Custom made fishing poles?

I have a question about custom made fishing poles. How many IDA’ers have them/like them? What kind of blank is it? Do you like wood or cork handle? This is the type that I am thinking about getting, it is a loomis blank (imx)with a hand made wood handle. any suggestions? Thanks

Just my 2 cents, I felt that a wood handle just doesn’t feel right for me, after fishing for 8-10 hours I was ready to throw it in the water. As for using the blanks, go for it. The rod maker can taylor the rod to your liking and you can get exactly what you want.

Cork handles float if drop in water. My St Croix did

I heard a story about a guy that had a brand new wood handled rod. Took it out fishing, his hands were wet, he went to pick it up and it slid out of his hands into the drink to never be found again.

For me its tough to beat a st. croix legend elite with a tennesse cork handle.

My custom rod has a St. Croix Legend Elite blank, and a wood handle. For live bait rigging, you can’t find a combination that is more sensitive. If I bought another custom rod, I would get a wood handle again.

Sandbar

Lid,

Give Mike at Hooked on Fishing in Rochester a call. He does a ton of custom work and will give a craftsman opinion.

I’ve never spent the money on custom stuff, so I can’t speak to the handle other than I love Tennessee handles(no matter what they are made of). However they are hard to come by in the stanard factory builds.

Quote:

---

Give Mike at Hooked on Fishing in Rochester a call. He does a ton of custom work and will give a craftsman opinion.

---

I have two of Mike’s St Croix rods….with the third being worked on now.

Love them.

I make my own custom rods and in my opinion is if do a lot of fishing you will want a cork handle. The most important reason is that you will have so much better feel than you could with a wood handle. As for blanks, you can get just about any kind of blank that you want for a custom made rod. Hope this helps. PCM

PErsonally I DO NOT like fishing with the wood handles.

thanks guys, I think I have been swayed from a wood handle. Now whether to just buy a factory rod or custom? Do you save any money buy buying custom or is it more? Does mike have a website?

Thanks again.

Luke

lizard,
yes here is the link to Hooked on Fishing

dave

Wood handle is the ticket for ice fishing. Dan has a few rods with wood handles and they have to most touch I have ever felt, it is amazing. I have no idea for open water I have not used one for that.

I make most of my own rods, and make them for other folks as well. I use mostly St. Croix blanks, and cork handles. Wood is, in a lot of cases, more sensitive than cork. Although, wood is not as nice to hold for long periods of time. I some types of rods I use other brands of blanks, Castaway, Rainshadow, Rogue, and some from Cabelas and Janns. The all around company for blanks is St. Croix…not always cheap, but I think the best quality. I also love their completed rods, they are about the only ones I ever spend money to buy. I don’t think for the extra money that they cost, Loomis blanks are any better than St. Croix.

I got a 6’3″ MXF Legend elite that weights in at 2.9 ounces, compared to 3.7 from the factory. I also payed less than the msrp of $290.

The best part about going custom is you pick the components. Handle, guides, wraps, hook keeper, etc.

This is great for me since I hate most factory handles. Tennesee handles are the way to go!

Stick with cork if you are making your own rods there is no end to the shaping of the cork once you get into it. Keep in mind if you are thinking about making your own rods you will spend a 1-2 hundred $ just getting set up before you buy your first blank. But you will want to make more that 1 or 2 after you get started. More time is spent letting them dry than piecing them together.

all who have customs, would it be too much trouble to post pics of your favorite custom?
Thanks Guys!

My custom rods made by Hooked on fishing are catfish rods…made with 20, 30, 40 and (hopefully) bigger fish in mind. You can buy a good cat rod off the shelf for about $25- $30….my custom Croix’s were $75.

I don’t have pictures until next week if your interested…mine have cork handles and I’m sticking with them…

I build many custom rods for friends and associates… including one of the posters above and one of the guides that posts here regularly (because of his sponsors I will let him post if he wants such info revealed.)

The tennessee handles are consistantly lighter and thus more sensitive than any other handle type – reason is that a light rod and a very light reel combo reduce the mass a fish must move for you to sense the bite – or the bottom…
That said cork handles are sensitive – I have been building graphite tube handles too that I feel are more sensitive but are less hand friendly… For a verticle jigging rod or ice rod I would find wood to be too heavy for my preferences. If a person doesn’t mind the harder handle then graphite tubing excells over wood due to it’s lighter wieght. Would a wood handle be sensitive – yes – just not as sensitive as the rod could be with a tennessee cork or graphite handle. For photos or more information about how such things are made send me an e-mail…

I find St. Croixs factory rods to have much heavier handles(relatively speaking) than the custom rods do…

The biggest advantage to a custom is that you are able to make many decisions about components and in a perfect world you might even save some $ depending on the options you choose. There is no greater joy than catching a nice eye like the one in my photo – on a rod you built… that rod is mine and the handle – graphite tube / tennessee… take note what the rod builder uses when fishing!
Chuckles

Hey Chuckles,

My “goto” vertical jigging rod has a Tennessee handle with a light weight small spinning reel taped to it at the exact location which feels best for me. What kind of tape do you recommend to attach the reel to the cork handle?

Dave Gulczinski

WE use several different options. I dislike cheap electrical tape because of the gooey residue it leaves on everything. Either use 3-M number 33 elec. tape(I think that is the number), or one of several self adhering tapes – Tommy Tape Silicone Wrapping Tape or the other is called SealWrap Repair Tape. They are self vulcanizing rubber like the old tire repair kits and form a tacky surface that hold the reel in place – gives you a good grip – and is easily removed – lightweight, no residue. If the reel needs to come off I can usually just cut one end and can reuse the other by simply sliding the reel foot back in place when ready to re-rig.

You also bring up one of the other great reasons a tennessee handle excels over reel seats – you can move the reel up or down the handle to where you have everything balanced just the way you want it…

Chuckles