I was born into the sport fishing industry in 1963. My father had been running his own sporting goods store with a heavy emphasis on fishing and hunting since the latter part of 1955. So I was hanging around the shop from a very early age. There were always one or two guys working in the back doing rod and reel repair and basic custom rod building. I saw it being done even before I began taking a genuine interest. At the age of 12, I was helping my dad around the shop while he was in between firing and hiring new help and during the slow times began puttering around the work benches to fight away the boredom. It was then that my Pop noticed I was taking to rod wrapping like a duck to water. He never pushed me, but he certainly didn't tell me I was wasting the thread. Let's just say he nurtured it along.
By my mid teens I was doing work that was better than anything that had been associated with the business previously. I owe all my early advancements to all the books available at the time and later to all the publications by Dale Clemmens. It wasn't long before I had talked my dad and his partner into investing in one of Dale Clemmens rod lathes, something I'm still working on to this very day, talk about a good investment.
I wanted to pursue a career in art, but I became a father and husband at the tender young age of 20, so art school became a dream that never came to fruition. So rod building became my sole avenue for any kind of an artistic outlet.
I ended up buying out my father's 50% partner in 1989, and we ran the business as father and son until his death of cancer in 1992. I ran the business during the day and wrapped rods at night until I hired a couple of good men to run the business, while I built rods in a home workshop. My desire to focus on the rod building out weighed my desire to be a businessman. I ended up selling the business in 1997 and have been building rods as my main line of work ever since. It wasn't until I began getting involved with other artists on the internet that my range of creatvity began to grow at quantum leaps. The young rod crafters out there have no idea what sharing online does for your education and growth in this craft. It's an amazing tool we all have at our fingertips.
For the last 15+ years I have been a private contractor rod builder for various tackle shops around the San Diego area. I am making preparations to lauch my own business in early 2013 due to the numerous requests from my presence online the last couple of years. This is a very exciting time in my career and I thank the Guild for helping and supporting me over the last several months.
Regards,
Jim Trelikes
