By Joe Douglass
The majority of people who fish use factory made fishing rods and have very successful outings with friends and family. Production rods are typically designed and made for the average person with average skills using quality components and provide reasonable performance for most of us. Those who want a little more from their fishing rods turn to custom rod builders to acquire the tool they require for the style of fishing they prefer.
Reasons to choose a custom crafted fishing rod include:
“I want to be different than everyone else.”
This may not be the best reason for investing in a custom built rod, but it most certainly is a reason that motivates some people. Often this involves personalizing the rod with your name, school colors, favorite fish, or maybe a unique handle, reel seat or special guides. Sometimes it’s just being a little different than your fishing buddies or being a trend setter on your home waters. Of course, you could just paint your rod fluorescent orange and be done with it, but that’s not really as satisfying in the end.
“I want better performance from my fishing rod.”
This is where a custom rod builder can really help you out. A fishing rod is tuned for performance in much the same way an automobile is tuned for driving comfort and performance or a golf club is tuned to suit your personal style and physical size. Rod blank selection, rod length, guide selection, guide spacing, guide location, handle construction and reel seat choice are only a few of the factors that must be considered when designing and crafting a fishing rod made just for you, your quarry and your fishing style.
“I want a rod that I can use for…”
(insert name of fish) on (insert name of river, stream, lake, ocean) in the (insert length and weight) class. Another great area in which a custom rod builder can really be your friend.
Many custom rod requests are in this form, for example: “…a long, limber light weight spinning rod with almost no handle used for drifting crickets along the bottom of trout streams” might turn into a 9’0″ spinning rod with a 7″ handle and reel seat combined length, flush with the butt, and built on a 3wt fly rod blank.”
“Not every request is a specialty rod”
Most are simply rods designed and built to help you catch that fish, in that water with better control and greater frequency.
“I have special requirements.”
Perhaps you travel extensively, backpack into the wilderness, ride a motorcycle, ATV or horse; maybe you chase a very special fish or have some physical limitation that is not readily accommodated by the average fishing rod. Multi-section rods solve most travel related problems. Unique rods are built every day to chase huge fish, ply tiny streams, handle longer casts and function within your physical limitations. Custom design and crafting means custom fit to your needs and abilities.
“I want all of the above.”
No problem. As professional rod builders, we can incorporate your favorite colors, handle material, casting style, specialty items and physical needs into a well tuned, high performance, fishing rod built just for you.
If you are considering gift choices for a loved one or friend, our new location in Wilbur, WA, has a wide variety of fishing rods available at very reasonable prices. We provide a wide variety of services as well: including design/build of custom rods to suit the individual fishing needs; repair work on damaged or broken rods; restoration of vintage rods; reconditioning your favorite rods to update guides, handles, wraps and finish; and offer rod building classes for those who want to build their own rods.
We are new to the area having relocated to Wilbur in August from Clarkston, WA. This is our 23rd year in the rod building business and we build or work on just about every type of fishing rod. Our display and work rooms are the basement of our home and we have rods made of wood, bamboo, metal, fiberglass, carbon fiber (graphite) and other fishing items for sale. The telephone numbers are 208-699-5893 or 208-827-6836 and we are usually here. The entrance to the basement is in the backyard. We do appreciate a call from you to make sure we are here to serve you. We do arrange appointments for those who would prefer to have a specific time to arrive.
For the Holidays (from now to Jan 2nd) we will be offering Discounts of 15% / 20% / 25% off our normal pricing depending on the rod chosen. We are pretty easy to deal with and we do accept trades. Also, we have a group of “beginner” rods at very low prices. We offer Spey rods, Fly rods, Spinning rods, Casting rods, and some interesting older rods that have been remanufactured to modern standards. There is a lot to see and a lot to handle on display. Rods can be given a try out in the back yard.
Thank you for your time. Please keep up with our advertisements and take advantage of the Holiday Discounts to get a high quality fishing rod for a reasonable price and surprise someone for Christmas.
Joe and Charlene Douglas
Owners, Black Dog Custom Rods
BlackDogCustomRods.com
