Looking to possibly get a custom rod built...questions

[coreynov902]

I'm throwing around the idea of having someone build a custom rod or two for me. Having never done this before, I'm not sure what information I need to know and what process I can expect. I know that the builder will need to know the length, power, and action I want, but beyond that what do I need to know in order to make it easier for the builder to make what I want? Also, should I ask for references from the builder in order to make sure others have been happy with their builds? How do I find a reputable builder...should I post something on here, is there a website or facebook page that lists builders? Should I expect to pay more or less than a production rod of similar quality/materials? Lastly, I'm assuming that a customer built rod will have no warranty...am I assuming right? Thanks

[Bassbuster95]

you'll' pay same to more for a production rod.
handle length/type/makeup will be asked.
guide size/type/makeup will be asked
It'll come with warranty if you don't chop any off it.

In the end, you better like it cause you'll be stuck with it. Nobody has the same taste as you and nobody will want to pay decent dollar for a custom they didnt design themselves.

[kickerfish1]

I am familiar with the subject as I have 4 custom builds and 5th on the way.

1. Know what you are after. You need to give them as much details as possible. Consider this a scratch made item like a nice wedding cake. You are after something special not mass produced. Tell them what you intend to fish on the rods and what techniques. What length you prefer, components, styling etc.

2. Ask them where you can source materials from. Then you have websites to use to look at things like guides, reel seats, handle grips, winding checks, thread wrap color etc.

3. You can probably google custom rod builders and I am sure there are some one here.

4. Ask for references and look at pics of their work. Are they building rods that look like something you want?

5. You will pay FAR more for a custom then a production rod. It is not even close.

6. Your warranty will be whatever the blank has. But what that means is that if the blank fails and it is not your fault, they will likely give you one during the warranty period. But unlike a factory rod warranty you have to have the rod rebuilt minus whatever can be salvaged from the build. Let’s say you $300 custom rod breaks. If the blank was $100 I would expect to pay a good share of the difference to have the rod rebuilt.

7. Built time on a custom rod varies. Might be able to get you one in a few weeks but you could wait months depending on how backlogged the builder is.

Here is an example for you. Say you want to build a Phenix K2 blank that costs $250. Let’s say the builder wants $100 for labor to build this rod. Assuming a good to high end set of guides let’s say $70. A reel seat, handle grips, winding checks, but cap, thread wrap let’s say another $75. Figure about $25-30 to ship it to you. That is about $500+ right there. You could have ordered the same rod on a Black Friday sale for closer $400-450.

It gets even even more expensive if you pick a cheaper blank. Say an Avid blank then add the above costs and all of a sudden it may cost you $300 to build a custom rod on an Avid blank.

Customs are for guys that can’t find what they want in a factory rod, are very picky, and are looking for something special to them.

[coreynov902]

Exactly the info I was looking for...thanks very much! Guess I'll stick with production rods for now since I've always been able to find what I'm looking for in a production rod. Resale value was something I hadn't thought of either, and since I do occasionally like to sell rods to buy new ones, that just wouldn't work for me to be stuck with a rod I no longer want or need. Again, thanks for all the great info!

[clearwater]

What type of rod are you looking for. (Spinning or casting). What type of fish will you be targeting. What is the presentation are you going to use. What is your perferd rod length. What is your perferd handle length. What pound line will you use. What reel will you use and how much does the reel weigh. What is the weight of the bait you will use the most. These are all the guestions I ask my clients before the build. I give a 6 week time line on the completion of the build

[kickerfish1]

Exactly the info I was looking for...thanks very much! Guess I'll stick with production rods for now since I've always been able to find what I'm looking for in a production rod. Resale value was something I hadn't thought of either, and since I do occasionally like to sell rods to buy new ones, that just wouldn't work for me to be stuck with a rod I no longer want or need. Again, thanks for all the great info!

If you can afford it I would say try it. They are fun and interesting to watch the build progress come along. But you have to figure labor and time needed to make it. It takes builders hours upon hours to get the rods done from start to finish with the static testing, epoxy work, thread wraps etc. I want to say that I would venture on labor alone expect $80 to probably as much as $150. Hopefully a few builders chime in. Plus you have to think about time for your build to progress and parts to set and dry. Plus if they work full time jobs or have clients in front of you it will affect your wait time. I am not trying to deter you. I like and enjoy custom rods but to be honest I don’t think they will be cheaper. For a fun winter project it would be something interesting to see progress and have input along the way.

[bob o]

pick out a parts list on a supplier site, mudhole, gitbit, etc then add your builders assembly price

[DaveTTN]

PM sent.

