Tidewater Rod Co.

10/13/2026

I’ll proudly “gatekeep” that s**t.

09/29/2026

This photo shows what the inside of each Tidewater Virtue blank looks like. Although my blank specs are clearly available on my website, I still get asked “what blanks do you use”. The answer is simple… I use MY BLANKS. Each rod weight features its own proprietary taper designed by yours truly. We also added a hybrid glass/carbon mix 6” down to each ferrule. $250k and 2.5 years spent before they were about as good as you can get.

So how do I keep my rods under $500? Simple. I take less profit because I have low overhead. I don’t have a huge marketing budget, a pro team, a factory, or employees to pay. Right now, each rod is built by me… no other hands touch it before it gets to your doorstep. Your rod meet a car door or the infamous “tree fish”, you email me, not a customer service representative. That’s the difference.

I feel silly writing this with only one rod available currently, but I wanted to make it perfectly clear that Tidewater is not another Moonshine. You’ll get all the same crazy posts like I did with moonshine (especially if you follow JON LAVEZZO ) but you’ll be getting a whole lot more than ANY OTHER ROD ON THE MARKET sub $500.

09/26/2026

09/21/2026

**LINK TO THE PODCAST IS IN MY BIO LINKS ABOVE**

Was honored to be contacted by Matt Rinella (Steve Rinella’s brother from MEATEATER) and Jim Durkin to be on the Hunt Quietly podcast. It got interesting, it was a blast, and I spilled it all about my views on the over commercialization of fly fishing and influencer culture. So, if you’ve got nothing to do for an hour, you can hear my whole story. LINK TO THE PODCAST IS IN MY LINKS IN MY BIO. It’s also on Apple Music podcasts. Episode 201. Or Google it, you’ll find it.

For those calling me an INFLUENCER, you’re right. I’m influencing you to think (rare these days)… and influence YOURSELF! Do your own research, fish what rod makes you happy… but never fall for the man telling you your gear isn’t good enough. Also, this is just an Instagram account. I’m one dude. It’s not that serious if you disagree. If I offended you, unfollow. But I’m going to continue to be 100% transparent with my beliefs, regardless of who I upset. Do you really think that I’m expecting everyone to agree with me with 71k followers?! I’d be deranged to think that.

Make sure you subscribe to the podcast! Great guys doing some great work in the outdoors space.

09/09/2026

My silly fish art. Stickers, Prints, Hats, Tees available on my site.

Tidewaterrods.com

-JL

09/02/2026

THE STONED FISH COLLECTION 🎣💨

Well… this got out of hand.

ALL DESIGNS AVAILABLE AS STICKERS AND T-SHIRTS ON MY SITE WWW.TIDEWATERRODS.COM

What started as one stupid idea has officially turned into an entire collection of aquatic degenerates.

Introducing The Stoned Fish Collection - because apparently regular fish just weren’t making enough bad decisions.

These are all available right now as stickers and T-shirts at TidewaterRods.com⁠. Sizes up to 5XL for the “portly” folks.

🇺🇸 Printed in the USA.
📦 IMPORTANT: Shirts and stickers are printed and shipped separately, so they will arrive separately from your rod order. Don’t email me accusing the mailman of stealing your stoned catfish.

And never in my life did I think I would spend FOUR NIGHTS sitting up until 4:00 AM on a brand-new iPad Pro designing fish that look absolutely fu***ng baked.

Yet here we are.

Money well spent.

Every one of these designs was created by me while wrapping rods in my workshop using Adobe Illustrator and Procreate on my new iPad Pro (that damn thing has me hooked). They’re original designs, drawn and put together one ridiculous fish at a time while any reasonable adult was asleep.

So now I need to know:

Which stoned fish is your favorite?

And more importantly…

What fish have I missed that deserves to get absolutely zooted next? 😂

Drop your requests below. Freshwater, saltwater, weird s**t… I’m listening.

And PLEASE share these things. Send them to your fishing buddies. Put them in your stories. Tag somebody who needs a baked fish slapped on their cooler.

Just don’t steal my freaking artwork.

I spent four nights until 4 AM making these little bastards.

I’m emotionally attached now.

COLLECT THEM ALL. 🎣💨

08/25/2026

Come on out! TONS of awesome vendors, lessons, speakers, food, etc!!! No matter if you’ve ever picked up a fly rod, you’ll be amazed by all the free education available!’il be there with Tidewater Rods. Come say hello! More info at Virginia Coastal Fly Anglers