couple. Have fun! I love rolling my own.Quote:
Originally Posted by popper
didn't realize by posting I would kill the post
Beekeeper. Hadn't looked at this thread for a while. How do you think you killed the post? I'm from Riverside...where in So. Cal. are you? Do any fishing out there?
I live on the gulf coast, I fish everything from 2 lb test live bait rods for speckled trout all the way up to meat poles for grouper and snapper. My favorite home built rod uses a 7' med light St. Croix blank and the old school Aetna Foulproof guides and depending which normally wears a modified Penn 710Z reel spooled with 8 lb mono. Nothing fancy black rod, gold under-wrap and Black E nylon over-wrap. I do a lot of deepwater jigging for dorado, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, pompano and bonito and the best mod I made was to paddle the neck of the reel out with aluminum powder filled epoxy so I would stop getting blisters between my fingers after several hours of fishing.
Those interested the best book I found was Advanced custom rod building by Dale Clemens. Sadly custom rod building is now more expensive than buying off the shelf it used to be cheaper to roll your own than to buy one and it's cheaper to buy an off the shelf rod to strip and rebuild it the way you want it. The most enjoyable rods I make the ones I redo from old discarded rods to get new anglers something worthy of catching decent fish.
I just ordered a 9-1/2' fly rod blank from Lamiglass and had it made into a spinner rod for steelhead. Fits me like a glove and I can fish all day without getting too worn out.
I’m ready to float my 8’ 4wt this season
There was a man that was making them at his home between Notasolgua and Tallasee, but the time I had a bit of cash and was going to ask he had taken down his sign..... I did want a lighter fly rod and a bigger diameter reel. Oh well, the Bass Pro Shops is just up the road a bit in Prattville......
I have been away from CastBoolits for a long time and, regrettably, from shooting sports in general. The reason is that I'm now heavily into making custom bamboo fly rods. Never had so much fun in my life!
Attachment 307883Attachment 307884
A person here about 1/4 mile from me made custom rods, in his home, don't know if me still, does it ??
There was a fellow here that was well known for his split bamboo fly rods but he recently left because of health reasons. He bought engraved silverware at garage sales and incorporated the engraved silver into the handles of his rods. They looked like works of art. I was led to believe that his rods sold for $1,000 and up. I sometimes repair fly rods bought at moving sales, and like everything else the inventory is out of control.
That sounds interesting. I'd like to see some of his work.Quote:
Originally Posted by thxmrgarand
I started making rods last winter. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while and finally took the plunge. I made a deep cranking rod and a 3/4 oz heavy jig rod both for bass.
I also started a side gig making walleye and bass jigs. I’m debating on whether to keep doing as a business. It just takes a lot of time and every body wants to nit pick or be a pro staffer. Shipping has sky rocketed getting stuff in or sending out. It is very labor intensive to make jigs. Also did a couple rod repairs.
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