[cidgrad]

There is some right info on here but some very wrong info as well.

Customs are not always more than production. Usually yes, but not significantly more. Example - to alter color, length, handle config on a production rods of ours - it's only $25 more. Sometimes they can be a lot more (add fuji ti torzites... that will do it!)

Customs do not always have to be some crazy off the wall whatever. Sometimes just a simple color change or tweak for you is perfect.

Beware of builders on "pro staffs" for component companies. They are most likely going to only want to use those parts because of the incentives they are given and may not be upfront about that (see a lot of microwave guides in this category)

You do need to find a reputable builder. It's terrible what we see come sometimes. Just because you took a rod building class and got a biz license, doesn't mean you are a professional rod builder. Ask for photos and samples. Even references. I'm really not joking here.

Since we do this for a living, we can typically turn customs within 2.5 weeks after all parts are in stock. So timelines are not always crazy long.

Warranties are based on your builder. Most hobby builders use the component warranties. That means if the blank breaks, any decorative work and guide wraps usually have to be paid for again.

I'm sure you have been hit with PMs by loads of custom builders. We're a long time sponsor (the only one actually) with lots of very positive reviews and are more than happy to help guide you even if you don't go with one of our builds.

Custom rods need a conversation. We're available M-F, 8-5, 866-628-5052 x1. Thanks!

[DaveTTN]

Good people above (ALX/Hydra)! I just opened an account (DroomVanger Custom Rods) with them and have built 3 rods on their blanks this month. Impressed with the quality of the blanks and great customer service.

[kickerfish1]

If you get a rod from ALX it will be a great rod. But let’s get one thing straight it is not a true 100% custom. It is a partial custom. You are limited to their brand of blanks not to mention components and trim pieces. IMO a true custom is built on whatever blank you want with whatever materials you want. But yes, it will only be slightly more to get a modified factory rod or a partial custom from a company like ALX.

[shfishinsticks]

You can get a good idea on component cost from sites like MudHole. Labor is the wildcard. It can range from $100 for basic assembly from premade grips to several hundred for decorative wraps and intricate grips. I built a set of grips for another builder that was $350, and it probably should have been more. The beauty of custom is you can get exactly what you want, providing the builder is competent.

[coreynov902]

Again, thanks for all the great info and perspectives. As stated in my original post, I've just been toying with the idea and haven't really decided on exactly what I would want in a rod yet. Since the lakes in my area are now freezing over and will stay that way until next Spring, I guess I have some time to think about it and decide which route to go.

[willwork4fish]

It may sound obvious but a custom rod is built to your specfications. A lot of people equate custom to fancy threadwork or intricate cork handles and that can be part of it but it doesn't have to be. The biggest thing is you have to know what you want. Like "I want a flippin stick with a 9 1/2" handle" or "I want a crankbait rod with a handle that I can tuck under my arm" whatever...maybe you want it as light as possible or maybe you want your dogs face done in threadwork...aestetics and performance are rarely connected.

I've built rods for people from probably $150 to over $500 it all depends on what's important to you.

[kickerfish1]

It may sound obvious but a custom rod is built to your specfications. A lot of people equate custom to fancy threadwork or intricate cork handles and that can be part of it but it doesn't have to be. The biggest thing is you have to know what you want. Like "I want a flippin stick with a 9 1/2" handle" or "I want a crankbait rod with a handle that I can tuck under my arm" whatever...maybe you want it as light as possible or maybe you want your dogs face done in threadwork...aestetics and performance are rarely connected.

I've built rods for people from probably $150 to over $500 it all depends on what's important to you.

The $150 rod probably doesn’t include your labor cost or your shipping cost.

[willwork4fish]

The $150 rod probably doesn’t include your labor cost or your shipping cost.

I didn't have to ship it but it did include $75 for my labor. $30 closeout RainShadow telescoping flip blank (great blank for the price btw I fish one myself), another $25 ish for a set of Alconites, $5 for a Fuji ECSM seat, $9 in cork (9 rings/$1 a ring) and $10 for shop supplies (includes thread and epoxy etc), I'm sure I threw another $3 or $4 on it for component shipping but I tend to make large orders and then break my shipping costs down by blank (if I pay $20 to ship 5 blanks, each one of those gets $4 shipping added on to the cost) A basic rod like that I've only got about 2 hours of labor into so I'm fine with $75 for my time, I know plenty of guys who will charge a lot more. I gaurantee that rod was built better than any $150 flip stick you can find and even though it was collapsible...probably still lighter than anything you'd find for that price.

