The nearly-completed handle on my Lamiglas Spring Creek fiberglass fly rod.
I currently have five fly rods in various stages of birth scattered across my rod working area. Most of these are to be gifts. One is for me, a 7’6″ 4wt Lamiglas fiberglass fly rod. It was about a year ago when I decided to delve into rod-building, and I’ve seen my philosophy on the subject go through a rapid evolution. I started out interested in doing custom thread art. The allure of that quickly faded once I realized that, although there are lots of folks who like it, I just don’t much care for it. I don’t like how it looks, and I don’t like doing it. My tastes quickly gravitated toward a more traditional bamboo fly rod-inspired aesthetic. I like agate stripping guides, even on graphite rods. I like nickel silver reel seats with nicely figured wooden inserts. I like using silk thread. My tastes were further refined after seeing Russ Gooding’s (of Golden Witch Technologies) work. This was what I’d been shooting for without realizing it. I also greatly admire Dave Lewis’ graphite and fiberglass fly rod work, especially his very nice epoxy and varnish application. Lately, I’ve pretty much settled on the aesthetic aspects that I want to incorporate into my graphite and fiberglass rods. My trout fly rods will include those details mentioned above: agate strippers, silk thread wraps, dark snakes, nickel silver hardware. Heavier fly rods for large fish and/or saltwater will use materials more appropriate to the venue, but will still maintain as much of my trout rod aesthetic as possible. Casting and spinning rods will use a similar design, but with nylon thread and guides with ceramic inserts. My thread wraps will use elegant and traditional color schemes, or as elegant as I can manage any way. Nothing gaudy. I’m intrigued by feather inlays and may try to add a few to my rods. Right now I’ve been doing most rods with a signature wrap of my own design, similar to how some of the old bamboo makers “signed” their rods. I’d like to start adding my actual signature to the rods, but my hand-writing needs a lot of improvement first.
Agate stripping guide taped and ready to wrap on a St. Croix fly rod I'm building for my sister-in-law.
I believe I jumped the gun a little on trying to sell rods. I do believe that I build a nice, functional rod that will last a long time and perform better than many off-the-shelf rods. However, I have a lot left to learn. My finish application needs a lot of improvement. My thread wrapping still needs some work, and I’d like to start custom building some of the hardware. Until I’m totally happy with the job I’m doing, I don’t want to put myself out there as a “Rod Builder.” Until that time comes, I’m taking my rod-building ads off the site, and I’m going to postpone the business start-up. I will consider myself a student of the craft. Hopefully some day I will break into bamboo building as well. I will still do a rod for someone for only the cost of materials, but it’s with the understanding that the rod will be built by a “student” and not a “master.” I’ll occasionally post an article to demonstrate my progress.
This post applies to me, Nathan Kennedy, and not to Dewayne (aka Insane). He may still offer his services for whatever price he chooses. Take care and thanks to those who have helped me along to this point.
Nathan
Balderdash! Hogwash, I say!
Loyal readers, do not believe a word Hawgdaddy has printed here. I own a Hawgdaddy original, and I love it. It’s beautiful, functional, and one of a kind (so far as I know). As they say on the playground, homey – you got skillz..
In all seriousness, the rod you made me turned out to be more than just something to sling flies around with. In the latter stages of my Dad’s battle with cancer, he wasn’t always with us (for lack of better wording) and spent a lot of time with that vacant expression on his face. Oh, he heard us, and would occasionally ‘wake up’ and chime in, but he’d very quickly slip back to sleep or dozing.
On the first day of my last visit with him I showed him the rod you built me. He, very carefully, picked it up and examined it from handle to tip – eyes focused and sharp. After nodding in approval he handed it to me and said, “Son, this is very special.You take good care of it.”
I know you didn’t intend rod building to become some sort of bonding exercise through generational gaps, or anything like that. But I just wanted you to know, at least for this one rod, you could not have done any better..
