INTRODUCTIONThis page was created mainly in response to the Fly Angler's Online article that said that custom rods are inferior to factory rods. When built by a professional rod builder a custom rod IS better than the factory counterpart. This page will describe why. First off, factory rods are well made and the best rod companies out their like Sage, Lamiglas and St. Croix (just to name a few) use nothing but top quality components. Also, if the people working at the factories were caught cutting corners or if their workmanship were not nearly perfect they would find themselves in the unemployment line. COLORS & AESTHETICS I will start with the most obvious differences first so lets start with colors. If you have favorite colors that you want on a rod or to color code your rods for easy identification a quality custom rod builder is the way to go. Not only can I use different thread colors on a rod I can completely change the color of the blank. Please remember that painting a blank will usually void the factory wattanty on the blank but a good rod builder will stand behind his or her work and warrant a rod that they have voided the factory warranty on. I do. Reel seats and wood inserts also fit into the color catergory. Does having your rod be the color you want make it better? I think so. RETURNS What if you get the rod and don't like it? At a fly shop you can simply return it. At Clearwater Fly Rods you can too. I will work with you to get you the rod that will be best for you. You can usually return your custom rod at no charge if you find that it is not what you were looking for. There are some exceptions. Because of the difficulty of removing laser engraved grips and names from rods there will be a small fee for rods returned that have names laser engraved in the grip or printed on the rod. To help avoid returns in the first place I ask a lot of questions up front to help you decide on the exact blank that will suit you best. If your rod fails for any reason I will send you a loaner rod to fish with until I can get your rod repaired. That is something that even the big name manufacturers won't do. While they do usually have pleanty of rods around that it is not usually an issue sometimes there are back orders and then you either have to go buy a different rod or go without one for a month or more. GUIDES This is where many custom rods suffer. If you put too large of guides on a rod they can make the rod tip heavy. It is no longer a light, crisp rod. A good rod builder will choose components appropriately to ensure that this does not happen. Basically, if you go with larger components you need to use components made from lighter material to keep the rod feeling crisp. Unless you are fishing in the extreme cold where your guides will ice up or you are using an over sized spinning reel there is no need to go with over sized guides. Another thing that can be changed from the factory version of a rod is the finish on the guides. Traditional snake guides come in many grades of material and finishes. The most common is a chrome finish over stainless steel. Other colors that are available are Titanium Carbide TiCH (gunsmoke), Titanium Nitride TiN (gold), Titanium oxide TiO (blue), bronze, old gold and illusion (holographic). Most of these are harder finished than chrome meaning your guides will last longer. Does having your guides the color that YOU want make it better? I think so. GRIPS This is where custom rods can really shine. The most obvious thing is aesthetics. You can get a custom rod with pieces of hardwood or complete hardwood grips. You can also get burl cork or any combination of any of the above. While we are on the topic of grip material some people like an extremely high performance rod but don't want the expensive grip that comes on the expensive rod. A cheaper, lower grade of cork is the way to go. Do these make a grip better? To me and thousands of others they do. Grip shape is the other thing that many people don't like about factory rods. If you have large hands the grips on most factory rods will be too small and cause fatigue after a long day of fishing. If you have small hands or stubbie fingers many grips will be too large. While you can easily sand down the grip on a factory rod unless you have access to a rod lathe you will have a hard time keeping your grip round. Does having a more comfortable grip make a rod better? Absolutely. RESALE VALUE Custom rods do tend to lose value faster than a factory rod, especialy if it has a personal message or name on it. This just means that you have to find the right buyer. If I build you a rod on a blank from a manufacturer that is not in the business of finished rods such as Pacific Bay, American Tackle or Rainshadow the resale value will be better.
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