For the past couple of years we have been contributing articles to the RodCrafters Journal, a quarterly publication, distributed by the Custom Rod Builders Guild.  To receive the journal you must be a member of the guild.  Whether you own a rod building business, build as a hobby, or are just interested in how custom fishing rods are built, I highly recommend joining the Custom Rod Builders Guild.  You can get more information by visiting www.rodguild.com. 

One of the first articles we penned for the RodCrafters Journal was about incorporating bourbon and whiskey stoppers as butt caps on custom rods.  At the end of this post we will include pictures of the entire article as it was published in the journal.

In summary, the article discusses how to use bourbon and whiskey stoppers on a custom fishing rod, and how this can separate a custom rod from those found in big box stores.  The article goes a step further to describe how this process doesn't just add a nice aesthetic touch, but how it can improve performance as well.  With the bourbon or whiskey stopper acting as a pommel, it allows anglers to resist force with less effort and as much comfort as possible.  Additionally, a stopper acting as a pommel at the end of a handle can cushion the handle from the body when fighting a fish.

The article then moves on to sourcing your bourbon or whiskey stoppers.  Some of the easiest ways are from your own bottle, family and friends can save them for you, you can ask bartenders for them, and we've had success just asking for them from the distilleries themselves, both in writing and in person.

Once ​you have the stopper you want for your build, the next step is to prepare it for installation.  The article goes into more detail, but to make it simple, utilize the cork part of the stopper and cut it into a stud that will fit inside the butt end of the blank.  The final step is to adhere it to the blank, which we do with ProPaste, a two part epoxy, and clamp it in overnight.  Once the epoxy has cured you will have a fishing rod with a custom look that also provides for performance and functionality.  We have included some of our custom rods that use bourbon and whiskey stoppers in this post so you can see what the technique looks like on a finished custom rod.

Tight lines and fish custom!
- Team BGF

If you are going to build custom rods you also need to use them.  Here is a look at a combination research and development/ rest and relaxation outing in the kayak.  It was a cool and windy, late winter day, and the water temperature was around 49 degrees.  I didn't find any of the big bass I was looking for, but the numbers were good, and I did manage a couple of decent bucket mouths.  All fish were caught with a custom spinning rod we build about seven years ago, and it was slinging a Ned rig. 

Tight lines and fish custom!
- Team BGF