The biggest problem facing the rod building industry today is duplication and over-saturation of product. There simply aren’t enough rod builders out there to buy all the product currently being manufactured and offered, and thus not enough business exists to profitably support every rod building manufacturer and dealer out there. Of course, a handful of…

I was asked today why the Expo stands as the most successful custom rod building event of all time. I gave the reason in an instant – I would have thought it was obvious. Granted, success is usually multifaceted and this holds true with the Expo as well. The geographic location certainly plays a big…

“Can a beginner learn anything at the Expo?” I must entertain this question at least a few hundred times before each Expo event. Novice builders often assume that such a large event must be geared to the experienced rod builder, not the beginner. But such is not the case. Sure – the latest and greatest…

Over time, standards change. Even within my own rod building lifetime I have seen the standard thread wrap coating change from varnish, to lacquer to epoxy. Each new standard has offered certain advantages over the previous one. Most of these advancements, however, have come at the cost of a loss of some amount of user-friendliness.…

Today’s conventional wisdom says that the internet is now the end-all, be-all of nearly everything. That supposed wisdom, however, is anything but, particularly where advertising and marketing is concerned. Last year, Cabelas reported total sales of just over 2.5 BILLION DOLLARS. These are smart folks – they don’t miss a trick. They possess a computer…

The recent decision to move to an all color format reminded me of RodMaker’s earliest days.  The very first three issues featured no color whatsoever – they were done entirely in black & white. The first two issues, were 24 page affairs, with zero advertising. I found out pretty quickly that nobody was going to…