Archive for the ‘Custom Rod Building’ Category

A recent story in The Pottstown Mercury reports that Gudebrod has laid off all of their employees. Is this the beginning of the end for Gudebrod?

Most custom fishing rod builders know of Gudebrod through their rod building thread that they have manufactured. However there have been rumblings in the industry within the past year or so that Gudebrod was facing some problems and many custom rod supply shops had difficult times in getting some Gudebrod threads.

On August 3, 2010, The Mercury quoted Gudebrod company president, Natt LeGrande Jr as saying, “”We are in the process of trying to bring in fresh financing… And I think we’re going to be successful. I think it’s going to happen.”

Gudebrod not only has made thread especially for custom fishing rod builders, but even such products such as dental floss, yarns and products aimed at the medical and aerospace industry.

There is no news of the layoffs on the Gudebrod company website.

Before fiberglass and graphite, the majority of fly fishing rods were made from bamboo. The process of making a bamboo or split cane rod was long and required a great deal of skill. Tonkin cane, the preferred variety of bamboo for fly rods comes from China. Although many have the misconception that bamboo is a wood, it is actually in the grass family.

Tonkin cane has many wonderful properties that make it ideal for fly rods. Some believe that bamboo is not very strong however the power fibers in cane have tremendous strength. Casting and fishing with a well built cane rod is a pleasure that every fly angler should experience.

Traditionally, a split cane or bamboo fly rod would take 40 hours or more to craft and build. The culm would be split into triangular shaped sections, each section tapered with a plane and then glued together to form the rod blank. Although this process might sound simple, there is a lot of labour and skill involved.

There are some famous bamboo rod makers who had their own tapers that they believed offered the best performance and many rod builders today copy and emulate those tapers in their own rods because they work very well.

Today, you can still purchase split cane rods. Often you may find one of the classics available for sale at a very high cost. Or you could have someone well versed and skilled in the traditional methods build one for you. Again, the cost of such a rod will be high but could very well become a family heirloom.

Another option is that you could purchase your own bamboo fly rod blank that has already been split, tapered and glued together. These blanks are offered with the same traditional tapers that were available many years ago. Once you have your blank, you could build your own bamboo rod on the blank using components available from custom rod building supply shops.

This is a considerably less expensive method to acquiring a lovely split cane rod, and there will be the additional pride and pleasure in fishing with a rod you’ve built yourself.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on a new business launch with a longtime friend and associate of mine.  It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of hard work thus far, and we’re still not quite “there” yet, but one of the things we’ve been able to do and can offer immediately is bringing RodMaker Magazine, the one and only magazine dedicated to the art of custom fishing rod building, to Canadians.

About a decade ago, the magazine was available to Canadian addresses but due to some tragic circumstances that occurred to the distributor, it has not been available since.

My associate and I have worked out an agreement with RodMaker Magazine publisher, Tom Kirkman,  to bring the magazine to Canada, and from our offices, will be distributed to subscribers.  It’s a fantastic magazine for those who enjoy custom rod building either as a hobby or a business.

Canadians may subscribe here.