Custom Cat Rod
Hello again everyone! It has been a great year for us here at
"Reel Fishing" so far!
We mentioned some time back, in
response to your emails, about contacting some custom rod builders for the
perfect catfishing rod for bank fishing.
We contacted some of the companies, and I have to say that I was surprised
at the response we received. Out of
twenty-five emails to twenty-five rod builders, only eleven contacted me in
some way—nine wrote back and two called.
What surprised me more than
anything was the lack of enthusiasm they had for their craft, all of them
except the first gentleman who replied, who also agreed that there really is
no great catfishing rod out there. With the rest, it seemed to me that they
were just not ready to understand what a die-hard catman wants, or what a
catman will pay. You see, most of
these guys make high dollar fly-fishing rods and bass-fishing type rods. A few make surf rods (a good rod for
catfishing is close to one of those), but not
one made a cat rod. It seems that
you catfishermen need to look up a few of these guys and tell them what you
want and need in a quality rod!
In all fairness, the two that
called just wanted to let me know that they would not be interested in taking
us up on our reviews. One said that he
stopped making rods and the other said this is something he just does not build. So out of eleven, I had a grand total of
four that said they would do it. Then
two dropped out because they were afraid the price would be more than an
average catfisherman would want to spend.
And, to be fair again, yes, the price is going to affect people. How I look at it is like this: We spend anywhere from $150.00 to $500.00
for a decent quality reel, so why would we not want to put it on a quality
rod? Think about it...why spend that
much on a reel just to put it on a $15.00 rod? With that in mind, I sure hope you contact
these two builders and see what they can do for you. To the others that just backed out...I’m
sorry that you are going to miss out on a good chance here for some new
business.
Now, you are looking at prices
from around $200.00 to $700.00 for this perfect rod. That is the range I got in the replies back
from the builders. Of course, not
everyone would be able to afford one, they know that...but, like I told them,
a true catman who is as dedicated to catfishing as a fly-fisherman is to
fly-fishing are the ones who would be their customer. Most of the fly fishermen I know (but not
all) are doctors, lawyers, etc...so $700.00 or even $2,500 for a custom-built
fly-fishing rod is not out of the question.
What the problem here is, from what I can see, is that most people
think of catfisherman as Bubba with his name on his shirt, and this guy is
not going to have that kind of money.
It is not necessarily wrong, since most articles for cats show muddy,
bloodstained fishermen standing over a fresh cut-up chub or shiner, but it is
a generalization that we need to change.
Not all fly-fishermen are wealthy, and not all catfishermen are
rednecks.
What needs to happen is that we need
to get out there and tell the custom builders that we will pay for a rod
built custom for us. With that in
mind, we gave out some pretty stiff requirements for a rod that we wanted
built, and two met the challenge. That
is all I am going to say for now...more will come when the rods get
here. There will be photos, and
testing, and more photos, and all the info you need to talk to these
builders! And if you truly are a catman
and you think you might be interested in a custom rod, start saving your money
now ‘cause you are going to want one of these!!!
See you out there…
gunner
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Rod built for website testing and
reviewing by Neil Hall of “Classic Destiny Custom Rods”...visit him at: |
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