Who is your fav custom rod maker?

[BullyBee]

Hey now fellas. How you doing? I was wondering who your favourite custom rod makers were? 
 

I know nothing about custom rods. Other than they are “better than commercial rods”.

 

 

[DrewManFishing]

LDC. 

[lmv_bassfishing]

I’ve tried/had quite a few different ones for me its Leviathan hands down

Edited September 13, 2022 by lmv_bassfishing

[ikaika]

The extra cost you pay a custom builder is for their time/expertise putting it all together, guiding you on blank selection, and whatever intricate threadwork or other cosmetics you want. You usually won’t get the same kind of no-questions-asked warranty like you would from Dobyns or other mass produced rods, so if you break a lot of gear you should consider this as well. 

“Better” than commercial is really about being able to pick the exact blank for your application, the reel seat that fits you best, handle length optimized for your ergonomics, and whatever aesthetics you prefer. You can pick components that fit your objectives (minimize weight, perfect balance with a specific reel), get decorative thread work, etc. so the rod is uniquely your own.

If you’re at all handy, building your own is not all that difficult and a lot of guys here do it. Not what you were asking but it’s incredibly satisfying to catch fish on something that you made yourself. You probably won’t save a lot of money on your first build vs. paying someone to do it, but if you build a few rods you more than offset the cost of the thread wrapper, reamers, glue, finish, etc.

[BullyBee]

28 minutes ago, ikaika said:

The extra cost you pay a custom builder is for their time/expertise putting it all together, guiding you on blank selection, and whatever intricate threadwork or other cosmetics you want. You usually won’t get the same kind of no-questions-asked warranty like you would from Dobyns or other mass produced rods, so if you break a lot of gear you should consider this as well. 

“Better” than commercial is really about being able to pick the exact blank for your application, the reel seat that fits you best, handle length optimized for your ergonomics, and whatever aesthetics you prefer. You can pick components that fit your objectives (minimize weight, perfect balance with a specific reel), get decorative thread work, etc. so the rod is uniquely your own.

If you’re at all handy, building your own is not all that difficult and a lot of guys here do it. Not what you were asking but it’s incredibly satisfying to catch fish on something that you made yourself. You probably won’t save a lot of money on your first build vs. paying someone to do it, but if you build a few rods you more than offset the cost of the thread wrapper, reamers, glue, finish, etc.

I was thinking how nice it would be to catch on something I made. I’m very handy.

[tHeINFamoUS]

Just from the swimbait realm…..I’ve always liked the simplicity of Nef Customs.  PaleHorse has put out some great cork handle work. F5 has what may be considered the most badass grips ever made…..hand stitched gator.  If you look outside the swimbait realm, minds would be blown on what is out there; we barely scratch the surface.  
 

And building my own rods has cost me more money than I have ever saved lol.

[PKNNH]

All the places that the previous guys mentioned will definitely work. I ended going with another builder (on this site) and had a great outcome with an excellent rod. I would recommend going with a builder who will advise you but still build what you want at the end of the day.

[jthod]

Fish365 Custom Rods

[chefchris]

Ben at LDC makes a great custom stick, I've owned 4-5 over the years and all but one (the old xxh, thing was telephone pole with zero flex) have been great rods 

3 years ago I got my first nameless rod from Justin, and since then i now own most of the line up and doubles on some of the preferred rods. hes been great to work with and each rod has been perfect and fishes as it should, i did a full review in the review section if you want to look into it, cant say enough good things about dealing with him and his customer service. 

[Jim137a]

Same as @chefchris regarding the nameless rods.  

I started with one rod and now have 3 of them and again working with Justin is awesome. 

[22RangerZ520R]

I have seven custom F5 rods and I have zero rods with any other custom rod builder so I'm not much help in comparison between companies.  I will tell you I'm very impressed by the detail and quality of my F5 rods.  I had an issue with the handle grips on two of them and Brad was able to repair them and get them back to me quickly.

I looked into LDC and talked with Ben briefly via email back when I was searching for a builder and I just got the vibe from him that he was super busy and there would be big gaps of time between communication.  I also spoke with MOAM and we went back and forth via email on what I wanted and after we got everything ironed out he sent an email to me saying "it isn't going to work out".  I attempted emailing him several times to find out what happened and/or his reason for dropping me like a hot rock and zero responses.  I would definitely not recommend MOAM.

Good luck in your search.

[Jscarbr]

Gary Loomis.

[PKNNH]

22 minutes ago, 22RangerZ520R said:

I also spoke with MOAM and we went back and forth via email on what I wanted and after we got everything ironed out he sent an email to me saying "it isn't going to work out".  I attempted emailing him several times to find out what happened and/or his reason for dropping me like a hot rock and zero responses.  I would definitely not recommend MOAM.

Does anyone know what happened to MOAM? I tried to do a custom through him as well but never got a response back via email.

[Obtuse_Angler]

Always had a good experience with LDC. Super nice guy. 

[CKoch]

I will have to say I agree with if your rough then customs might not be the way. If your careful I will say custom rods blow away most mass produced rods. My favorite is leviathan. Leviathan uses an American blank and if you have any questions you'll be in great hands.