Building your own fishing rods can be a great wintertime hobby for anglers who like to work with their hands. I started building rods in the early 1970s. Back then, rods were made from fiberglass.

Rob Horken might best be remembered as "Ernie the Angler," his longtime alter ego who did weekly summer fishing reports on WDAZ-TV Channel 8 in Grand Forks, but in retirement, Horken keeps his feet in ...

SCHLESWIG, Iowa - When Jack Johnson builds a fishing rod, he can make it uniquely your own. Want your name of the rod? No problem. Want to show support of your favorite sports team? Piece of cake.

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 ...

GRAND FORKS — 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 ...

Getting a custom-built rod from Wayne Fowlkes always came with a bonus. Fishing stories. Fowlkes loved to hear them, loved to tell them. “I remember the day I met him at his shop to have two rods ...

Avid saltwater anglers know the stubby fish-fighting rods as Whopper Stoppers. They are short fishing tools, only 46 inches long, that make short work of albacore, yellowtail and tuna. Novice anglers ...