[21XDC]

willwork4fish does good work... I know personally.

[cidgrad]

If you get a rod from ALX it will be a great rod. But let’s get one thing straight it is not a true 100% custom. It is a partial custom. You are limited to their brand of blanks not to mention components and trim pieces. IMO a true custom is built on whatever blank you want with whatever materials you want. But yes, it will only be slightly more to get a modified factory rod or a partial custom from a company like ALX.

Thanks for the compliment but you're slightly incorrect.

Customers have a couple routes we go - customized ALX production rods or true 100% custom... we can of course offer the best pricing on our products which meets about 80% of the custom rod requests. We take the time to talk thru custom builds with our clients and if we do not have something in our lineup that works or if they want something else, we can meet that need. That's the beauty of our custom shop. We have a very extensive knowledge of pretty much everything on the market and know how to match a customer's needs with that.

We purchase from almost every rod component manufacturer via our OEM accounts. We have an entirely different side of our business that builds private label/OEM and uses all of these different components... we even have CAD capability to have our own parts designed and custom made - as we do for several of our fly rod customers. Now that's OEM, but the cool thing is we have access to things others don't sometimes.


This custom BFS build is on a Phoenix blank, Fuji Seats, Fuji guides.
54457987_10157216639034452_3107211055412019200_n.jpg54279313_10157216638954452_3309187007812468736_n.jpg

None of this is off the shelf stuff. All grips hand turned and shaped in our shop per customer spec. Fuji components.
44245461_10156850372644452_1278397586885050368_n.jpg36931371_10156578725319452_2513798144500695040_o.jpg

Custom VSS on a non hydra blank or drop shot with Fuji Ti K guides.

20190401_105416.jpg

Check out the custom shop page here for a load of pics. We need to update that with some of the builds we have put out lately. Had some really awesome stuff go out the door!

[kickerfish1]

I didn't have to ship it but it did include $75 for my labor. $30 closeout RainShadow telescoping flip blank (great blank for the price btw I fish one myself), another $25 ish for a set of Alconites, $5 for a Fuji ECSM seat, $9 in cork (9 rings/$1 a ring) and $10 for shop supplies (includes thread and epoxy etc), I'm sure I threw another $3 or $4 on it for component shipping but I tend to make large orders and then break my shipping costs down by blank (if I pay $20 to ship 5 blanks, each one of those gets $4 shipping added on to the cost) A basic rod like that I've only got about 2 hours of labor into so I'm fine with $75 for my time, I know plenty of guys who will charge a lot more. I gaurantee that rod was built better than any $150 flip stick you can find and even though it was collapsible...probably still lighter than anything you'd find for that price.

Wow great deal. That is certainly the exception. Especially for bottom contact those blanks usually start at $70 or more for something half way decent. Your labor cost is super fair. Most guys won’t do it for less than $100 and usually require $ deposit ahead of time. Not having to ship saved a lot of money. He had to be happy for sure for the coin!

[kickerfish1]

Thanks for the compliment but you're slightly incorrect.

Customers have a couple routes we go - customized ALX production rods or true 100% custom... we can of course offer the best pricing on our products which meets about 80% of the custom rod requests. We take the time to talk thru custom builds with our clients and if we do not have something in our lineup that works or if they want something else, we can meet that need. That's the beauty of our custom shop. We have a very extensive knowledge of pretty much everything on the market and know how to match a customer's needs with that.

We purchase from almost every rod component manufacturer via our OEM accounts. We have an entirely different side of our business that builds private label/OEM and uses all of these different components... we even have CAD capability to have our own parts designed and custom made - as we do for several of our fly rod customers. Now that's OEM, but the cool thing is we have access to things others don't sometimes.


This custom BFS build is on a Phoenix blank, Fuji Seats, Fuji guides.
54457987_10157216639034452_3107211055412019200_n.jpg54279313_10157216638954452_3309187007812468736_n.jpg

None of this is off the shelf stuff. All grips hand turned and shaped in our shop per customer spec. Fuji components.
44245461_10156850372644452_1278397586885050368_n.jpg36931371_10156578725319452_2513798144500695040_o.jpg

Custom VSS on a non hydra blank or drop shot with Fuji Ti K guides.

20190401_105416.jpg

Check out the custom shop page here for a load of pics. We need to update that with some of the builds we have put out lately. Had some really awesome stuff go out the door!

Thanks for the clarity. I had inquired about a custom build on the phone many moons back and was told it was just blanks you folks made. Glad to see it can be any blank or materials you can source. Really nice to know!