Custom Fishing Rods     I never thought much about a truly custom built fishing rod until I started reading the various theories that apply when constructing the modern rod. Going to the local sporting goods store and selecting what seemed to be the best value in my price range while fitting my style of fishing was my standard of operation.  The color, number of guides and style of grip were all predetermined by the manufacturer.  If you liked it you bought it.
Well, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.  Words like spine, dynamic loading, Common Cents System and many others not commonly discussed among anglers start to sound important.  Granted that the major rod companies do know these systems and do their best to incorporate the amount of physics that fits a particular price point, but don’t forget that the sporting goods store has to make a buck too.  So the rod of a lifetime that you may have paid $150 or $200 for wholesaled for 50 or 60 percent or perhaps even less based on the number of rods the store purchased.  On top of that the federal government requires excise tax be added which is normally hidden in the price of the rod.  This tax, $10.00 on a rod costing $100 or more further reduces the amount of working capital that applies to the actual components of the rod.
An irate angler that purchased a well-known higher priced rod recently posted one example of a rod not living up to his expectations.  He took it home and out of curiosity checked the spine location.  He expected it to be either on the top or bottom of the rod. To his dismay it didn’t appear that any consideration was given to the spine.  The rod was apparently just assembled.  No thought given to the true geometry of the rod.  He could return his purchase but exchange may only result in the same problem.  Moving up in price may provide the quality he was seeking but now we’re talking high-end rods, $250 and up.
A custom rod should be built with an eye to all current technology, providing the maximum performance from the blank no matter how inexpensive the blank may be.  Believe it or not Rod Builders can usually come pretty close to the performance of a high-end rod using a moderately priced blank, there are many choices in the market place. The names of these blanks are not immediately recognizable due to the fact that they are often the same companies that are producing the name brand rods and they are not allowed to sell the blanks using the licensed product name.
Don’t get me wrong here, there are cases where the high-end blank may be the preferred candidate for your rod build.  An example may be that we’re trying to trim that last half-ounce of weight or gain an advantage of blank construction that can not be duplicated in a lesser value blank and beyond that we might want to have a particular appearance feature only available from a particular manufacturer.
What should I expect if I have a custom rod built?  There are many choices to be made. The action of the blank being the first consideration.  What is my application, a worm rod, crankbait rod, walleye, catfish or musky rod. Casting, spinning, or fly rod, trolling or an all rounder. I guess you’ve figured me out at this point.  I really believe in the spiral wrap system.  I have built many of these rods and have a few demonstrators available. This is not a new development, the spiral wrap was first patented in the early 1900’s and has made brief come backs at various times since then. The only reason I can see for them not to be the standard is that they differ in appearance from what anglers accept as the norm. Our next consideration will be the style of the grip and the type of reel seat, whether it’s a split grip, pistol grip, oversize grip, up or down locking reel seat, or skeleton reel seat there are many choices available.  The same can be said for the guides we install on the blank.  They range in materials and styles and do affect the performance of your rod. As I said there are many things to be considered when ordering a custom rod.   You do not have to have direct knowledge of every possibility but you should be confident that your rod builder does.  After all when you're building the rod of your dreams we want it to come as close to perfect as possible.
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