Now, you too can build a rod under the tutelage of not just one experienced rod builder, but with the assistance of a whole group of professionals. For the second year in a row, the Custom Rod Builders Guild will be offering rod building lessons for beginners at their annual conclave in January. I spoke with the Guild founder, Tom Greek, on the phone recently and he indicated that this year's event will again provide the opportunity for anyone to build a complete rod over a three day period. A student from last year's program, Rod Pullins, wrote "I attended last year as a student and thought it was GREAT," in a recent post to the Guild's message board.

I was in attendance at last year's conclave and had the opportunity to speak with several of the participants and there was a common consensus that the opportunity to learn rod building with a large number of professionals close at hand was an experience not to miss. The nice thing about the Guild's lessons is the fact that students have the opportunity to get advice and ask questions of a variety of rod builders - and not simply have the opinion of one instructor.

Several years after I began building rods, I had the privilege of meeting Dale Clemens who authored several excellent books on the subject of rod building and who was the founder of Clemens Tackle and the Rod Crafters organization. Rod Crafters held several regional two day seminars and I learned a great deal after attending the Huntsville, Alabama seminar for three years in a row. Dale was first introduced to me by one of the attendees as the "Guru of custom rod building" and there is no doubt that his knowledge of the craft combined with the structure of the seminars gave me an opportunity to improve my skills dramatically. I owe a great deal to the Rod Crafters organization for providing me the opportunity to advance my skills and knowledge of the craft.

In many ways, the lessons that are provided at the Rod Guild's conclave could be thought of as seminars on steroids! The ability to actually build a complete rod and take it home at a cost to you of the price of the blank, components and materials will no doubt supercharge your skill level at building custom fishing rods. Whether or not you ever intend to build rods to sell or simply craft them for yourself, I would highly recommend you consider the Guild's conclave in January.

A Pumpkin Story
Throughout the history of fly tying, the subject of the "right" colour has stimulated much debate. Is the reported success of a particular pattern due to the precise colour?

Flyfishing With Crocodiles
A hillarious story of adventure from one of our visitors who lives and fishes 'down under'. If you need a good laugh, be sure to read this!

Flyfishing Is For Women Too
The sport is not just for men, and women can often learn faster.

Poisoning The Water
Save the environment by killing the trout. It's happening and its government sanctioned.

Previous Features

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