Making you own fishing rods

[mikemicropterus]

I make my own fishing rods and have been for the past 3 years.

 

How may other guys make their own and where do you get your supplies from???

 

Anyone doing it as a business???

 

 

What types of rods have you built for your-self or someone else????

 

 

Thanks Michael

[Spiel]

Yes I build rods, been doing it for 35 years.

 

I've sold plenty over the years but it's just a hobby, my real job pays the bills.

 

Let's see.... I've built ice rods, salt water rods and everything inbetween.

 

Supplies these days still mostly come through personal contacts I've developed over the years and occasionally out of Cabelas and Mudhole.

[MJL]

Started building rods when I was 16 or so. After class, I used to hop onto the bus and head over to Angling Specialties in Scarborough to get free lessons from George. That was 10yrs ago. Built lots of rods only for myself and really close friends. Didn’t charge them much as they used to drive my butt to the river and back for free and buy me lunch when I forgot mine at home. They still let me bum some of their skein when I fish with them

 

I get most of my components from Angling Specialties. The store is down the street from me. I used to buy a bunch of components from one of the G. Loomis reps when he did trips out to the eastern tribs. He’d sell blanks, guides, cork rings and reel seats from the trunk of his car – His name was Dennis. Haven’t seen him for years though. Also stocked up on a good number of components like solid wood reel seats and smaller match guides when D&M went out of business.

 

If I can’t get stuff locally I order online from:

- Mudhole.com

- Mark Crouse (Formally known as Munich Rod Man Rods)

- Guides N’ Blanks.com (UK site – ex girlfriend brings me my carp rod components when she comes to visit from England)

 

I buy Canadian if I can…Shipping and brokerage from the US suck – Do not ship with UPS.

 

95% of the rods I built were 11-15’ float rods or 8’6” – 11’ fly rods – Mostly Sage, Lamiglas, Loomis and occasional St. Croix blanks. I also enjoy getting scrap blanks, chopping and hacking them down to size and turning them into float or fly rods. You can play around with different tapers and materials for cheap. One of my most memorable chop rods I built was a 13’ 3pc float rod that had a Fenwick boron butt and mid section and a Loomis IM6 tip. A bit heavy overall but it felt balanced and I loved the action – So did a bunch of my friends and I auctioned it off to the highest bidder

[dave524]

Built my first rod when I was living in Port Rowan, 1974. A 9 foot, seven wt fly rod for bass bugging. At the time there was a fly shop and general tackle store in Tilsonburg called Vance's or Vance Bros. For the most part they imported a lot of stuff from the old Herter's Sporting Goods in the states and resold it. I would think this rod was one of their kits, brown fibreglass and chromed brass ferrule, probably coated the windings with spar varnish or polyurethane .

Shortly thereafter I started to deal with Lorne Green in Mount Hope when he was still selling out of his basement, Lamiglas and Fenwick blanks at the time, also was getting Browning Silaflex blanks from Johnny Raso in Welland, fine fibreglass blanks too. Had a copy of a rod building book by Dale Clemens, think it was a Christmas gift. First graphite builds were Fenwick HMG's and then used G. Loomis blanks when he started up on his own. Except for a few diamond butt wraps always preferred a very simple winding with a fine trim band, usually a wrap close to the blank colour with a turn or 2 of gold or silver for trim depending on the blank diameter and no colour presever for a transluscent look.

Only built for myself, a few friends and family. haven't built now for about ten years and now that Lorne is gone and I'm retired not really sure where to go to get materials. Loved to go there, flex a few different blanks, compare different hardware, talk a bit, mail order just is not the same