Does anyone still make their own rods?? or am i the only sick one??? i find it very satisfying to make my own custom rod to my own liking and catch a nice trophy on it!!!! I also like to repair and rehab old rods. i think my collection is building faster than i can keep up with it!!! 
honestly, if i had the room for a workshop id make ALL my own equipment, rods included. all i can manage now is inline spinners with components from stamina, jann's netcraft and hagen's. if icould make a rod with my own 2 hands id feel much more confident in its durability and i could customize the action to my liking without having to shop around so much. depending on the price, id buy one from you, as i could use a new UL..but knowing how much custom rods usually cost, i doubt i could afford it.
YUP! I agree. its definately a sickness! The only problem i have is dedicating time to the project depending how elaborate i decide to make it. Whether its a simple rebuild of an older rod or from blank to finished with an extensive diamond butt wrap. Either way the result is a finished and functional vision of my ailment.
Though im no pro and some of my styles and methods may b unorthodox. I seen my father doing it when i was a kid. He didnt really get into detail but showed me the basics. From that i expanded into making a complete build in which i am thrilled to land a lunker on! Check out Mudhole.com and look at all the materials to put into a nice custom rod.
Though im no pro and some of my styles and methods may b unorthodox. I seen my father doing it when i was a kid. He didnt really get into detail but showed me the basics. From that i expanded into making a complete build in which i am thrilled to land a lunker on! Check out Mudhole.com and look at all the materials to put into a nice custom rod.
i have been looking around at components to see what the cost would be, and it seems that you can buy a new rod for the same price or less. I guess the advantage is you have the ability to trim and use the section of the blank that you want to tune the rod exactly the way you want it. You might also be able to make a very high end rod with parts not normaly found on rods, like the newest rings. After a lot of reading i think i will pass on building my own rod, but building lures seems like a cool idea, because they never make just the one you would want, or if you have a problem, you can fix or repair old lures good as new!!!
It can get pricey, but you can configure the rod exactly how you want it in terms of grips (length, diameter, shape, etc), setting it up for your reel and how you fish, get better casting distance, etc. You gotta make friends with people who have wholesale accounts, too. I have up to 30% off retail at some places for components thru my business.
The custom rod may cost the same or more than the factory rod, but it will fish and feel much better. I built up a Sage Z Axis 11' 8wt for a guy with Fuji Titanium/SiC fly guides and SiC stripper guides, larger reel seat to fit his custom reel and it was $200 less than the factory Sage using the cheaper snake style guides and the guy was casting much farther with it than his factory rods.
The custom rod may cost the same or more than the factory rod, but it will fish and feel much better. I built up a Sage Z Axis 11' 8wt for a guy with Fuji Titanium/SiC fly guides and SiC stripper guides, larger reel seat to fit his custom reel and it was $200 less than the factory Sage using the cheaper snake style guides and the guy was casting much farther with it than his factory rods.