Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Anybody build their own rods?

When we lived in Alaska my Dad built several rods that were great to use. The years have retired all of them so I got to thinking about building a couple of rods myself. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to get the tools and supplies? And do you find it worth the effort?

Thanks for your help.

i built several in the past. you can get instruction books many places & Cabelas sell most of the supplies. the rod blanks & the guides will have much to do with end result. it is'nt difficult--just take your time when wrapping the guides.--cranky72

I looked at Cabela's and they have some good stuff but I was hoping for higher quality reel seats and a wider variety of blanks. Some of the reel seats look more like something I would find on a $15 rod.

Try mudhole.com they specialize in home built rods.

+1 on mudhole, large assortment.

Another vote for mudhole as a place to start.

I have built and repaired rods for years. Mud Hole in Oviedo, Fla.is the best I have found. If you are just starting out their support staff can be a real benefit to you. Compare their catalog and web site to anybody else and you will be pleasantly surprised at the vastness of their inventoty.

Anglers Workshop in Wa is where I get all my parts. I tried Mudhole but they thought Ak is another country and wanted to charge me international freight charges so I said FU, You wont have that problem though.

mudhole has a good selection. get yourself a tax ID number and get yourself a wholesale account setup with them. well worth the effort if you are going to build a few.

Just do a little surfing with "flyrod, blanks, and kits" as key words and several sources and makers will appear. One can build for about 30% of retail pricing and use the same materials as the top makers throughout.

There is no way I could afford the 15 or so rods in my stable without building them. Plus, one ends up with everything the way he wants it to be. The only part I hate is the tip section. Only a guide or two on the rest and 5 to 10 guides to put on the tip.

And another vote for Mudhole!

Also, search the Youtube videos for rod making.
There's a lot of interesting things there that will straighten out the learning curve considerably!