Rod Building

I’ve been thinking of getting into making fishing rods as a hobby. (As if I need another hobby) Is there a rod building setup out there that anyone would recommend? Any suggestions on the type of equipment that is needed, or not needed would be great. Thanks.

I’ve been thinking of trying rod building myself. I’ve made my own jigs and fishing lures for years, for me it’s a good off season hobby. I’d like to try making some rods, but never got a hold of any good info about it. If you do let me know, I’d like to try it myself. Thanks

My dad made a rod years about 15 years ago when he could find a stiff spinning rod-he still uses it today!

MONGO,

If you have the time and it isn’t too far out of your way, I would HIGHLY recommend getting in touch with one of Minnesotas finest custom rod builders! His name is Mel Dickie and can be located at Wild Goose Sports in Rochester, Mn! He would be more than happy to give you pointers and get you set up. The only thing is, once you stop in and look at one of his rods you’ll leave with a couple!

On a side note, he has been out recently with some health concerns. However, you can still get intouch with his counterpart MIke.

You can reach them at (507) 289-2520 You won’t be dissapointed

Jim W

I have been building rods for the last 6 or 7 years. I would highly reccomend it to anyone that has the time to build them. The easiest first rod to build would be an ice fishing rod. This is a great way to get the feel for wrapping the guides, spacing them properly, gluing handles, and learning how to epoxy them. I was at Cabelas tonight and saw a great starter kit for building rods. You will need afew basic items to start this great hobby: a thread tensior, ( or a BIG phone book),a support to spin your blank while wrapping the guides on, there are many other little items that are handy, but you can really improvise on them. My supports are to plastic wheels mounted on 2 x 4 chunks. If I can assist you any further on anything just give me a holler in my private box.

~~~~~~~alkfish

I learned to build rods from Mel Dickie in Rochester. He has a small setup in Wild Goose Sports Shop on North Broadway in town (N Bdwy is Hwy 63). Mel also teaches a community ed class on rod building and has produced a great video which he offers for sale for a few dollars at the shop. He uses mostly 2nd’s for blanks and buys a lot of St Croix. His instruction is just outstanding and you can use his setup in the shop for building a first one if you live close enough.

Mel also teaches how to wind on designs so my first rod with him has a thunderbird pattern just above the cork.

I ended up buying my winder and some tools from Cabela’s in Owatonna.