1836 Custom Rods

Normally when I go out on a guided trip I like to give a full breakdown on how well the trip went but, my brain is fried from the not yet Summer heat and this picture should tell you all you need to know what it's like going fishing with Capt. Zach with Full Send Guide Service

Despite the efforts of the local flying bug population I was finally able to finish the US flag rod. Just in time for it to be on the water this Memorial Day weekend.

This beautiful rod is built on a Jawbone 1052, a heavy 10' 30-100lb surf blank designed to handle everything from monster bull reds to sharks longer than I am tall.

To handle all that tough work she's built with a set of my custom EVA grips, an aluminum reel seat with a locking nut the keep the reel secure, and a full set of heavy duty stainless steel guides from Alps

This rod was commissioned by a friend of mine, not for personal use but, instead to be gifted to a friend of his, SPC Brad Jones, US Army. A veteran of first Gulf War, being deployed to Baghdad with the 1st Infantry Division.

Like last week I'll be showing off more of my unsold inventory, today I'm showcasing my inshore series of rods.

I built these rods to serve as a multipurpose, do-it-all type of rod. They're good for the occasions where you're limited on rod space, like on a kayak or wade fishing and you're not sure what you'll encounter or what you'll need to be throwing when out on the water.

They're all 7' and built with Fuji components, including their Corrosion Control guides but come in 3 different styles.
Light: Mod- Fast action, 4-6lb line rating, 1/32-3/16oz lure rating. Perfect for finesse lures or unweighted shrimp but with enough backbone to handle upper slot reds.
Med-Light: Mod-Fast action, 6-12lb line rating, 1/8-3/8oz lure rating. My personal go to rod for anything on the coast, I've thrown jigs, topwaters and corks and it's handled all of them.
Medium: Mod- Fast action, 10-20lb line rating, 1/4-3/4oz lure rating. This is you're heavy duty rod, I always keep mine rigged and ready to go with a popping cork but, if you're fighting the wind or power fishing with large paddle tails it'll tackle it with no issues.

Sales have been kind of light so far this year so I'm going to try out this social media thing and try and sell some of my standing inventory.

I'll start with this monochromatic rod I built a couple years back. Its built on a Phenix M1 blank, 7'2", light power, fast action. The design idea I had for it was a truly premium rod, something that defined a custom rod without being too flashy. To achieve that I used a combo of Fuji's new T2 black titanium guides and black Recoil guides, the new G2 carbon reel seat from American Tackle with a textured carbon fiber grip from Batson. To literally tie everything together I used this striking white with black thread pattern to contrast all the greys and blacks that came with the guides and seat.

The combination of these components creates a rod that is functionally immortal. The guides will never oxidize, the grip will never dry out or rot, the reel seat and hood are both carbon and will flex long before they break. No matter how much you fish this in the salt it will out last any other rod you fish with, so long as you keep clear of things like ceiling fans and car doors.

Well I was planning on getting this rod delivered today but this guy apparently had different plans.

This past weekend was a beautiful one. Took the kayak out to to do some testing on some new lures I'll have up on the website and they proved their worth when I pulled in my biggest trout from the kayak. Picked up a couple more but they were all either too big or too small to take home.

Things were pretty grey and windy this morning but this little guy made my day a little brighter.

Being on the gulf coast doesn't mean I only know how to build saltwater rods. This beautiful custom 5wt fly rod with a hand turned grip make of Texas pecan wood is being sent to Idaho to be shown in the Backcountry Veterans charity auction and raffle on March 7

With the Houston Fishing Show starting today I'm reminded that it's now been 6 years since I started this little rod business of mine, and looking back I'm amazed at how far I’ve brought this little idea of mine. Starting with literally $100 and a dream to start my own business, I learned more than I had thought possible about how a fishing rod is built, both from my own experience and from local rod building legends. I’ve been one of the main sponsors of the REDRUM kayak tournaments. I’ve even had a hand in getting other rod builders started on their journey.

In those years I went from wishful thinking to having an established brand. Going forward I’ll be dedicating more of my time to growing my brand and expanding my business. Expect to see and hear more of me and, with luck, you'll be seeing my rods aboard your favorite guide’s boat.