In his quest for the perfect ice fishing rod, Brandon Greene says he never could find one he liked and that fit just right. So, he built one that did. And hooked a booming side venture in the process.

. I was there to pick up a custom fly rod they’d made for me and to go fishing with owner and founder Jeff Davis. I expected to find a warehouse with heavy machinery and assembly lines, but instead I ...

The man on the other end of the phone was noticeably hesitant, perhaps even a little embarrassed. He had spent 34 years in the quiet, comfortable background of the sport-fishing industry, most ...

When it comes to making custom fishing rods, Barry Weaver employs many skills. Weaver alternates among being a woodworker, an engineer, a lathe operator, a technician and an assembler. And when it ...

CHISHOLM — If there’s ever a tornado warning for this Iron Range town, Mike Lesch will likely be safe. That’s because he already spends a lot of time in his basement shop, where he turns drab sticks ...

If you’re the kind of person who dives headlong into hobbies, becomes obsessed, and enjoys the process of figuring out how to do things, Brady Syde is your kindred spirit. Syde is the proprietor and ...

The International Custom Rod Building Exposition featuring more than 100 display booths and 3,000 custom rod builders is set for Feb. 23-24 at the M.C. Benton Convention Center at Winston-Salem. The ...

The white cinder-block building where Craig Naff crafts his metal masterpieces sits beside a two-lane country road that slices below Little North Mountain on the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley ...