Custom Rod ??

[Carpenter]

I know there is a rod building section, but I thought I'd get some more neutral discussion here.

So, does anyone here have a custom rod (whether you built or bought). Do you feel they are better than buying a decent rod in the store? What's better?

My question would be based along the lines of a middle of the road Croix compared to a custom with the same blank.

My passion is fishing, and I get out as often as I can (down to 3-4 times per month now that we have a pre-fisherman). But I doubt I'd know the difference between my St. Croix or GM Guide series over a 3x$ Loomis. Any thoughts and discussion would be appreciated.

[Esox_Magnum]

I have a custom built muskie rod and yes they are a step above the shelf stuff but that being said 99% of the time I have a $110 rod in my hands.

[Brad B]

one thing you forgot to say was if you were looking at a casting rod or a spinning rod. when it comes to casting rods a custom can't be beat because the one thing you can do with a custom casting rod is put a spiral or acid wrap on the blank when you make it. there is no shelf model casting rods that I know of that comes with the guides spiral wrapped except there is one saltwater rod that is but it is big bucks. as for spinning rods I think a custom allows you to make it to length(reel seat placement) that best fits you. a custom will also let you fine tune guide placement for optimal performance.

[Carpenter]

Thanks guys. I am looking at spinning rods. I'm going to take a class and make a rod myself. Sounds like another somewhat expensive addition for an already expensive sickness. But oh well

[harvey lee]

You will enjoy catching fish with a rod built by yourself.