We take great pride in our rod building. There have been many changes over the years as to rod blank quality, size, weight, strength and durability. We are constantly utilizing on-line rod building forums, RodMaker, Rodcrafters as well as various seminars to hone our skills and to add new interest.
Even though we have may our own personal preferences, we will remain open minded and will build your rod the way “YOU” want it built. Our rods are completely handcrafted. Each cork piece is glued together and hand turned to fit your specification. We use only the finest rod blanks, components and finishes. We wish to build you a quality fishing rod that fits your specific application. We encourage you to give us a call or drop us an email to discuss what you want your next fishing rod to do for you. We guarantee your satisfaction or your money will be refunded within 30 days of delivery.
ROD BLANKS: We will provide you with the opportunity to choose your blank from a number of blank manufacturers. We will help you determine what blank will best fit your needs.
ROD SPLINE: This is an important part of rod building. Blank manufacturers that do mass production do not take the time to find the spline. They will normally go with the straightest line. There are many ways to find the spline. You could place the butt on a table with the tip in your hand, using your other hand apply pressure to the center of the blank and roll the blank. The blank will settle into the natural spline. We use a spline finder that is basically two raised platforms. We slide a weight onto the center of the blank and then roll the blank. Once the spline has been identified, we now know where to put your guides and reel seat. This will give you a much greater fishing experience than a factory rod.
GUIDES: Both spinning and casting guides come in many different sizes, style and color. We will usually use Fuji New Concept Guides. The are constructed in a lighter “J” frame, which decreases the overall weight of the rod, increasing your overall fishing experience. You can get these in Alconite and Silicone Carbide with a black or chrome frame or Zirconia also known as Holographic. The Zirconia , although quite beautiful, is not for heavy saltwater use. All of the guides mentioned above can be purchased with a titanium finish, if you are going to be doing a lot of salt water fishing. The prices of these guides vary greatly. We will discuss what you want or need for your rod.
FLY RODS: You may wish to use the Fuji New Concept guides, if you do not want a traditional fly pole. They say that longer casting distances may be achieved. If you prefer to keep with tradition, Hopkins & Holloway make very nice snake guides.
SALT WATER RODS: If you want a heavy salt water rod, we would suggest using the AFTCO roller guides. These guides have proven to be very reliable. There are heavy duty ceramic guides available as well, for less demanding situations such as salmon rods.
REEL SEATS: There are a number of manufacturers that make both casting and spinning reel seats. We typically use the Fuji graphite reel seats. Some of the casting reel seats have an exposed area on the bottom; this allows you to perceive a more subtle strike. If you have found that your hand craps up from a full day of fishing, we would recommend that you increase the size of your reel seat. This will make your fishing experience much more enjoyable.
CORK: Cork comes in many different grades and color. We use only top quality cork to avoid pitting. We spend hours cutting and gluing cork to make unique checkered patterns for our handle. You can choose from several colors and styles, depending on your needs and preferences.
TWO-PART EPOXY: This is used to glue your handle, reel seat and for grip to the rod blank. We are very careful to ensure that no glue is seen on the finished rod.
GUIDE WRAPS: There are many variations for guide wraps. The only limitation is your imagination. We carry most colors. We use nylon rod wrapping thread as well as metallic rod wrapping thread. You can choose a single color wrap, wrap with a tag, wrap with a double tag, wraps with a drop thread, or even wraps with up to five colors in it (drop thread). We are very careful in ensure that there are no gaps and that the wrap are all even. We will use thread preserver on the nylon thread if you want to keep the original color. With out color preserver, nylon thread will darken when the Flex Coat is applied.
DECORATIVE BUTT WRAPS: This can turn an ordinary rod into a masterpiece. You might choose to have a diamond weave. This is something that takes many hours and is done by hand. We are very careful in keeping the threads tight and in line. You may wish to be a little more adventurous and have snake skin applied. We currently use Rattle Snake, Cobra and Diamond Back Water Snake. This is also applied by hand. It is not as time consuming. We make sure that the slice line is on the bottom of your rod. The slice line is more often than not invisible. It depends on the thickness of the skin. Another option is abalone. This comes in many colors such as, mother of pearl, purple, teal, green, red, orange and blue to name a few. This comes as a veneer and we apply this using a heat gun. Both the snake skins and the abalone require, at a minimum, a tag wrap.
EPOXY FINISH: We use Flex Coat for our epoxy finish. This comes in High-Build and Lite-Build. This protects you wraps and butt wraps from the weather and the sun.
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