Before we get into the nitty gritty of custom rods vs. store-bought rods, let’s look at the business side of manufactured (or store-bought) rods.
Manufacturers of mass-produced rods have one basic plan when building a fishing rod: sell as many rods as quickly as possible using the same materials.
The manufacturer is looking to gather the interest of a large enough group of anglers so they can mass-produce these rods and gain a per-unit advantage in rod sales.
If they can sell 1,000 rods using the same blanks, grips, real seats, guides, inserts, winding checks, thread, paint, and epoxy, they will know how much it will cost and how much profit they need to make on each rod. These rods are found in fishing shops and big-box stores, and they make up a majority of the rods you see online.
These mass-produced rod manufacturers buy in bulk and set out to build their rods as quickly as they can to reduce labor costs. The mass-produced rod has profitability baked in so the manufacturer can pay their advertising expense, management overhead, rent, utilities, and inventory and still have enough left over to make a profit on the sale. As you can see, finding the largest group to buy the mass-produced fishing rod makes economic sense. If you can make $25 per fishing rod, your incentive is to sell as many of these rods as possible to get as much profit as possible. Incentives are lined up to find the largest buying audience and sell, sell, sell. Given the value of labor and the cost of refunding consumers on broken or poorly crafted rods, these manufacturers know how many returned/damaged rods will be returned to them for warranty work. This, too, is priced into each rod.
On the other hand, custom fishing rod builders prioritize quality, craftsmanship, and service over scale. They are experts at their craft and prioritize each customer’s needs over mass profits.
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Store-bought rods are made for the average angler when assembling their bill of materials. For example, take a medium-heavy spinning rod. The blanks are bought in bulk, optimizing for one length, and the rods are not individually spined. There’s a strong possibility the guides are not aligned with the true bend of the rod on its spine. The reel seat and grips are ordered in bulk. On a majority of rods, the reel seat is not epoxyed to the rod (increases margin). It may not fit the reel(s) you have, leaving your connection to the rod unstable, which can dampen the sensitivity or cause your reel to un-attach. The guides are not spaced for your reel or the line you like to use, reducing your casting accuracy.
With custom-built rods, each one of these components is chosen for the type of fishing you prefer. When working with your custom rod builder, they’ll want to know lure sizes, the type of water, and how you transport your rods. This gives the custom rod builder direction on optimal rod length. From there, they’ll learn more about the locations you like to fish and if you have any issues with grips causing blisters or not being placed correctly for leverage.
While understanding how you fish, custom rod builders are listening for signals indicating if cork, EVA foam, or Winn grips might make the most sense. Once the grip material is decided, the shape and length can be easily configured. From there, the reel type and spool size will be considered to guide spacing and reel seat selection, ensuring these components are anchored to the rod correctly so you can get the full value of that carbon fiber, graphite, composite, or fiberglass rod.
When it comes to personalization, there’s no comparison between mass-produced rods and custom rods built one at a time. Yes, some rod manufacturers can let you choose from two grip types, and you can choose thread wraps on your guides in two colors, but typically, store-bought rods cannot make the rod individualized as you may like; it does not make sense for their business model.
Custom rod builders can make your rod with custom components matching your type of fishing. They can also add logos, brands, signatures, custom colors, custom thread wraps, and intricate designs that take years to master. Once you’ve fished with a custom-built rod, it’s hard to understand why you would use a mass-produced rod for such an individual experience.
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Store-bought rods can have an advantage when it comes to timing. What the manufacturer produces in bulk is widely available when needed. When the manufacturer lines up all the inventory and quickly assembles, time is of the essence on the whole lot of rods.
A custom rod builder can take anywhere from two days to over three weeks to get the rod you’ve configured with them. But this is all by design. Custom rod builders are efficient with time and materials. Staying competitive on pricing means they do not need to stockpile blanks, guides, grips, etc. Builders only buy what’s necessary for the foreseeable future.
There are three levels of production turns with custom rod builders:
Level 1: The quickest turnaround time, Level 1, can take 2-7 days, and these rods are often built in advance based on some wildly popular configurations they’ve found when working with clients. You get a bespoke rod, but it may not have the exact customizations you expect. In this scenario, the custom rod builder will let you know if what they have could be a good match for your type of fishing.
Level 2: This can take 7-14 days. Rods on this schedule are in the sweet spot of the consumer and the rod builder. The builder happens to have all the inventory the angler needs and the builder has been efficiently processing orders with no backlog to fight.
Level 3: The slower-paced Level 3 can take over three weeks and this can be based on inventory on hand, or fine-tuning or cosmetic customizations that need to be wrapped or applied to the custom rod in phases. As you are configuring your custom rod with your builder, check with them on impacts to build times to ensure you all are on the same page.
Shipping time and method are fairly similar for both rod types. Custom rod builders want to get you the rod they’ve built as quickly, safely, and inexpensively as possible. The process is very similar to buying any fishing rod online. The main difference is the email or text message you get when your rod is on its way will come from a builder themself, and not an automated system that has been tracking that rod blank since it was rolled.
The rods are placed in cardboard or PVC tubes. If you’ve ordered a custom-built fly rod, it can be shipped in an aluminum rod case so you can keep it safe when you travel to your next fishing destination. The shipping price can vary slightly, but this is mainly due to macro items impacting other parcels.
The pricing range of mass-produced fishing rods depends on the type of rod. Whether it’s a saltwater trolling rod or a fly rod does influence the price. When you compare the same class of rod—one from a store and one custom builder—you’ll see there’s generally no significant difference in price.
Here are some 2024 pricing guidelines we’ve compiled when comparing store-bought rods to custom fishing rods.
Store-bought rods vs. Custom fishing rod pricing*
*pricing gathered from posted online pricing and conversations with custom rod builders across the US in 2024
As you can see, if you are looking for performance that fits you, a custom-built fishing rod can get you precisely what you want for a price better than “high-performance” store-bought rods in many cases.
Mass-produced fishing rods are geared for the largest group possible. The manufacturer is balancing what appeals to most: the cost of getting materials and manufacturing speed. The custom fishing rod builder has taken a different path. As a craftsman, their achievement is making you satisfied, and with that, a chance to ply their passion to another custom fishing rod.
The value you get from a custom-built rod can far exceed a store-bought or manufactured rod from a big box store. As we’ve discussed above, the quality is often much better because a custom rod is made from materials and components that are personalized to you and your fishing experience. Since there’s no significant difference in price between custom rods and store-bought rods but a big difference in quality and craftsmanship, a custom-built fishing rod provides greater long-term value. It has a significant impact on your time on the water.
