bentrod1

Let me see Iowa - winter time, think, think, think.......ummmmm shippers might have a slower delivery time in the winter . Last packages I got from my supplier were held up in Memphis for days by Fed Ex due to snow and ice - now many nor-easters are we having this year.. Your going to find not any one suppler can get you everything you want, their is no "ultimate source" nor is the "holy grail" real. Your going to have to set up several "wholesale" accounts. Karen is great to deal with when you can reach her, Baston changes blanks regularly, Mud Hole has high shipping at retail (their wholesale shipping is actually cheap) but they are proud of their wholesale account - getting a wholesale account their is not as easy as others, Lance at Swampland can get most anything and his shipping is reasonable. Before you get in the "Business" you had better do some more homework on paying FET (Federal Exsize Tax), sales tax and book keeping needs. Honestly, a part time rod building business is not a good business to be in - it's like being a part time doctor - your either a doctor or just another guy with an opinion. BUT if you slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night you might want to start a rod building business!!

As the others have stated, start with a kit and go from their. You will not save money building your own rods but you will enjoy it and have a better understanding of fishing rods in general and how they work. Making custom rods with school colors, grand kids names etc is priceless - so i guess you would save money. Classes are also a good way to get started :http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building-101/Classes I hope you enjoy it - it's a great hobby to pass the time in those -25 degree days

Great thoughts here - naturally the Batson sales representative is pushing his own stuff - so be it. But his statement "For magic and Kevin Van Dam winning multiple classics" is just not correct and misleading - KVD does use Batson blanks - I bet KVD's attorney would love to lob this sales guy a new one for misleading consumers. Back to the question - for your first rod building project don't spend a lot of money on a blank - try re-building some old rods first, then start out with a basic kit - the stores already have fit everything together for you (fitting the parts can be the hardest part of custom rod building). Build up the kit, fish it - you will learn a lot!! For your second custom rod pick out a better blank, maybe pick out some special parts (styles of parts) you like to make the rod a little more custom. Build it, fish it, learn some more. By the time you get to your third rod you'll have a much better understanding and dropping some $$ for the best blank will not feel so bad because the finished rod will be that much better. Rome wasn't built in a day - neither will you first custom rod. Take it slow, spend a little $$ to start to get the rod rolling.......it's a hobby you'll enjoy in the long run.