RTR
Thanks, Matt. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed your fly rod. I don’t think any of the rods I’ve built are “failures.” I just haven’t hammered out the details to the point that I’m comfortable with my craftsmanship yet. When I finish a rod, I want to be proud of it. That’s why I got into it in the first place. I really appreciate fine craftsmanship, which is something that seems to be disappearing in today’s mass produced world. I want to feel that way about the rods I build. Until then, I’m just not happy marketing them.
Nathan
Pep up there littly guy…
I also say Hawgdaddy is full of…well, you get the point. I have seen his work, and the rods look great! I think the extra $20 of labor for him to build you a rod is well worth the price. I think it really comes down to Hawgdaddy having more money than he knows what to do with. If that’s the case…throw some my direction.
BTW,
Who the heck wouldn’t want some crazy North Alabama lunatic who builds 5 rods at one time to build them a rod…? Anyone that brave must have some confidence in his work. Stop feeling sorry for your rods and keep that chin up young man!
Anyway, I plan to build myself a fly rod sometime in the near future. I haven’t quite decided on the blank or what materials will be used, but I can promise you it will be awesome!
I will definitely post updated pics on mine as well. Until then, I will continue to build rods for those interested. Of course, from the sound of things, Hawgdaddy will be building free rods soon. How can you go wrong with that?
I never said “free.” I’ll do one for cost of materials, just as soon as I finish what I’m currently work on anyway. I just have a problem putting work out there that I’m not 100% happy with myself. I never said anything was wrong with what I’ve built. I just feel like they’re obviously the work of a novice, a student, not a master. I want to master the craft before selling my work.
hawg
Guys, I found your blog while searching for other rodbuilders who also blog. “Hawg,” here’s something for you to consider..I am a custom rod builder, having done it for ten years, and sold a few rods. One thing I’ve discovered is that no matter how much I learn about this craft, and no matter how much better I feel I’m getting at it, I can easily find other rod builders that surpass my skills. No matter. Here’s what I want to share with you; consider that instaed of trying to sell and build fly rods, think about teaching classes on how to build your own fly rod. I do this in a local fly shop, and find it very rewarding, and a good way to keep my fingers in rodbuilding and make a little money. If you visit my blog you can check out my :Build Your Own Fly Rod” page for yourself.
One other comment, if I may; The black background and white lettering on your blog is very hard to read, especially at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning. I squint enough while wrapping guides.
Fran,
Thanks for the comments. I’ve never been terribly concerned with selling my rods as a way to make a living. I would like to sell a few, especially once I retire from the rat race, for a little extra income, but mostly for the pleasure of having someone else appreciate my work. And I never expect to be the absolute greatest rod builder out there. But I do expect to be pleased with my own work. I’m just not there yet. Teaching a class is a neat idea. I’ve already had a couple people contact me about learning to build rods.
About the white text…yes, we knew when we settled on this design that it violated a cardinal rule of web design: “Never have light text on a dark background.” We chose to violate that rule, and it seems to work for most people. However, I’ve had trouble reading the site myself on certain computers if morning sunlight is hitting the screen. That has caused me to begin toying with the idea of a redesign. I don’t know when I’ll find time to do it, but you can expect it at some point. Take care,
hawgdaddy
hawgdaddy,
You should do a rod building class, and I will do a followup course on how not to have time to do the things I like. The main points of the class will be as follows:
1.) Never own a home, a simple tent will suffice.
2.) Never go to work for someone else, especially when it involves wasting 6 years of your life in school.
3.) Never try to juggle more than 5 hobbies at one time, call 1-800-ADLTADD if you already do.
4.) Never settle for anything other than a simple life and becoming the ultimate outdoorman, which translates to: Life’s short, don’t screw around with your time!!
Maybe you should hold off a little longer until I master the fine art of reel seat design. Stay tuned for my first attempt….or flop! I will post pics as I go but don’t laugh…at least too hard.
Fran,
Thanks for checking out our site. The theme we chose seemed to best suit our site at the time, but I do agree with your point. Hopefully we will be able to make changes in the near future that will better suit all of our readers. Feel free to give us input anytime and keep in touch.
Hey Hawgdaddy…get me some coffee!
best wishes,
Insane